Roger Waters shares reason for his ‘powerful attachment’ to Abbey Road Studios

An attachment to Abbey Road Studios was made thanks to the “great feeling of family” while working there, according to Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters.

The veteran songwriter recorded several albums at the London-based studio, including The Dark Side of the Moon. Waters, who was also songwriter for the legendary progressive rock band, has since shared why he felt so at home in the studio. In an interview with Uncunt Magazine from 2003, the Breathe and Wish You Were Here songwriter shared that there were cricket games, shrines to The Beatles, and a feeling of camaraderie which other studios could not offer the group. Waters would go on to record part of his solo album, Amused to Death, at Abbey Road Studios.

Waters said: “We were contracted to EMI and we recorded in Abbey Road willy-nilly. There was always a great atmosphere there, a very great feeling of family. We used to have a cricket match every year against Abbey Road. 

“We had some extraordinary teams – Chris Spedding in his green alligator, high-heeled boots, Roy Harper inevitably out in the first couple of balls who would go and sit somewhere on a hillside and sulk…

“I developed a powerful attachment to Abbey Road. Studio 2 has been kept as a shrine to The Beatles. It’s still exactly the same, although the control room has changed completely. I went back there a few weeks ago. Hopefully, they’ll keep it like that. It’s a great room.”

Pink Floyd’s use of Abbey Road Studios paired them with Alan Parsons, who had worked at the studio as a recording engineer for The Beatles’ Abbey Road and Let it Be albums. He had also served as assistant tape operator on Pink Floyd’s previous release, Atom Heart Mother.

Recording the album at the studio took around sixty days and the band were praised by staff for their “very efficient” way of recording. Chris Thomas, a mix supervisor for The Dark Side of the Moon, shared: “There were only two or three tracks of drums when we came to mixing it.

“Depending on the song, there would be one or two tracks of guitar, and these would include the solo and the rhythm guitar parts. One track for keyboard, one track for bass, and one or two sound effects tracks. They had been very, very efficient in the way they’d worked.”

Though the band were praised for their efficiency, a few breaks in recording were reported, with the group often tuning in to watch Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Waters would also occasionally break from recording the album to watch Arsenal F.C., the football club he supported, play.

The Dark Side of the Moon remains one of the most universally acclaimed albums in history, while Studio 2 in Abbey Road Studios remains a shrine to The Beatles.