A Plaque to commemorate Europe's first disc recording studio unveiled
at 31 Maiden Lane, London WC2, on 4th Dec 2019
Roger Taylor unveils the plaque
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Peter Adamson holding photo of Fred Gaisberg
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The new plaque in situ
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CLPGS President Christopher Proudfoot writes: in For the Record issue 56 (Winter 2015) Peter Adamson wrote about the Gramophone Company’s original 1898 recording studio in Maiden Lane, a narrow back street in the Covent Garden area of London, just north of The Strand. The main theme of his article was to dismiss the commonly repeated notion that the recording studio was in the basement; he showed beyond doubt that it was on the first floor, with large windows overlooking Maiden Lane.
Since Victorian times the building has been reconstructed internally, although the frontage survives, with some alterations at ground level. Because of the difference in level between the front of the original building (in Henrietta Street) and its back in Maiden Lane, the ‘ground floor’ is actually up a short flight of stairs from the door in Maiden Lane; it is now occupied by a Pizza restaurant, who also occupy the basement as a large function room, complete with bar.
I was passing this building last summer with some family members on our way to a wedding reception, and someone asked, when I pointed out No 31 and its historic significance, why there was no ‘Blue Plaque’ on it? I was able to reassure them that this was indeed under consideration, and not long after I learnt that it had progressed beyond the ‘consideration’ stage. James Hall, a journalist who had been writing a novel based on the early gramophone industry, had had the same idea and had succeeded in getting approval from Westminster City Council for a green plaque, and the necessary funding - not least from the EMI Archive Trust with the backing of the Universal Music Group.
On 4th December 2019, accordingly, an unveiling ceremony was held in that basement which had never held a studio, the plaque being subsequently attached to the wall outside. CLPGS was represented by several members including Tom Stephenson, who had himself begun investigating the possibility of a plaque before finding that James Hall had already done the groundwork. We contributed a display of four early Gramophones, each of which would have been assembled in the very same building, quite possibly in the basement, in 1898-1901. These made a good impression on other delegates present, from the recording industry and related Press.
The main event was introduced by Caryn Tomlinson, who Chairs the EMI Archive Trust; followed by an explanatory speech by James Hall (still struggling to remember that the original studio was ‘in this building’, not ‘in this basement’); the unveiling of the plaque by the drummer of Queen, Roger Taylor; and a talk by our own Peter Adamson on the early history of the Gramophone Company. He finished with the tale of Emma Calve’s reluctance to enter this unprepossessing premises to make recordings; an up-front cheque helped change her mind.
Since Victorian times the building has been reconstructed internally, although the frontage survives, with some alterations at ground level. Because of the difference in level between the front of the original building (in Henrietta Street) and its back in Maiden Lane, the ‘ground floor’ is actually up a short flight of stairs from the door in Maiden Lane; it is now occupied by a Pizza restaurant, who also occupy the basement as a large function room, complete with bar.
I was passing this building last summer with some family members on our way to a wedding reception, and someone asked, when I pointed out No 31 and its historic significance, why there was no ‘Blue Plaque’ on it? I was able to reassure them that this was indeed under consideration, and not long after I learnt that it had progressed beyond the ‘consideration’ stage. James Hall, a journalist who had been writing a novel based on the early gramophone industry, had had the same idea and had succeeded in getting approval from Westminster City Council for a green plaque, and the necessary funding - not least from the EMI Archive Trust with the backing of the Universal Music Group.
On 4th December 2019, accordingly, an unveiling ceremony was held in that basement which had never held a studio, the plaque being subsequently attached to the wall outside. CLPGS was represented by several members including Tom Stephenson, who had himself begun investigating the possibility of a plaque before finding that James Hall had already done the groundwork. We contributed a display of four early Gramophones, each of which would have been assembled in the very same building, quite possibly in the basement, in 1898-1901. These made a good impression on other delegates present, from the recording industry and related Press.
