Oxford Street, London (1970–1991) AIR's first recording facility was meant to be suitable for both dubbing films and making records, so the company sought a central location with easy distance from the
Claridge's and
Connaught hotels to appeal to producers from around the world. Eventually a site in
Oxford Circus on the fourth floor of 214
Oxford Street, atop the
Peter Robinson department store was secured, and in 1969 the company began a year of construction costing £136,000. The studios were outfitted with £200,000 worth of equipment, opening with a high-profile launch party in October 1970. AIR London became popular in the 1970s for
spoken word recordings. It also became one of the most in-demand music studios in London by 1973.
AIR Lyndhurst Hall, Hampstead (1991–present) In 1991, with the lease on the Oxford Street premises coming to an end, AIR Studios relocated to a building that was formerly the
Lyndhurst Road Congregational Church, a Grade II
listed building designed in 1880 by Victorian architect
Alfred Waterhouse and located in the
Hampstead suburb of north London. The space was revamped as a recording facility and opened for business in December 1992. The Lyndhurst Hall location features a hexagonal room large enough to record both a full orchestra and a chorus at the same time, making it a key London facility for
film scores including the 2017 feature film
Phantom Thread and classical recordings, as well popular music, television
post-production, and dialogue, sound effects and music for
video games.
Spitfire Audio has recorded many of its digital audio samples here. Employees include
Olga Fitzroy.
AIR Montserrat (1979–1989) In 1975, AIR was sold to the
Chrysalis Group, and Martin used the infusion of cash to build a residential studio on the island of
Montserrat, a British colony in the
Caribbean where the producer had a residence at Olveston House in
Salem. The studio was built near Martin's home, As of 1979, the studio consisted of a 46-channel
Neve mixing console, a pair of
MCI 24-track recorders, three
Ampex ATR-102 2-track tape recorders and an MCI synchronizer (for any 46-track work), with JBL and Tannoy monitors.
Jimmy Buffett recorded
Volcano at the Montserrat studio in May 1979, naming the album and its
title song for the then dormant
Soufrière Hills volcano on the island.
Elton John recorded three albums at the Montserrat studio in the 1980s.
Dire Straits recorded their hugely successful
Brothers in Arms album at the studio between 1984 and 1985. Other well-known studio clients at AIR Montserrat included
the Police (
Ghost in the Machine and
Synchronicity),
Earth, Wind & Fire,
Ultravox,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (pre-recorded
Junk Culture),
Paul McCartney,
Gerry Rafferty,
Lou Reed,
Rush,
the Rolling Stones,
Black Sabbath,
Midge Ure,
Little River Band,
Duran Duran,
Sheena Easton and
Luther Vandross. By 1986, the studio equipment list read, in part: In 1989, shortly after the Rolling Stones had recorded their
Steel Wheels album there,
Hurricane Hugo devastated the island. While the Montserrat studio facility sustained only minor damage, it was never reopened, mainly due to changes in the recording industry. According to George Martin, The abandoned studio buildings are still standing as of 2025, but have been long neglected and have fallen into dereliction; their roofs are failing, leading to extensive damage to the floors of the accommodation area and the inner part of the studio complex, making them unsafe to walk on. The facility is now a
modern ruin and is closed to the public. Olveston House operates as a
guest house. The 2021 Australian documentary film
Under the Volcano interviews more than a dozen major artists and technicians who worked in the studio during the 1980s, and also includes archival narration and commentary by George Martin. == See also ==