Ramshackle Canonbury studio where Dire Straits and The Police recorded set for conversion into house
With its narrow, ramshackle façade, remarkable mainly for its rundown appearance in the increasingly well-heeled neighbourhood of Newington Green, you would never guess that some of the top tracks of the 20th century were recorded at 2a Grosvenor Avenue.
But originally built as a recording studio in 1970, the building was where everyone from Squeeze and Elvis Costello to The Damned and Sham 69 went to record.
Dire Straits recorded the demo for Sultans of Swing at Pathway Studios in 1977, with The Police laying down their debut single, Fall Out there in the same year.
John Cleese even recorded voiceovers for business training films there in the early Eighties.
There was a studio and control room on the ground floor with rickety old stairs leading to an office on the second level.
Lee Thompson from Madness recalled that “it was just down a cobbled back alley. Unassuming, nothing flash, nothing big; just an oversized garage with a couple of speakers and soundproofed rooms. It was very rough and ready.”
Having closed and fallen into disrepair, the dilapidated studio was converted into two apartments in 2004.
Now the skinny building has been snapped up by Nathan Khider – ex-Traitors star and founder of his eponymous property consultancy – for £400,000 with plans to turn it into a one-bedroom home.
“I’m excited to have this property on the books and will try to preserve the studio’s personality,” said Khider.
“It’s home to a lot of legendary recordings and I hope to do it justice, making it a stylish and comfortable one-bedroom home.”
Celebrating the property and its location, Khider’s planned refurbishment will include retaining and restoring the original brickwork, adding another floor – subject to planning permission – and refreshing the interiors.
He said: “The property currently needs a lot of work. But after we’ve refurbished it, it could be sold for £500,000.
“If we add the extra floor – a desirable trait in the London market – we could even increase its value by another £150,000.”
It’s most recent inhabitant was indie musician Jamie Perrett, former Babyshambles bandmate of Pete Doherty, who moved on from the live-work space in April this year.
He closed out his time at the studio with a poignant Instagram post: “It’s with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Pathway Studios, our musical home (and home for some) for the last 16 years! So many wonderful memories of the musical kind from thousands of hours rehearsals, recording and writing. It’s also good to move on. Looking forward to the next adventure!”