The Oscar-winning composer of scores to The Lion King and Dune has teamed up with the producers of Love Actually to buy the historic Maida Vale music studios for £10.5million.
Hans Zimmer has joined forces with Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title to purchase the studio – which has hosted stars from the Beatles and David Bowie to Beyonce and Adele – from the BBC.
The two-time Oscar winning composer – who also wrote the music to films such as Top Gun: Maverick, Gladiator and Pirates Of The Caribbean – plans to turn the site into a school for aspiring musicians.
Paying tribute to the venue’s history, Zimmer, 65, said he wanted to ‘close the circle’ after first working at Maida Vale 45 years ago.
Maida Vale has hosted stars from the Beatles and David Bowie to Beyonce (pictured) and Adele – from the BBC
‘I was just a kid, in awe, honoured to be booked to play on one of my first sessions,’ he said.
‘I still remember the strong pull, the desire to touch the walls, as if that would somehow allow me to connect to the artists whose extraordinary music had resonated against these walls on a daily basis.’
Zimmer, who is working alongside his business partner Steven Kofsky as well as film producers Bevan and Fellner to refurbish the site, said he wanted to make Maida Vale ‘a place that inspires, teaches, technologically serves the arts and humanity, and gives the next generation the same opportunities I was given: to create and to never give up’.
The Grade II listed building was home to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop, best known for creating the theme tune of Doctor Who.
A close neighbour to legendary Abbey Road, Maida Vale has hosted performances by rock and pop royalty as well as John Peel’s famous sessions and Radio 1’s Live Lounge recordings.
Other standout moments in the studio’s history include hosting the teatime radio show by The Beatles in 1963 and Bing Crosby’s last ever recording session in 1977.
The complex was originally built in 1909 as a roller skating venue before it was bought by the public service broadcaster in 1933 and turned into studios.
Historic recordings: The BBC’s historic Maida Vale music studios – originally a roller skating rink, has been sold for £10.5m
During the Second World War it was a stand-by centre of the BBC radio news service, which made it a target in the blitz.
The site was completely renovated after taking a direct hit during a raid.
In 2007, the BBC said that the facility was ‘wholly unsuitable for the 21st Century’ with problems including asbestos.
Stardust: Maida Vale has hosted stars including David Bowie (pictured)
Five years ago, the broadcaster said it would close the site by 2025. It was eventually put on the market last year.
Before selling to Zimmer, the BBC reportedly snubbed bids from Sir Len Blavatnik, a major investor in Warner Music Group and one of the richest people in the UK.
The building will be leased back to the BBC until the end of 2025 before Zimmer and his partners kick off refurbishment plans, which will keep the historic outside of the building but modernise the inside.
Bevan and Fellner, who made British classics such as Love Actually, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’s Diary through Working Title, said: ‘Collectively we are determined to continue the BBC’s legacy at Maida Vale by attracting global talent to the UK.
‘Through our redevelopment plans we will future proof the historic site, continuing its presence in the local community with a new education facility, whilst creating a world class studio space for the next generation of composers, producers, editors and engineers.’
Vision: Film score composer Hans Zimmer said he wanted to make Maida Vale ‘a place that inspires, teaches, technologically serves the arts and humanity’
Lorna Clarke, the director of music at the BBC, said: ‘Maida Vale has played such an important part in the BBC’s history, and its significance in popular culture is huge.
‘We are so pleased to secure a sale which looks to continue the bright, vibrant future of music making in this iconic building – not only providing new studio spaces but jobs and an education facility.’
The BBC plans to open a studios in East Bank in Stratford in late 2025.
