Strawberry Studios

Strawberry Studios was a recording studio in Stockport, historically in Cheshire, now within Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1968, it operated until the early 1990s. Strawberry Studios was used by a range of artists including the Ramones, 10cc, Joy Division, Neil Sedaka, Barclay James Harvest, the Smiths, the Stone Roses, the Moody Blues, Paul McCartney, Wax and Cliff Richard.

The facility was originally called Inter-City Studios and located above a music store in the town centre. In early 1968 it was bought by Peter Tattersall, a former road manager for Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. Tattersall invited Eric Stewart, then lead guitarist and singer of the Mindbenders and later a member of 10cc, to join him as a partner in July 1968. The pair moved to larger premises at No. 3 Waterloo Road in October, with Stewart choosing the studio's new name in honour of his favourite song by the Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever".

Within months songwriter and future 10cc member Graham Gouldman joined the pair as an investor. The studio was used extensively by Stewart, Gouldman and the other two musicians who would join them to form 10cc, Lol Creme and Kevin Godley.

In a 1976 interview, Stewart described the studio's early days:

"It was a very tiny studio with some stereo equipment and the walls lined with egg boxes to provide sound insulation. There was a makeshift sort of control desk tied together with sellotape and string, but it was good enough for what I wanted to do, and it was the only studio near Manchester. What I wanted to do was to make some demos of some songs I'd written – put them down myself and then try to sell them. At that time I was infected with the idea of becoming a recording engineer and building a studio where I could develop my own ideas as to what a studio should be like."

Gouldman was equally enthusiastic:

"Ever since I'd started songwriting I'd always wanted to have a studio of my own to work in and to make my own demos. We used to tell ourselves that one day the Beatles would record there – and eventually Paul McCartney did. Gradually the studio did get a name for being a good place to work."

The partners in the business continued to upgrade equipment at the studios, and in December 1969 a deal was struck with US producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz of Super K Productions to book the studios solidly for three months to record bubblegum songs, using the talents of Gouldman, Stewart, Godley and Creme.