History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

This story looks at events in the Decca Studios in Broadhurst Gardens West Hampstead during World War Two.   Decca Studios, 1963 Arthur Haddy (1906 to 1989) Arthur Haddy was the chief engineer at Crystalate and then Decca Studios which took over the building in 1937. During the War he was asked if Decca could help remove the static noise in intercepted radio signals picked up from German aircraft by the chain of ‘Y’ listening stations which were spread around the coast. He went to the Y HQ in West Kingsdown Kent to collect some wax recordings which were sent to the studios for improvement. The cleaned recordings were returned to the RAF to assist transcription, before they were sent to Bletchley Park. Arthur Haddy, 1970s (Getty Images) The company was also asked by the Government to develop a method of detecting submarines from their engine noise. An important event occurred on 27 August 1941 when the German U-boat U-570 was surprised by a Coastal Command aircraft which dropped dep...

Sadly, John Mayall a pioneer of British Blues, died on 22 July 2024 at his home in California and there have been numerous tributes in the media.  There is a double connection to West Hampstead. With his band The Bluesbreakers John played 33 times at Klooks Kleek, the jazz and blues club run by Dick Jordan and Geoff Williams on the first floor of the Railway Hotel in West Hampstead. He also recorded many albums at the Decca Studios in Broadhurst Gardens. The first was ‘Mayall Plays Mayall’ recorded at Klooks Kleek on 7 December 1964, when cables were run over to the next door studios. The band at this time was John Mayall (vocals, keyboards and harmonica), Roger Dean (guitar), John McVie (bass), Hughie Flint (drums) and Nigel Stanger on sax. John with his band playing at Klooks Kleek in May 1965. Photo by Paul Soper, used by kind permission. Probably the most famous album ‘Blues Breakers: John Mayall with Eric Clapton’, was made in Broadhurst Gardens in March 1966. The band was May...

It was sad to hear that Chris Barber, the jazz trombonist and band leader, died aged 90 on 2 March 2021. He was very influential in developing a version of New Orleans jazz in the 1950s which led the way to skiffle, British blues, the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Chris Barber (Getty Images) A few years ago I had lunch with the late Harold Pendleton and his wife Barbara. Harold was a chartered accountant with a love of jazz, and he told me when he arrived to work in London in 1948 from Southport, the first thing he did was to go to Dobells’ Record Shop at 77 Charing Cross Road. He was thumbing through the jazz records and got talking to a man who was doing the same. The man was Chris Barber and Harold became the manager of his band and a lifelong friend. Harold went on to open the Marquee Club in 1958, and he and Barbara organised the National Jazz and Blues festivals held in Windsor and later Reading. Decca Studios, Broadhurst Gardens, (Dick Weindling, 1979)   There is an imp...

After several years of research, and with the technical expertise of Adrian Hindle-Briscall, we have published two unique and free online maps. One map covers the studios, record companies, record shops and clubs in North West London from Finchley Road, through West Hampstead, Kilburn, Willesden and Harlesden. The other looks at the musicians, producers and managers who lived the area.  Screen shot of Map 1 Map 1 includes the well-known Decca Studios in West Hampstead as well as the now unknown site of the Edison National Phonographic Company. Did you know about Master Rock studios in Kilburn High Road where many famous bands made records? This area also had Island, Trojan and Zomba Record companies. There were Irish clubs like the Banba in Kilburn, the Purple Pussycat disco in Finchley Road, and music venues such as the popular Gaumont State, The National, the Mean Fiddler and today’s The Fiddler. Map 2 shows the homes of three of the Rolling Stones; Mick Jagge...