The main event was introduced by Caryn Tomlinson, who Chairs the EMI Archive Trust; followed by an explanatory speech by James Hall (still struggling to remember that the original studio was ‘in this building’, not ‘in this basement’); the unveiling of the plaque by the drummer of Queen, Roger Taylor; and a talk by our own Peter Adamson on the early history of the Gramophone Company. He finished with the tale of Emma Calve’s reluctance to enter this unprepossessing premises to make recordings; an up-front cheque helped change her mind.
Apply now for a 2020 Richard Taylor Bursary
The City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society (CLPGS) is the oldest society of its kind devoted to recorded sound, founded in 1919 with Thomas Edison as Patron. It supports and encourages scholarship and publication by individuals in the field of sound recordings, early talking machines and audio preservation. The Richard Taylor Bursary programme is designed to fund specific eligible projects in this field, including discography, bibliography, historical studies of the sound recording industry and its products, company label research, the history of talking machines, developments of the technology and any other subject likely to increase the public's understanding and appreciation of the lasting importance of recorded sound. The CLPGS Richard Taylor Bursary grants are primarily (but not exclusively) designed to encourage applications from individuals whose research forms part of an academic programme at the master's or doctoral level. They could, for instance, help fund independent research and publishing projects.
Both CLPGS members and non-members are eligible to apply for grants of at least £500. Grant funds can be used to underwrite clerical, travel, and editorial expenses. However, grants may not be used to purchase capital equipment or recordings, to create recordings (including field recordings), to perform operations on sound recordings, to reimburse applicants for work already performed, or to support projects which form part of paid employment. In addition, grant recipients may submit documentation of any reasonable extra expenses for reimbursement; any such expenses must be claimed within eighteen months of the grant award.
Grant recipients are required to submit regular status updates on their projects to CLPGS. Recipients are encouraged to submit articles about their projects for publication in the CLPGS Journal ‘For the Record’.
Applications for a CLPGS Richard Taylor Bursary should include:
- A summary of your project (one page maximum), with samples of the work attached if possible.
- An outline budget covering the entire project and highlighting the costs and expenses the CLPGS Richard Taylor Bursary will cover (one page maximum). Please summarize funds already committed to the project, and any proposals for funds that are pending, giving the source of each (e.g. foundation name, location); the specific amount requested; and for what purpose.
- Your curriculum vitae.
- An indication of the prospects for publication or other public presentation of the project results.
Applications should be forwarded to Dr Peter Martland, One St Matthews Court, Cambridge, CB1 2NR either in hard copy, or, preferably, by email to spm14@cam.ac.uk
The closing date for applications is 31st March 2020.
The Richard Taylor Bursary was set up in memory of the late and much-missed chairman of the Society.
Richard died in November 2015 after serving twelve years as chairman.
Reference Series RS100: The First Century and More
RS100, an A5-sized book, is a retrospective of the progress of recorded sound from dawn of the industry to the present day, in the form of chapters produced by CLPGS members. It was produced to celebrate the centenary of the Society in October 2019, and tells the story of the machines and the music played on them. It also contains a history of the first 100 years of CLPGS.
Order and pay on-line at "Shop", "Reference Series" and scroll down to RS100.
Order and pay on-line at "Shop", "Reference Series" and scroll down to RS100.
"Masters Series" Centenary Cylinders
To commemorate the centenary of the Society two cylinders have been recorded and issued. These are two minute records, made exclusively for CLPGS by the Vulcan Phonograph Cylinder Record Co, in an indestructible resin formula which is unbreakable in normal use.
For more information, and to buy or hear these cylinders on YouTube, follow the links on this Website to "Shop" then "Centenary Cylinders".
- Duet for Two Cats - Duetto Buffo di Due Gatti (attrib. Gioacchino Rossini): 100-1
- Moses and the Children of Israel (George Frideric Handel): 100-2
For more information, and to buy or hear these cylinders on YouTube, follow the links on this Website to "Shop" then "Centenary Cylinders".
