Factbox: Abbey Road studios -- recording history

(Reuters) - Music company EMI wants to retain ownership of the Abbey Road recording studios, immortalized by the Beatles album of the same name, though it is talking to other parties about revitalizing the site, EMI said on Sunday.

Abbey Road Studios, originally the EMI Studios, contains a notable slice of British and recording musical history - here are some details:

* THE BEGINNINGS:

-- The 19th century town house at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, was originally purchased by EMI in 1929 with a view to transforming it into the world's first custom-built recording studios.

-- British classical music composer Sir Edward Elgar, opened the studios in a ceremony on November 12, 1931. Elgar can be seen in a film of the event, conducting the all-male orchestra in his "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1."

-- The inaugural recording made at the studios, again conducted by the composer, was of his "Falstaff" symphonic study.

-- In 1932, a 16 year-old child prodigy by the name of Yehudi Menuhin was invited by Elgar to record his own Violin Concerto, thus beginning Menuhin's lifelong association with Abbey Road.

-- Other regular visitors to Abbey Road at that time were Al Bowlly, Ray Noble, Joe Loss, Flanagan and Allen, Paul Robeson, Gertrude Lawrence, Fats Waller and Fred Astaire.

* AFTER THE WAR:

-- During World War Two Abbey Road remained open. It was used for propaganda recordings and BBC broadcasts. Glenn Miller, recorded a number of titles with Dinah Shore in studio one on September 16 1944, the last recordings he made. Famous Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli returned to Britain after the war and made most of his recordings at the studio.

* THE BEATLES:

-- The first British artist to record a No.1 hit single in Abbey Road was trumpeter Eddie Calvert whose record of "Oh Mein Papa" topped the charts for nine weeks in 1954.

-- In 1962, producer George Martin, who had arrived at Abbey Road in 1950, was introduced to the Beatles and produced their first records. The first single from their collaboration, "Love Me Do," was released on October 5 and entered the top 20 chart.

-- In 1969, the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album was recorded, their first entirely in stereo. Traffic outside the studio was stopped for the iconic cover photo of the group walking over a pedestrian crossing. The final mix on August 20 was the last day all four members were together in a recording studio. It was released on September 26 and went on to sell more than 10 million copies.

* THE LAST FORTY YEARS:

-- Spandau Ballet, Simple Minds, Kiki Dee, XTC, Mike Oldfield, Jeff Beck, Tom Robinson and Kirsty MacColl all recorded there during the 1970s.

-- Following the success of films such as "Star Wars" and "Superman," the studio became the industry's first choice for recording film scores outside the United States.

-- In 1996, Abbey Road Interactive was developed by owners EMI Music and Apple Computer and a unit for the production of compact discs that combine music, video, graphics, animation, text and speech was opened.

-- In 2007 a television music series "Live From Abbey Road," consisting of 12 hour-long sessions each featuring three major acts, was aired in more than 120 countries.