A Mark In Time

Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Hoops McCann on September 27, 2008, 12:29:49 AM

Title: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Hoops McCann on September 27, 2008, 12:29:49 AM
I have no idea how, who, or what happened to the original thread, but it seems to have been deleted somehow.

Anyway, here is the original link:

http://www.lockedesign.co.uk/locke.swf

go to Portfolio > British Grove Studio, London
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: shangri la 1 on September 27, 2008, 01:04:15 AM
 ;) What an amazing building!! We have only had glimpses of it from Mark's sources, but the design features are brilliant. One photo looks like an interior view from a space ship. The plan looks very complicated also. Interesting the brief to the Architect was that if it didn't work 100% then it didn't work at all. I don't think Mark would have it any other way.  :) Thanks for the post Dan - No wonder everyone who comments about the studio raves about it!!  :D
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jacki on September 27, 2008, 07:59:37 PM
Yes, as I said in the previous thread that went missing, I wouldn't mind living in the bath at British Grove. Or in any other room in the building! ;)
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Ingo on September 28, 2008, 08:58:46 AM
No wonder that he does so much recording these days :)
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Fieneke2 on September 28, 2008, 04:05:13 PM
Hey Jacki, I wouldn't mind to be in the kitchen and prepare a big pan of delicious, healthy vegetable soup for Mark and the men!  ;D

The outsdie doesn't look so nice, but the inside looks beautiful! I would love to walk around there! ;)

Fieneke
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on September 28, 2008, 07:52:31 PM
The building is quite interesting, I see it from the outside (from the inside has to be GREAT) and it
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: knopfling on September 30, 2008, 06:15:38 AM
Dan, thanks for finding this. It's a beautiful building. No wonder MK wants to play around there some more so quickly.
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: dustyvalentino on September 30, 2008, 10:34:24 AM
Beautiful place. Must have cost MK an arm and a leg to build that in central London, hopefully he is making a bit back through recording sessions.
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: joanzimm on September 30, 2008, 01:05:49 PM
What a beautiful studio :o  Does anyone know why he waited so long to build his own studio?  Just curious.
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on October 02, 2008, 12:57:22 AM
Dusty, the British Grove Studio is not in Central London!!!!

It
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: dustyvalentino on October 02, 2008, 11:13:17 AM
It's in zone 2 on the tube map, I would still class it as central London, as opposed to greater London.  :)
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on October 02, 2008, 11:33:54 AM
It's in zone 2 on the tube map, I would still class it as central London, as opposed to greater London.  :)

Maybe Martina who lives in London, or other londoners or british here can help us with this, but as far as I know, Central London is the zone where all the big monuments are, like the tower of London, London Bridge, The Monument etc etc. I think that district is called "City of London" or something like that, and often mentioned as Central London, as it is more or less the centre. The Studio is in Chiswick, in the west of London, quite far from the centre  ;D

It
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: marky49 on October 02, 2008, 06:13:46 PM
The term Central London refers to the districts of London, England which are considered closest to the centre. There is no conventional definition, nor any official one, for the entire area that can be called "central London". Central London covers about 10 square miles (26 square kilometres) on both areas of north-south River Thames. Central London can be split into three main sections, the City, the West End, and South Bank. Quote Wiki

I would NOT consider Chiswick as central London as I always use the bus map of London transportation as a reference. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/Central-London-Day-Bus-Map.pdf
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: marky49 on October 02, 2008, 06:20:01 PM
Oh, btw for not Londoners  ;) Chiswick is spoken Chisick -> without the 'w' :o
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: shangri la 1 on October 02, 2008, 11:45:05 PM
 :) Thanks for the link to the map Marky49.

 My first focus on the map gave me a small insight into the influence this city has had on Mark's entire musical/writing journey. It was in the North-East corner of Hyde Park - there they were right alongside of each other. "speaker
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: dustyvalentino on October 03, 2008, 11:09:32 AM
Well, I would still call it Central London, but I think we are in danger of going off at a tangent, my point was that it is still a very expensive part of the country, and it's not going to be a hell of a lot cheaper to get tradesmen to work in Chiswick than "Central" London.  :)
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on October 03, 2008, 12:06:58 PM
Well, I would still call it Central London, but I think we are in danger of going off at a tangent, my point was that it is still a very expensive part of the country, and it's not going to be a hell of a lot cheaper to get tradesmen to work in Chiswick than "Central" London.  :)

Actually, as my friend who lives in Chelsea told me, Chiswick is more expensive than Chelsea, that IS really expensive...

