Compass Point Studios

Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records.[1][2]

Artists

Located on the island of New Providence, ten miles west of Nassau, the studio attracted musical artists from across the world to record at its facilities during the 1970s and 1980s.[2][3] AC/DC's Back In Black, the second highest selling album ever, was one of the many albums recorded there.[2]

Artists who recorded at Compass Point Studios included The Tragically Hip,[4] Grace Jones,[3] Brian Eno,[5] Talking Heads,[6] Madness,[7] Iron Maiden,[8] The B-52's,[9] and David Bowie.[10]

Decline and closure

As Blackwell's other business interests steadily increased, he spent less of his time directly looking after the studio. With producer and manager Alex Sadkin's death in 1987, the studio began a period of decline.[3]

In 1992, Blackwell took action to save the studio by hiring Terry and Sherrie Manning, the owners and operators of a recording studio and video production house in the US. The couple oversaw all aspects of Compass Point Studios. Upon their arrival in late 1992, the Mannings began restoring the two large studios, tearing them apart and completely rewiring them with modern recording equipment.

The Nassau studio was closed in 2010 due to increasing crime in the area.[11]

References
  1. Bahamas Handbook and Businessman's Annual. Etienne Dupuch, Jr. Publications. 2005.
  2. "The Caribbean Getaway Where the '80s Were Recorded". reverb.com.
  3. "The funky legacy of Grace's island". The Independent. 15 February 2008.
  4. "The Tragically Hip | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
  5. Sheppard, David (18 September 2008). On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno. Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4091-0593-0.
  6. Frantz, Chris (21 July 2020). Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-250-20923-8.
  7. Reed, John (30 August 2014). House of Fun: The Story of Madness. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-78323-334-2.
  8. Brown, Jake (4 July 2011). Iron Maiden in the Studio: The Stories Behind Every Album. Kings Road Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84358-765-1.
  9. Magazine, Various Mojo (November 2007). The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition. Canongate Books. ISBN 978-1-84767-643-6.
  10. Pegg, Nicholas (6 December 2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated 2016 ed.). Titan Books (US, CA). ISBN 978-1-78565-533-3.
  11. Bachman, Randy. "Compass Point Studios", Vinyl Tap, CBC Radio, September 22, 2018.
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