The Malvern Centenary – or The Centenary Malvern, 2019
The year 2019 has been celebrated by our Society as the centenary of our first meeting in London in 1919.
And while we have had a re-enactment of our first ever programme of Blue Amberols and a couple of other
London talks on the 1919 theme, it was the October conference at Malvern that we chose to be the centre
of our celebrations.
Brian Oakley pulled out every stop to make this a ‘Malvern’ to remember. The well-established pattern of
events was followed, but everything was a little bit special this time, starting with the venue. Previously,
we have used the ‘Shaw’ Suite at the Abbey hotel, a windowless room in which we were at times short of
space, but for the great occasion, we splashed out on the much larger Elgar Suite. Access to this part of the
building is awkward for the disabled, but that inconvenience apart, the Elgar suite made for a far superior
event, with room for all 120 guests at dinner on the Saturday night, and a separate space for the exhibition.
The Exhibition itself was a major event; in the past, the Society has put on displays with public viewing in
mind, but in practice attendance has mainly been from members and so this exhibition was unashamedly
focussed on unusual machines that collectors might never have seen before. It was only there for two
days, but it was undoubtedly the most impressive display of rare phonographs and gramophones that
anyone had ever seen.
On arrival, delegates were handed a Welcome Pack, in a smart cloth carrier bag emblazoned with the
CLPGS name. In addition to the programme for the weekend, this contained a copy of RS 100, a catalogue
of the exhibition and a specially marked Parker ballpoint pen. RS 100 is a Reference Series booklet,
numbered out of sequence for obvious reasons, containing articles on the history of sound recording and of
the Society itself. The Friday evening reception was attended by the Mayor of Malvern, and, as has become
traditional in recent years, the Frank Andrews Award was presented to an unsuspecting member. On this
occasion, keeping the subject of the award in the dark had been particularly tricky, as he was a Board
Member – Keith Harrison, the man behind that RS 100, in addition to many other achievements.
Saturday was marked by two complementary presentations on the early days of the Gramophone Company
and its search for recording material, with a team of three from the EMI Archive Trust reading passages
from Fred Gaisberg’s and Sinkler Darby’s diaries of trips to Russia, India and Europe at the beginning of the
20 th century, and Will Prentice of the British Library following this with an account of Fred Tyler and the
company’s central Asian branch based in what is now Tbilisi just before the Great War of 1914. On a lighter
note, Ray Sturdy then told us about Vesta Tilley, the music hall male impersonator who was born in
Worcester, just up the road from Malvern, and our member Norman Field, himself no mean jazz
clarinettist, described the beginnings of jazz in Britain in 1919.
Another centenary event has been the production of two brand new 2-minute phonograph cylinders, one
recalling the 1888 recording of mass choirs singing Handel’s Israel in Egypt in the Crystal Palace, the other a
piece of operatic comedy in the Two Cat’s Duet. These were introduced, and played, by Tim Wood-
Woolley, assisted by Simon Heighes, who had arranged the recordings in Oxford, and acted as accompanist.
The dinner on Saturday night was followed by a short speech from the President, with toasts to the
Society’s leaders over the past 100 years; the event organisers, led by Brian Oakley; and the Society. Peter
Adamson then gave an entertaining programme of unexpected sounds on records. Sunday saw the AGM
and open forum, after which David Giovannoni of the American Phonograph Society gave a short address,
as did Christiane Hofer from Austria, representing GHT and bringing us a ‘present’ in the form of access to
the GHT database.
The Auction had attracted 150 lots and was well attended, with some high prices achieved. After lunch we
were entertained by Hotsy Totsy, a superb all-female jazz group.
As some of us waved goodbye, others stayed on for the Sunday night, some playing records on the
Society’s own Expert Minor gramophone, and final farewells were on Monday morning, with a universal
feeling of ‘What a wonderful weekend, what a pity it had to end so soon!’
The year 2019 has been celebrated by our Society as the centenary of our first meeting in London in 1919.
