Studio 36 (Northampton) – Notts Music Archive

“Northampton Sound Recording Service” was commonly known as “Studio 36”. It was a small independent recording studio and record label in Northampton in the early to mid nineteen sixties. It was used by many Nottinghamshire groups in the early to mid sixties hence the inclusion on this site. Most groups couldn’t get the attention of large record labels so studio’s like “Studio 36” were an ideal place where you could have 10 to fifty demo discs made, useful to pass on to TV or Radio stations or give away to fans. Other similar small studio’s were Domino in Wolverhampton, Hollick and Taylor in Birmingham and Anton in Gloucester.

I have used a few sources to put this piece together. The first and main one is the book “Have Guitars ….. Will Travel” A journey through the beat music scene in Northampton 1957-66 by Derek A. Thompson & William Martin.

The book covers the early days of Skiffle and Beat music in Northampton, the local groups and with national groups and events marking the way. Covering Northampton groups, The Apex, The Skyliners, The Mavericks, The Drumbeats, The Quick and the Dead, The Soul of Lynton Grace and many more. My main interest was the independent studio and label “Studio 36” which was used by quite a few Notts groups in the early sixties.

Other information has been found in Midland Beat magazine where they advertised regularly and internet resources like Discogs and 45cat.

The partners in running this studio were H. M. Finnimore, C. E. Eaton & J. R. A. Harrison and it was addressed at 36 Spring Gardens, Northampton.

HISTORY

The Northampton Sound Recording Service was the first recording studio in Northampton with the first record being made there I December 1961. Like so much of the early days of rock and roll it was independently built by enthusiasts just as musicians were building their own guitars and amplifiers. Painter and decorator Jack Harrison lived at 36 Spring Gardens and had founded the Tape and Cine club in 1958 with friend and enthusiast Bob Beeby. In 1961 they decided to build a recording studio in the workshop at the back of the building. Local building company director Henry Martin and electronics buff, Hugh Finnemore financed the operation and Jack enlisted another club member Colin Eaton who would end up becoming the sound engineer. The sound equipment was purchased from Hugh’s friend John Lever.

36 Spring Gardens, Northampton.
From the book (Have Guitars Will Travel)

John Lever opened a record shop in 1954 on Kettering Road which also sold music equipment, TVs, radios and tape recorders. He opened a second shop in 1959 dedicated solely to records and was also a drummer having a spell in The Apex, one of Northampton’s first important groups starting in the days of Skiffle.

**John Lever. From the book (Have Guitars Will Travel)**

**From the book (Have Guitars Will Travel)**

A fully sound proofed and sophisticated studio with control room, intercom, Lever’s-Rich master reel to reel tape recorder, 16 channel mixers, condenser microphones, filters, pre amp, echo chamber and an oscilloscope made it one of the best equipped outside of London. They also purchased from the BBC a record cutter, a German ‘Neumann’. With this an acetate demo disc could be made and if necessary sent to a specialist company for a small run of singles could be made. At Studio 36 as it was often called, local groups for the cost of £4 an hour could record and make a limited run of discs, 50, 100, 200 that were sold in John Lever’s record shop or sold at shows or given to friends. It wasn’t just local groups that used the studio but many from Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire who had no suitable studios in their home towns. Norrie Paramor would occasionally call in when talent spotting in the area and record some of the artists on a demo disc. Norrie was a producer and composer best known for working with Cliff Richard and the Shadows.

RECORD RELEASES

Using the book, Discogs, 45cat and my own research here is the best list I can come up with of recordings and demo discs made at Studio 36. Most of the groups would have come from Northampton but many others travelled from further away. The dates are sometimes very approximate. There must have been many many more releases and one off acetates.

Dec 1961
The Apex (Northampton) – Caravan / Yorkshire Relish. This was the first released recording from Studio 36 but released on John Lever’s own label and sold from his shop.

1962
The Mavericks (Northampton) – Wonderful Girl / Please don’t fool with me. Also recorded Candy Man, The Sheik of Araby and an instrumental.

