Apartment where Band Aid, Madonna and Queen recorded selling for £2.5m

Going for a song: Penthouse apartment that was once music studios where Band Aid recorded Do They Know It’s Christmas and Bob Marley, Queen and Madonna also worked is up for sale for £2.5m

  • A 17th century chapel in London’s Notting Hill converted into a recording studio in the 1980s is now flats 
  • Island Records set up SARM Studios at the church, with Led Zeppelin also among the names to use the site 
  • It is home to nine luxury apartments, with a £2.5m two-bed penthouse with 1,800sq ft of space on the market

A penthouse apartment that once saw the the likes of Band Aid, Bob Marley, Queen and Madonna record hit singles within its walls has gone up for sale for £2.5million. 

A 17th century converted chapel in London’s Notting Hill was used as a recording studio in the 1980s, before it was converted into nine luxury flats in 2018.

It was deconsecrated in 1969 for Island Records to begin using the site to record some of the biggest acts of the 20th century. It quickly changed hands to SARM Studios, where other huge bands continued to use the site. 

In 2017, dozens of musicians collaborated in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, recording a cover of Bridge Over Troubled Water at the studios. 

Now a penthouse in the former church is up for sale offering a spacious two-bedroom duplex with 1,822sq ft of living space.

A £2.5million penthouse inside 17th century chapel in Notting Hill, which has been used as a recording studio for some of the biggest names in music, has gone on the market

The penthouse, one of nine luxury apartments inside the former SARM Studios, boasts two bedrooms and a kitchen/dining room within the same walls where the likes of Band Aid, Paul McCartney, Madonna and Queen have recorded 

The walls of the luxury apartment show off some of the rich history and memorabilia from when the former church was owned by Island Records 

The sprawling penthouse apartment boasts more than 1,800sq ft of space in the affluent area of Notting Hill, West London 

In November 1984 the 40 artists involved in Band Aid recorded the Do They Know it’s Christmas charity single at the former Notting Hill chapel to raise funds for the relief efforts in Ethiopia

Tall windows let in plenty of light to the former chapel. In 2018 it stopped being used as a recording studio and was converted into nine luxury flats

Bob Marley once lived in apartment above the studios, with his own personal chef cooking there through most of the 1980s 

The apartment boasts a kitchen/dining room, a large reception room and two en suite double bedrooms.

Charles Erwin, from Winkworth Estate Agents, said: ‘It’s unusual, it’s not your normal Notting Hill period conversion.

‘The conversion was completed last year and there are now just three apartments available – one penthouse and two one bedroom apartments.

‘It started life as a church and then came Island Records and the likes of Bob Marley and Grace Jones walked the halls.

Communal parts of the building show off framed records on the walls and each letterbox is themed to an artist, helping to show off the rich history of the chapel, which saw the likes of Queen, Grace Jones, Bob Marley and Yes all record in the studio

Some more recent artists to record at the former music studio include Rihanna, KT Tunstall, Take That and Christina Aguilera 

The dining room and kitchen space is shared at the penthouse apartment, which is among the first of the flats to become available after work began last year

Charles Erwin, from Winkworth, said: ‘It’s unusual, it’s not your normal Notting Hill period conversion. ‘The conversion was completed last year and there are now just three apartments available – one penthouse and two one bedroom apartments’

Some of the biggest names in music from the last 60 years recorded at SARM Studios, incluing Paul McArtney, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Madonna and Queen, who recorded some of their biggest hits, including Bohemian Rhapsody, at the former church

‘In the communal parts of the building they’ve got a lot of the framed records on the walls and each letterbox is themed to an artist, so you’ve got all the history.

‘But the penthouse itself is contemporary, a New York-style loft with nice high ceilings.

‘Notting Hill is obviously extremely famous and it’s right in the heart of the Portobello end of Notting Hill, with the market, so it’s fairly buzzing around there.

WHO RECORDED AT SARM STUDIOS?

The studios were used for artist signed to Island Records, including Bob Marley, Iron Maiden, Robert Palmer, Brian Eno, Nick Drake, Cat Stevens and Steve Winwood. 

Other acts from the record label to use the studio in Notting Hill included Free, Bad Company, Jimmy Cliff, Sparks, Fairport Convention, King Crimson, John Martyn, Mott the Hoople, Quintessence, Roxy Music, Spooky Tooth, Traffic, If, Jethro Tull, the Average White Band and Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

Huge acts that were not signed to Island Records were still able to use the studios. 

Among the musicians to record in the former church were Madonna, The Clash, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Take That, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Genesis and Led Zeppelin. Others included KT Tunstall, Christina Aguilera, Joan Armstrong, Nik Kershaw, The Lighthouse Family, Boyzone, Emerson Lake and Palmer, The Eagles, Dire Straits, Rihanna, Yes and ABC 

‘We’ve had a range of people looking at it – it can appeal to young people starting out, looking for something different.

‘But we’ve also had people trading down from larger properties in Notting Hill but wanting to stay in the area looking for a lock up and leave place. This is ideal because it’s a well-serviced block.

‘It’s a bit of fun as well, it’s definitely a conversation point at dinner parties thinking whose been through the doors.’

SARM Studios was established by Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, in 1969 and over the years scores of incredible artists have been through its doors.

Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull recorded albums there at the same time in 1970 and Bob Marley & The Wailers and the Rolling Stones were in the studio at the same time in 1973.

Marley also lived for a year in an upstairs apartment at SARM, and his personal chef cooked there for most of the 1980s.

Other artists to record there included Iron Maiden, Madonna, The Clash, Pet Shop Boys, Paul McCartney, Rihanna, Genesis, Take That and The Eagles.

Queen recorded some of their biggest hits there, including Bohemian Rhapsody and We Are the Champions. 

In the mid-70s it was the first 24-track recording studio in England and it later became the first with 48-track facilities.

In November 1984 the 40 artists involved in Band Aid recorded the Do They Know it’s Christmas charity single there to raise funds for the relief efforts in Ethiopia.

Artwork lines the walls of the converted chapel as a celebration of its rich ties to some of the biggest names in music in the last 50 years 

Records, including the iconic folk album Rum, Sodomy and The Lash by The Pogues, line the communal areas of the luxury apartments in London’s Notting Hill 

The apartment takes a historic place in the history of Notting Hill, and is just a short walk from nearby Portobello Road

Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull recorded albums there at the same time in 1970 and Bob Marley & The Wailers and the Rolling Stones were in the studio at the same time in 1973. Marley also lived for a year in an upstairs apartment at SARM, a detail commemorated by a blue plaque on the former chapel’s wall

Charles Erwin, of Winkworth Estate Agents , said of the site: ‘It’s unusual, it’s not your normal Notting Hill period conversion’

Among the musicians to record in the former church were Madonna, The Clash, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Take That, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Genesis and Led Zeppelin

Others included KT Tunstall, Christina Aguilera, Joan Armstrong, Nik Kershaw, The Lighthouse Family, Boyzone, Emerson Lake and Palmer, The Eagles, Dire Straits, Rihanna, Yes and ABC

Winkworth Estate Agents has valued the brand new penthouse apartment, near Ladbroke Grove station, at £2.5million 

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