And while we have had a re-enactment of our first ever programme of Blue Amberols and a couple of other
London talks on the 1919 theme, it was the October conference at Malvern that we chose to be the centre
of our celebrations.
Brian Oakley pulled out every stop to make this a ‘Malvern’ to remember. The well-established pattern of
events was followed, but everything was a little bit special this time, starting with the venue. Previously,
we have used the ‘Shaw’ Suite at the Abbey hotel, a windowless room in which we were at times short of
space, but for the great occasion, we splashed out on the much larger Elgar Suite. Access to this part of the
building is awkward for the disabled, but that inconvenience apart, the Elgar suite made for a far superior
event, with room for all 120 guests at dinner on the Saturday night, and a separate space for the exhibition.
The Exhibition itself was a major event; in the past, the Society has put on displays with public viewing in
mind, but in practice attendance has mainly been from members and so this exhibition was unashamedly
focussed on unusual machines that collectors might never have seen before. It was only there for two
days, but it was undoubtedly the most impressive display of rare phonographs and gramophones that
anyone had ever seen.
On arrival, delegates were handed a Welcome Pack, in a smart cloth carrier bag emblazoned with the
CLPGS name. In addition to the programme for the weekend, this contained a copy of RS 100, a catalogue
of the exhibition and a specially marked Parker ballpoint pen. RS 100 is a Reference Series booklet,
numbered out of sequence for obvious reasons, containing articles on the history of sound recording and of
the Society itself. The Friday evening reception was attended by the Mayor of Malvern, and, as has become
traditional in recent years, the Frank Andrews Award was presented to an unsuspecting member. On this
occasion, keeping the subject of the award in the dark had been particularly tricky, as he was a Board
Member – Keith Harrison, the man behind that RS 100, in addition to many other achievements.
Saturday was marked by two complementary presentations on the early days of the Gramophone Company
and its search for recording material, with a team of three from the EMI Archive Trust reading passages
from Fred Gaisberg’s and Sinkler Darby’s diaries of trips to Russia, India and Europe at the beginning of the
20 th century, and Will Prentice of the British Library following this with an account of Fred Tyler and the
company’s central Asian branch based in what is now Tbilisi just before the Great War of 1914. On a lighter
note, Ray Sturdy then told us about Vesta Tilley, the music hall male impersonator who was born in
Worcester, just up the road from Malvern, and our member Norman Field, himself no mean jazz
clarinettist, described the beginnings of jazz in Britain in 1919.
Another centenary event has been the production of two brand new 2-minute phonograph cylinders, one
recalling the 1888 recording of mass choirs singing Handel’s Israel in Egypt in the Crystal Palace, the other a
piece of operatic comedy in the Two Cat’s Duet. These were introduced, and played, by Tim Wood-
Woolley, assisted by Simon Heighes, who had arranged the recordings in Oxford, and acted as accompanist.
The dinner on Saturday night was followed by a short speech from the President, with toasts to the
Society’s leaders over the past 100 years; the event organisers, led by Brian Oakley; and the Society. Peter
Adamson then gave an entertaining programme of unexpected sounds on records. Sunday saw the AGM
and open forum, after which David Giovannoni of the American Phonograph Society gave a short address,
as did Christiane Hofer from Austria, representing GHT and bringing us a ‘present’ in the form of access to
the GHT database.
The Auction had attracted 150 lots and was well attended, with some high prices achieved. After lunch we
were entertained by Hotsy Totsy, a superb all-female jazz group.
As some of us waved goodbye, others stayed on for the Sunday night, some playing records on the
Society’s own Expert Minor gramophone, and final farewells were on Monday morning, with a universal
feeling of ‘What a wonderful weekend, what a pity it had to end so soon!’
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The 2019 Bursary Awards
The second year of Bursary Awards were approved in summer 2019 by the Board of the City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society. The Board made two Awards from a broad field of applicants.
