STUDIO
THE PRODUCERS: JOE MEEK To open this series about Great Producers, MARTIN JERRAM examines the life and career of the godfather of modern recording and the Patron Saint of Home Recordists everywhere: Joe Meek.
A true pioneering recording genius: Joe Meek
In the world of recording, Joe Meek’s pioneering and unconventional recording techniques have infl uenced and informed many of the modern recording methods we use in the studio today. Born in 1929 in rural Gloucestershire, Joe moved up to London in the mid 1950s and within a short space of time he enjoyed a growing reputation in the music industry as an engineer able to capture the latest pop sounds! At this time, British studios had a deserved reputation for being a bit stuffy; engineers usually wore shirts, ties and white lab coats and adhered rigidly to the same tried and trusted recording methods which were designed to capture the sounds of the day as naturally and accurately as possible. This was at the time of the fi rst American pop Invasion and it is fair to say that the music from the other side of the Atlantic at that time sounded much more exciting if maybe a little less hi-fi ! Working at IBC Studios Meek’s uncanny ability to capture that ‘American Sound’ broke the mould. Intentionally over-recording instruments and overloading the tape to create subtle overdrive effects Meek created exciting vocal performances, he would
close-mic drums to get much more upfront drum sounds rather than the drums sounding like an apologetic cardboard box in the background. He would also take apart tape machines (which was strictly forbidden) and re-bias them to obtain new and brighter sounds. Meek’s incredible imagination also meant that he was not afraid to suggest strange things in the studio. In 1956 he recorded a single for Anne Shelton called Lay Down Your Arms whereby the producer requested the sound of marching which would require taking a portable unit out to record the sound of soldiers marching. Joe disappeared and returned shortly after with a cardboard box fi lled with stones which he got someone to shake. By the time Joe had worked his magic Lay Down Your Arms had the marching backdrop the producer required.
Star Struck
After his stint IBC Meek accepted a job with Jazz producer Dennis Preston to start a brand new recording studio which turned into the still functioning Lansdowne Road in Holland Park, London. Joe was chief engineer but he also went on to design the studio and most of the gear in it! Dubbed ‘The House Of Shattering Glass’ by the industry in awe of the amazing sounds emanating from within, Lansdowne was Meek’s laboratory and playground where the electronics buff experimented with building his compressors and equalizers as well as home-made reverb units made out of gate springs and electric heaters. After a short spell at Lansdowne Road Meek decided it was time to open his own recording studio but a previous bad experience trying to run his own record company saw Meek resolve to try a different
approach. Joe found a two story fl at above a leather goods shop in Holloway Road, London where he set up home and more importantly his recording studio. Joe was also confi dent that he now had the
pop production although the increasingly paranoid Meek was always suspicious that the record companies that released his product where also stealing his tricks. Whilst clearly a talented man, genius often
Meek built his own reverb units from gate springs and electric heaters…
experience to fi nd his own artists, manage them and produce them at which point he would license the major labels of the day (EMI, Decca and Pye) to release the music for him. For the next six years, working from his small home studio, Joe churned out hit records like they were going out of fashion. The highlight came in 1962 when his composition Telstar by the Tornados - a futuristic sounding ode to the recently launched TV satellite of the same name - not only made number one in Britain but also achieved the fi rst number one by a British group in the USA. Many other releases and hits followed throughout the next few years whilst Meek continued to push the boundaries of modern
Joe Meek was here…
The list of Joe Meeks inventions and British Recording firsts is almost endless but these are the most important ones: Close mic’ing of drums and instruments.
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Creating phasing effects by utilizing two tape machines. Extensive use of overdubbing.
• Wah effects on guitars! First successful home recordist.
First to use a bathroom as an echo chamber. Layering instruments to create new sounds.
Unprecedented ‘on record’ volume and bass levels, required the bribing of cutting engineers!
Suggested Listening I Hear A New World (1960) – Joe Meek and the Blue Men: An unreleased instrumental concept album about the moon! Now available on CD… Start here!!!
comes at a price and stories of Joe’s private life have since almost overshadowed the successes of his career. By February 1967 it was all over when Joe lost his battle with his many demons and ended his own life. Imagine what he might have achieved had he lived with the advent of Psychedelic and Progressive Rock just around the corner where his talents and futuristic vision could have really fl ourished. Joe Meek was a man truly ahead of his time. PM
A rough tough east London boy, Martin Jerram writes and records music in his Suffolk-based studio, masterminding the career of psychedlic pop outfi t Deep Wilson.
www.deepwilson.com
38 pickup
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