Portland Studios

British recording studios and mastering room, based in London, UK. Name variations: "Portland Recording Studio", "Portland Recording Studios", "Portland Studio, London". Use the parent "Portland Recording Studios Ltd." for acetates stating this on their vinyl labels. In July 1978, Chas Chandler, bassist of group The Animals and later music businessman, bought the I.B.C. Studios and renamed it Portland Recording Studios – after its street address. I.B.C. (International Broadcasting Company) was an independent and commercial radio broadcaster, and the studios in 35 Portland Place were set up in the 1950s to originally record radio broadcasts, but soon became a recording studio, hired by bands and labels. After running it for four years, in 1983 Chandler sold it to the controversial music impresario Don Arden (father of Sharon Osbourne, and father-in-law of Ozzy Osbourne), installing son David Arden (3) as manager. The studios were very outdated by this time, and much of the income being generated was by another company who ran half the facility known as RadioTracks, and by well known mastering/cutting engineer George Peckham (aka "Porky" of "Porky Prime Cuts") whose cutting rooms were at the back of the building on the ground floor. Arden had acquired shares in RadioTracks through buying out Chandler, without the knowledge of the other directors. Following various unrelated legal battles with which both Don Arden and son David Arden were involved in at the time, taking their attention and funds away from the core business operations (running the studio and the labels Jet Records, Barn Records Ltd, amongst others), the Portland Recording Studios fell into large arrears with its freeholder and owner of the building, the Prudential, who eventually forced eviction of Arden's business interests from the premises. The lacquer cutting equipment included a Neumann VMS 70 lathe with Neumann VG74 amplification. The studio thus closed circa 1985, soon afterwards being sold and converted into offices.