I found an old picture of the building that was there before MK bought it and build his studio, it looks it was an old factory of instruments (like accordions)
http://www.concertina.com/chambers/lachenal-production/images/production-fig02.htm (http://www.concertina.com/chambers/lachenal-production/images/production-fig02.htm)

Take a look at the story http://www.concertina.com/chambers/lachenal-production/ (http://www.concertina.com/chambers/lachenal-production/)

I also found the website of the company who designed the logo for the studio, and also the SHangrila record and Private investigations compilations designs
http://www.mystery.co.uk/what/Identity/British_Grove_Studios.html (http://www.mystery.co.uk/what/Identity/British_Grove_Studios.html)

A little article with some pictures http://www.rockinglondon.com/markknopfler.html (http://www.rockinglondon.com/markknopfler.html)

When you have been in a place, it
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on October 06, 2008, 05:11:31 PM
Let
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jacki on October 07, 2008, 12:33:10 AM
Thank you, jbaent, for these little vids. I'd seen them before but the part with MK watching the little race cars, and the expression on his face, puts me on the floor every time!! Nice to see a semi tour of British Grove also.
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Pottel on October 07, 2008, 05:16:41 PM
hey julio, now that i saw your picture, i think i can say we have met, in amsterdam...
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on October 07, 2008, 06:10:27 PM
hey julio, now that i saw your picture, i think i can say we have met, in amsterdam...


Really? Where? How? I can
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Ian Lewis on October 08, 2008, 11:08:12 AM
That second video was great jbaent :D  Haven't seen it before, thank-you!!!
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Hophead on October 13, 2008, 06:36:40 PM
Is it just me...or does anyone else here see a parallel between the style used in the studio...and the cover photo of the first DS album?     
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Pottel on October 14, 2008, 09:39:32 AM
pls ellaborate...
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on October 14, 2008, 01:45:50 PM
I
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Hophead on October 14, 2008, 06:33:40 PM
Thats too funny!! Mark looks like a kid in a candy shop with the car controls in his hands. His eyes just lit up! ;D
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Hophead on October 15, 2008, 06:47:26 AM
pls ellaborate...

I guess Pottel that the clean contemporary lines of the studio remind me of those in the photo.
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: delco on October 18, 2008, 05:42:50 AM
nice pics.... thanks for posting!  :)
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Fieneke2 on October 21, 2008, 09:40:50 PM
THANK YOU Very much Jbaent for these video's! I saw the first one before, but that is such a long time ago!

It sure is great to see Mark so relaxed and playing with the toys!  :P

Fieneke
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Fieneke2 on February 16, 2009, 09:30:44 PM
I wanted to tell about the British Grove Studio at my site too and found the first video above the interview with Kenny at Youtube. But not the second one and I knew I had seen it! So I went here and see that also the first one can be watched but the second one not!

Now my question...........perhaps a stupid one, you all know I can't always ask intelligent things (you perhaps all would get bored then  :o ;D),  why can we watch the first one and not the second one? It says it is not allowed because of some rights but watching the first isn't a problem!

Does one of you know if there is another video where the studio can be seen?

Fieneke

Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on February 21, 2009, 12:38:21 PM
Now my question...........perhaps a stupid one, you all know I can't always ask intelligent things (you perhaps all would get bored then  :o ;D),  why can we watch the first one and not the second one? It says it is not allowed because of some rights but watching the first isn't a problem!

That
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Fieneke2 on February 21, 2009, 04:04:00 PM
Ok thank you for explaining! It means that in a while the first part might not be available either?  It's my opinion that those videos don't do any harm either, but what do I know? ::)

I can imagine that official DVD's which can be bought in the shops or online can't be posted at YouTube, BUT interviews like these or copies of TV programs shouldn't be a problem. In fact by sharing and showing video's of artists, people who don't know much about them yet, might get interested in other music of them and buy more songs!  ;D

Fieneke
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: shangri la 1 on March 23, 2010, 10:04:14 PM
Looks like one of the builders took a little footage over the period that they were building British Grove in 2003. No sound though due to copyright.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obcb8KLqPVU
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Pottel on March 23, 2010, 10:18:26 PM
interesting.
wonder if even mark saw it in all these stages.
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Waterline Man on March 24, 2010, 11:55:58 AM
I went down there for a look when I was over for the Hurlingham gig,so, just in case someone is going there with great expectations,theres not a lot there except a garage type door ::)

