Saturday 13 June 2009

EMI House: Manchester Square, London.









There was a time, believe it or not, when you could go and view (from the rear) the location of the photo on the Beatles' first album cover. You can still go and view the location of the photo on the Beatles' last album (recorded) cover, and even do what you will upon it. Anyway, the whole first Beatles' album cover block has been demolished - but, EMI, as far as I know, took the "stairwell" to Hammersmith and installed it in their new HQ. Insane, but good if true, though it may well be bullshit. Anyway again, the first pic here is my holiday snap from 1986 - the lower balcony the one that the Fabs found themselves upon (Carumba I can't stand alliteration). More interesting - they took a change of clothes for the 1969 shot. Why?
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5 comments:

  1. chainedandperfumed14 June 2009 at 23:53

    According to Christopher Sandford's McCartney bio, in 1994, "the building's internal floor railings...were haggled over like fragments of the true Cross. (The banisters and an entire EMI staircase would, in the end, become McCartney's property.)" So McCartney got some element of the building---maybe EMI kept the Please Please Me stairs.

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  2. Ringo Dolenz20 November 2011 at 13:26

    I would have liked to have seen that! How did I miss it? I was right there at the Wallace Collection... Ah well, another time, perhaps.

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  3. Anonymous17 January 2012 at 22:24

    Ex EMI employee here! We didn't take the stairs, only the section of the rail (the whole piece though - top wood and glass panel) that they're leaning on. This was installed in the 1st floor cafe of Brook Green, Hammersmith office when we moved from Manchester Square, and again relocated in 2009 when we moved to Wrights Lane (off Kensington High Street).

    It's still there, in the reception area, mounted next to the front door. :)

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  4. Anonymous4 March 2015 at 17:51

    Very interesting. Actually I collect old weekly music papers and such, and photos of the EMI Manchester Square building tended to come up regularly due to many bands and artists posing for shots around it. In fact I even noticed in a pic, through the window in the back of the building, a stack of those same red chairs that they used at EMI/Abbey road studios, so this must've been the quintessential EMI chair at the time....

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  5. Unknown17 February 2018 at 07:54

    Paul has the banister. A friend of mine has seen it on the 2nd floor of his studio.

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