Seek out the BBC Maida Vale Studios

Built in 1909 as the 'Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club', The BBC's Maida Vale Studios are still going strong, despite rumours of their closure back in 2007.


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The home of the John Peel Sessions, and huge amounts of other output from BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 from 1946 to present still stand on Delaware Road in Maida Vale, and are still the home of much of the BBC's live music output.

Countless top pop bands have used Maida Vale, and even the Beatles used studio 5 a number of times in the sixties to record BBC radio sessions. Other visitors include David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, The White Stripes, Belle and Sebastian and Hefner, and just about anyone else you can think of from modern pop music. That's right! Massive bands like Hefner!

The space that Zane Lowe annoyingly refers to as 'Maida Vegas' (cringe), consists of a number of areas including: MV1, one of the largest recording spaces available in the UK, MV2 a rehearsal space for the BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus, MV3 a large studio used for BBC Radio 2 session recordings and live audience shows, MV4, a smaller studio which was home to the Peel sessions, MV5 often used as the Jo Whiley Live Lounge and MV6, a drama studio used by BBC Radio 4.

The studios are visible off Delaware Road London, W9, but sadly aren't open to tours, unless your author just hasn't researched enough. For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maida_Vale_Studios