The first award went to Dr. Ferenc Szabó, a Musicologist based in Budapest, to fund research into the Hungarian activities of The Gramophone Company. This project will be undertaken both in Budapest and at the Hayes EMI archive. Given that this is an international project, and is expected to unearth fresh information for publication, he was awarded a grant of £1,000.
The second award went to Dr. Leslie McMurtry, a Lecturer in Radio Studies at the University of Salford in the UK. She sought support for a planned 9-episode podcast drama, which will mix reality and fiction involving discoveries on early phonograph recordings. It is felt this will reach new audiences and expand horizons. She has been awarded £500.
The Bursary programme is now an established and successful annual programme.
The first award went to Dr. Ferenc Szabó, a Musicologist based in Budapest, to fund research into the Hungarian activities of The Gramophone Company. This project will be undertaken both in Budapest and at the Hayes EMI archive. Given that this is an international project, and is expected to unearth fresh information for publication, he was awarded a grant of £1,000.
The second award went to Dr. Leslie McMurtry, a Lecturer in Radio Studies at the University of Salford in the UK. She sought support for a planned 9-episode podcast drama, which will mix reality and fiction involving discoveries on early phonograph recordings. It is felt this will reach new audiences and expand horizons. She has been awarded £500.
The Bursary programme is now an established and successful annual programme.
Top award for Society publication
"Vocalion Records" by the late Frank Andrews has been awarded a Certificate of Merit in the 2018 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence. The award was made in the category of Best Historical Research in Record Labels or General Recording Topics. Frank died in June 2015 at the age of 94.
The Association's awards will be presented at a ceremony on May 11th, 2019, during ARSC’s annual conference in Portland, Oregon USA. Additional information about the conference and the ARSC Awards for Excellence can be found at www.arsc-audio.org
In 2012 Frank received the ARSC award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research for his Beka Record Discography, produced with Bill Dean-Myatt and published by the Society as RS11 in the popular Reference Series. The Vocalion booklet - available as RS42 - has been updated with new information, together with articles by Tim Wood-Woolley and Keith Harrison.
Begun in 1991, the ARSC Awards are given to authors of books, articles or recording liner notes to recognise those publishing the very best work today in recorded sound research. In giving these awards, ARSC recognises the contributions of these individuals and aims to encourage others to emulate their high standards and to promote readership of their work. Two awards are presented annually in each category, for best history and best discography, and several others are acknowledged with Certificates of Merit. Awards are presented to both the authors and publishers of winning publications.
Winners are chosen by a committee consisting of three elected judges representing specific fields of study, two judges-at-large, the review editor of the ARSC Journal and the President or past President of ARSC.
The Association's awards will be presented at a ceremony on May 11th, 2019, during ARSC’s annual conference in Portland, Oregon USA. Additional information about the conference and the ARSC Awards for Excellence can be found at www.arsc-audio.org
In 2012 Frank received the ARSC award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research for his Beka Record Discography, produced with Bill Dean-Myatt and published by the Society as RS11 in the popular Reference Series. The Vocalion booklet - available as RS42 - has been updated with new information, together with articles by Tim Wood-Woolley and Keith Harrison.
Begun in 1991, the ARSC Awards are given to authors of books, articles or recording liner notes to recognise those publishing the very best work today in recorded sound research. In giving these awards, ARSC recognises the contributions of these individuals and aims to encourage others to emulate their high standards and to promote readership of their work. Two awards are presented annually in each category, for best history and best discography, and several others are acknowledged with Certificates of Merit. Awards are presented to both the authors and publishers of winning publications.
Winners are chosen by a committee consisting of three elected judges representing specific fields of study, two judges-at-large, the review editor of the ARSC Journal and the President or past President of ARSC.
The 2018 Bursary Awards
The first Richard Taylor Bursary awards were approved by the board of the City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society in the summer of 2018. The board made two awards, which reflected both the breadth and interest the applicants showed towards audio history.