1963
The Deltas (Northampton) – The Breeze and I / Memphis Tennessee.
The Deltas (Northampton) – That’s my Desire / Twenty Miles
The Deltas (Northampton) – Mark’s Theme / I Wanna You to Love Me

1963
Johnny Dave 5 (Northampton) – Instrumental / Instrumental

November 5th 1963
Mark Fayne and the Astronauts (Notts) – I Believe / Some Enchanted Evening

1963/64
The Hatricks (Northampton) – Almost There / Silent Night
The Hatricks (Northampton) – Speedy Gonzales / Tears For Souvenirs. Not 100% sure of the correct pairings of the above singles. Just sold to friends and at gigs.

1964
The Skyliners (Northampton) – Say You’ll Never Leave Me / Love me Too

March 5th 1964
The Drumbeats (Northampton) – Shame, Shame, Shame / I Got A Feeling. 100 records were cut and sold in John Lever’s shop.
The Drumbeats (Northampton) – Poison Ivy (on acetate only)

1964
Blues 5 (Leicester ? Midlands ? maybe ?) – When You’re In Love / Hey Baby

Blues 5 – When You’re In Love

April 1964
Tony D and the Shakeouts (Nottingham) Possibly referring to early takes on their first single “Is It True / Never Let Her Go”.

1964
Rockin’ Henri and the Hayseeds (Plymouth)
The Sinners with Linda Laine (London / South Coast I think) (the same Linda Laine who was backed by The Jaybirds in 1961, I think)

Toni and the Varitones (Nottingham)

Daleeks (Liverpool)
The Delmont Four (Liverpool / Preston and featuring Freddie Star)

April 1964
Size Seven (Corby)
Crying My Heart Out
Where Do We Go From Here
Two separate singles maybe. See Sleaford Standard paper cutting.

June 1964
Johnny Gold and the Escorts (Notts, I think) – Let’s Talk / Shame Shame Shame / Fortune Teller / Own Composition
The Newtones (Notts)

June 1964
The Apex R&B All Stars (Northampton) – Tall Girl,, Reeling and Rocking, Down the Road Apiece, Sugar Shack. This is the same group albeit with line up changes that recorded the first single in 1961.

July 1964
Carl Raven and the Sabres (Woodthorpe, Notts). Phil Smith ran the City Enterprises agency in Nottingham and sent many of his groups to Northampton to make a demo.

Aug 1964

Vicki and the Kordettes (Kirkby in Ashfield, Notts) – Post Horn Stomp / Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah / Make It Come True / I Can Tell

The Straykats (Nottingham) – Latin Lovers / Learning The Game
The Straykats, sometimes known as Stevie and the Straykats, were a group from Nottingham. At one time I thought this group was from Leicester but I can’t find any evidence of why I thought that now. In 1964 the Nottingham group were described as “Pye recording stars” (this was common parlance at the time for any beat group that made a demo, an acetate or even a recording on tape. It was a selling point). The Tony D and the Shakeouts cutting above mentions them working at Studio 36 when I know that their first demo was on Pye and then the official release on Pye/Picadilly so maybe the agency, which was Phil Smith’s for Tony D, had a relationship with both Studio 36 and Pye hence The Straykats recording at Studio 36 but being referred to as a Pye recording star. This is a long winded way of saying I think this is the Nottingham group.

**Bob Rowe in front of the phone box looking a little like Buddy Holly, and they did cover one of his songs.**

The Straykats. Excerpts from Learning The Game and Latin Lovers

The Decoys (Derby but possibly Notts borders) – You’re Untrue / Stiletto / I’ll Still Love You / Dreamsville

Nov 1964
The Quakers (Melton / Leicester) – She’s Alright / Talk To Me

The Quakers – She’s Alright

The Quakers – Talk To Me

The Quakers came from Melton, Leicestershire, England and comprised Dave Dene (vocals), Mick White (lead guitar), Terry Muse (bass) and Howard Perks (drums). They achieved another release, the very excellent “I’m Ready” and “Down the Road Apiece” on the Oriole label in 1965.