27 Nov 2017
Ramport Studios gets historic landmark plaque
Ramport, The Who’s old recording studio in Thessaly Road, Battersea, south London finally got a green plaque last week after campaigning from local artist Brian Barnes, MBE (above, holding the plaque) who originally proposed the idea back in 2011 to Wandsworth Borough Council, to commemorate such an historic location. The only problem was that no-one in the Council had any idea who the current owner was! After six years of searching records the owner was finally tracked down.
Say Brian, “My friend in Battersea Power Station Community Group, Keith Garner found the owner, gained permission and instructed placement on the wall.”
The Battersea Power Station Community Group is an action group formed in 1983 to . . . “ensure that their views were represented and to make sure that local people benefited from any new use in terms of jobs and facilities and that traffic to and from the building was not to the detriment of the area. Since then the community group has met every month and has been extremely active in criticising the proposals that have been put forward, and in promoting more viable alternative uses for the building.”
Brian Barnes has painted several murals in the Battersea area including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly aka The Battersea Mural on Battersea Bridge Road in 1976 and the Violette Szabo mural in Stockwell (2001). He is currently in the process of painting a mural in Thessaly Road celebrating the history of the local area including Keith Moon with his children’s zebra crossing, the Battersea lavender fields, the Sopworth Camel plane, the munitions factory and Pink Floyd’s inflatable pig over the Power Station. Assisting him on this Herculean task is artist Morganico, whose dad was one of the original carpenters working at Ramport studios in the early 1970s building speaker cabinets and sound-proof walls. The mural can be seen at 189 Carey Gardens, between Thessally Road and Union Road.
In 1973 Keith Moon backed a campaign to have a pedestrian crossing installed to help children safely cross the road due to the high number of road accidents involving children in Thessaly Road. He took on the role of lollipop man and stopped the traffic whilst the children carried out their protest.
Ramport Studios was built in an old church hall in the early 1970s specifically so that The Who could record their landmark album Quadrophenia there. Supertramp’s Crime of the Century and Judas Priest’s Sin After Sin were also recorded there. In 1978 the video for The Who’s single ‘Who Are You’ was filmed at Ramport. These days the building is used as a doctor’s surgery.
More about Battersea Power Station Community Group here
More about Ramport Studios here
Hi I was born on the Patmore estate. We used to go to the corner shop called Thompson’s in 1966. I was born in 1955. My brothers knew The Who were there. I was too young. I love looking at old London, to see how it has changed. It’s a shame. When I was young it was a nice estate but now there too much crime.
I believe that Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak album was also recorded there
I visited the doctors practice in early 2016.. the first person I encountered there didn’t understand why I wanted to see the place.. but I persisted and the next lot of people did. It was so great to stand in those rooms, still clearly decked out for what was intended. Powerful place. I could hear Bell Boy pounding out…
I was part of a group callled Bethnal in the 70’s and recorded part our first album for vertigo records at Ramport studios. The other studio we used was Ridge farm in Sussex both are now sadly used for other purposes but will always have great memories of these 2 historic places.
I lived in Thessaly Road, directly opposite the Church Hall building. I was born there and left late sixties. The terraced house was compulsorily purchased for the New Covent Garden Market. I have very strong memories of the hall as it was used as my Scout Hut for 5 or 6 years. it was also used for school plays and events from the old St Georges School. A German family lived in the house for a while and I played with the son, who wore Leiderhausen at the time! Corunna Road was also my cricket pitch, football pitch and general games area.
I was born in 138 Thessaly Road from 1951 till we moved for the Covent Garden market.
I also went to St George’s, we lived directly opposite, just two doors down from the arch
I remember meeting Lionel Bart in the public bar of the butchers arms pub, which used to be at the bottom of Thessaly road. He had come to meet Keith Moon, as the Who used the pub when they were recording. Lionel bought everyone a drink even though he had recently been declared bankrupt!
I am leading a Brian Barnes Walk on Saturday 15th July 2023 at 12.00 from Wandsworth Road end of Thessaly Road to Battersea Power Station and will stop at he plaque. It is part of Happy Streets Festival
I went to old St George’s and new St George’s school. My uncle was a porter on Patmore . John GILLAM. The hall was called St Andrews Hall I believe. We were cross when it got sold . My cousin Little John GILLAM use to go to buy loose cigarettes. Players number 6. Patmore estate was a great place to play around when I was a kid. My Nan lived in Dury house and my uncle lived in Beattie House. He drank in the Dewdrop.
I lived in Brady House and rehearsed in the hall when The Who bought it. We used to really bug the hell out of them. Keith was always brilliant as was Kim his wife. The rest wanted us gone. Keith even went on demonstrations to close Thessaly Road as a cut through between Battersea and Wandsworth Road. The Butchers Arms we played at might have been our first but cant remember
I worked at Ramport during the recording of Quadrophenia. After that was completed, a producer named John Alcock and I and Will Reid-Dick, engineer, recorded a Scottish band called Bandit. The Earl Slick Band, Thin Lizzy and then went to Record Plant, Sausalito to record Commander Cody.
Magical around Thessaly road then. I found the kids, and Chad, Jimmy, for Ethan Russell’s album insert booklet. Janey married Simon and I introduced them.
Hi Georgiana, good to see you on here and many thanks for your insights into Thessaly Road days.
Me and my brother went to St George’s school in the 1970s and lived in Aston House at the Wandsworth road end. I would remember walking past the studio entrance door and on occasions the door would open and we would look in to see what was going on inside, it looked so cool and modern and I remember a lady sitting at a desk . On one occasion me and my brother Barry were walking across from the school after staying on late and we were approached by a guy who stopped us and asked if we noticed anyone stealing a guitar from his car of which was a luxury motor. We said no and he smiled and said if you find it I will give you £20. We said ok and walked off, my brother said to me with a big grin you know who that was don’t you ” it was Roger Daltrey . I wonder if he ever got his guitar back.
Hi, my name is Mark, I lived on Thessaly road, Thessaly house and that is me in the photo at the front, I remember it well, with all, our Mums out on the road blocking the cars,