The first award went to Malcolm McMillan, a professional musician and long-standing member of the CLPGS. He was looking for financial support to develop his idea for a website he characterised as “A discopaedia of wind music on wax”. His detailed proposal looked viable and was very much within the discographic publishing remit the Society has endeavoured to pursue over the past thirty-five or so years.
The second award was made to Dr Inja Stanovic of Huddersfield University. She was looking for funding to help cover the cost of a flight to Russia in order to undertake research on the Julius Block cylinder recordings held at Pushkin House, St Petersburg. The research she wishes to undertake is ground-breaking and, by making the award, the board indicated that this was a project it is eager to support.
The first award went to Malcolm McMillan, a professional musician and long-standing member of the CLPGS. He was looking for financial support to develop his idea for a website he characterised as “A discopaedia of wind music on wax”. His detailed proposal looked viable and was very much within the discographic publishing remit the Society has endeavoured to pursue over the past thirty-five or so years.
The second award was made to Dr Inja Stanovic of Huddersfield University. She was looking for funding to help cover the cost of a flight to Russia in order to undertake research on the Julius Block cylinder recordings held at Pushkin House, St Petersburg. The research she wishes to undertake is ground-breaking and, by making the award, the board indicated that this was a project it is eager to support.
The Society's new Chairman - Richard Scott (Oct 2017)
Those members who attended the Society’s Annual Meeting at Malvern in 2017 will know that Keith Harrison resigned as Chairman due to personal circumstances reducing the time he could devote to the position. I was subsequently elected at the meeting of the Board of Directors to succeed him and I am very pleased to accept the position. I will use every endeavour to justify the confidence shown in me and as Tim Wood-Woolley was also elected Vice Chairman at the meeting, you can be sure that I will be kept to the straight and narrow!
It is exactly 50 years since I first joined the Society as an ignorant youth surprised to find that there was an organisation for people who shared my new found enthusiasm for ‘old’ records and the machines that played them. Little did I realise that my chance encounter with West Midlands members Dennis Norton and John Dales would lead to the position I now have the honour to hold.
I am very fortunate to have made many firm friends through my membership, from whom I am constantly learning new and fascinating information about our hobby. The CLPGS is not only a respected learned body in its field, but it is also an enjoyable social forum for its members, new and established, and it is important that we strive to encourage both aspects. In the case of the latter, you will find participation in your local group functions very rewarding and the Directors will assist anyone wishing to establish a new group as well as helping existing groups with initiatives where we can.
This website continues to attract new members to the Society and we have just added a Blog feature. Please select the FORUM button on the Home Page and try it out as we hope that you will find it a helpful feature. An active blog will also help to increase our visibility as we endeavour to accelerate our growth in the important period leading up to our Centenary in 2019. Please feel free to contact me at chairman@clpgs.org.uk or on 07880 740508 with any queries, comments or ideas you may have at any time.
Richard Scott
It is exactly 50 years since I first joined the Society as an ignorant youth surprised to find that there was an organisation for people who shared my new found enthusiasm for ‘old’ records and the machines that played them. Little did I realise that my chance encounter with West Midlands members Dennis Norton and John Dales would lead to the position I now have the honour to hold.
I am very fortunate to have made many firm friends through my membership, from whom I am constantly learning new and fascinating information about our hobby. The CLPGS is not only a respected learned body in its field, but it is also an enjoyable social forum for its members, new and established, and it is important that we strive to encourage both aspects. In the case of the latter, you will find participation in your local group functions very rewarding and the Directors will assist anyone wishing to establish a new group as well as helping existing groups with initiatives where we can.
This website continues to attract new members to the Society and we have just added a Blog feature. Please select the FORUM button on the Home Page and try it out as we hope that you will find it a helpful feature. An active blog will also help to increase our visibility as we endeavour to accelerate our growth in the important period leading up to our Centenary in 2019. Please feel free to contact me at chairman@clpgs.org.uk or on 07880 740508 with any queries, comments or ideas you may have at any time.
Richard Scott
