1940s

During World War II Abbey Road remained open and in use, involved in propaganda recordings for the British government and radio broadcasts for the BBC. The Studios also took delivery of the most advanced mixing desk in the world, which cost a staggering £1000.

Many artists around that time contributed to the war effort including studio regulars, Gracie Fields, and George Formby.

In the classical domain the great British Conductor Sir John Barbirolli, continued recording at a pace. In 1943 he conducted the world premiere performance of Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Symphonies. He also made many recordings in association with Dame Janet Baker, a renowned mezzo-soprano and exclusive EMI artist.

One of the most successful bandleaders of all time, Glenn Miller, recorded a number of titles with Dinah Shore in studio one on September 16 1944. These were the last recordings he made. Extraordinarily the recordings remained unreleased and unheard by millions of Glenn Miller fans around the world until the expiry of their copyright in 1994.

In 1946 Walter Legge, one of the most respected names in the classical music recording business, invited a German lyric soprano to audition at Abbey Road. Elisabeth Scwarzkopf was signed to an exclusive contract and began a career that was to encompass a plethora of recitals, oratorios and opera recordings.

Also around that time a team of audio engineers from America and England, including a team from Abbey Road, visited Berlin to study the developments of magnetic recording which had been taking place in Germany during the war. The information gathered during this trip resulted in the production of the famous BTR series of EMI tape and tape recorders which remained in use at Abbey Road for over 25 years.

In 1948, Goldmark (a CBS company) announced the arrival of the long-playing record, a microgroove disc which revolved at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute and lasted 23 minutes per side. These new developments brought about a most significant change in record manufacture - the disappearance of old wax masters. The new process of producing lacquer masters heralded the start of a new era in recording.