I asked a few locals who were coming back from lunch where it was & they werent too sure either but they said that they had seen people standing outside the door with musical instruments from time to time - I asked them if they knew if it was MK's studio & it was like "who" ::).Its not sign posted either so unless you knew where you were going you'd never know it was there.A girl opened the door when I was there & when I asked her was it BGS she looked at me like I had 2 heads :o :o - I'd imagine she was sworn to secrecy :disbelief

It was nice to have seen it but I wouldnt be running back unless MK was giving me a guided tour :o :o    
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: dustyvalentino on March 24, 2010, 12:05:23 PM
Looking at that video it is clear that it must have cost MK a fortune, quite apart from all the state of the art and valuable vintage recording gear he has there, God knows how much construction cost.  :o

I hope it's still busy with sessions and he's managing to pay the bills. :)
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Rollergirl on March 24, 2010, 12:15:08 PM
so glad he spent the money on that instead of a yacht!
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: IrisRose on March 25, 2010, 08:33:10 PM
I just tried to download the video using KeepVid.    It has always been a free program.   No longer.    You must pay for and download the program now.    Zut!
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: dustyvalentino on March 25, 2010, 08:40:03 PM
I just tried to download the video using KeepVid.    It has always been a free program.   No longer.    You must pay for and download the program now.    Zut!

Think Realplayer lets you download them, and it's free.
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on March 26, 2010, 10:04:05 AM
its such a nice video!
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: man on a track on March 26, 2010, 10:25:52 AM
I just tried to download the video using KeepVid.    It has always been a free program.   No longer.    You must pay for and download the program now.    Zut!

Try "Free Studio Manager" !  :)
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: Al on March 26, 2010, 01:08:27 PM
I don't know if anyone have seen this on utube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DrFletchGF1
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: GennT on March 26, 2010, 02:39:06 PM
Thanks a lot Al for the link to Guy's Channel.I personally never knew that even though I spend a lot of time on youtube,These videos seem to be from the Deluxe Get Lucky Box set dvd that we all were wanting so much.I really enjoyed watching!
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on March 27, 2010, 08:45:07 AM
Is that video related in any way to the British Grove Studio thread?

The British Grove Studio building video is quite nice, and gives a clear idea of what Mk wanted, it was a great investment of money, so it looks we have MK for a long time, or he is preparing himself for future as a bussinessman  ;D
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: jbaent on September 23, 2016, 09:12:35 AM
I went down there for a look when I was over for the Hurlingham gig,so, just in case someone is going there with great expectations,theres not a lot there except a garage type door ::)

I asked a few locals who were coming back from lunch where it was & they werent too sure either but they said that they had seen people standing outside the door with musical instruments from time to time - I asked them if they knew if it was MK's studio & it was like "who" ::).Its not sign posted either so unless you knew where you were going you'd never know it was there.A girl opened the door when I was there & when I asked her was it BGS she looked at me like I had 2 heads :o :o - I'd imagine she was sworn to secrecy :disbelief

It was nice to have seen it but I wouldnt be running back unless MK was giving me a guided tour :o :o   

Checking this old thread something just came to mind...

Last tour, I went with a friend to have a little walk around the studio and have a pint in the local pub nearby British Grove Studio where they use to go as well, all very discreet, and when taking a picture, a neighboor on his bike stopped in front of us and told us:

Hey, do you know who lives there? Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits!!!!!

We smiled and pretended to be surprised and thanked the neigboor, and left to the pub. It was quite funny the way he stopped and spotted the studio for us!
Title: Re: British Grove Studios Pictures
Post by: superval99 on September 23, 2016, 09:33:48 AM
We were in London for a wedding a couple of years ago and as we had an afternoon to spare we decided to investigate BG.   We caught the bus to Chiswick and asked the way to British Grove (the street name).   There was a garage on the corner and someone remarkably like MK was looking at a car - it was a bit of an old banger, so probably not MK!    Anyway we continued  down the street, which was lined with the backs of houses and eventually came to the building, which was obviously BG studio.   The sliding doors were open and a window cleaner was cleaning the windows.  We stopped to talk to him and asked if anything was happening inside.   He said there wasn't anyone there, but when we looked through the doors there were people inside and we could see the harmonium.