Britannia Row Studios

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The studio's history began when Pink Floyd purchased and converted a three-story block at 35 Britannia Row into a professional recording space, starting in 1974 and finishing by early 1975—before Wish You Were Here was released. This independent facility allowed the band to work without external scheduling pressures, directly leading to the creation of Animals and The Wall. A notable moment in this era was the recording of the school chorus for 'Another Brick in the Wall', which was recorded at Islington Green School and mixed at Britannia Row and other studios. Over time, control remained with the band as a collective partnership. In the early 1990s, the partnership sold the business and the original building at 35 Britannia Row to Kate Koumi, who had been managing operations since the mid-1980s. Her tenure marked a new chapter as she oversaw the studio's transition in 1995 from Islington to Wandsworth Bridge Road in Fulham. There, it operated for another 20 years until its final closure in September 2015. The original building in Islington was sold along with the business to Koumi and later redeveloped.

In Their Own Story

In the early 1990s, the narrative of Britannia Row shifted from band-owned to independent management when Nick Mason sold the business to Kate Koumi. Having managed the site since the mid-1980s, Koumi executed a major logistical move in 1995, relocating the entire operation to Wandsworth Bridge Road in Fulham. This new location served as the studio's base for the next two decades. While the Islington building was repurposed by Mason into serviced offices—eventually hosting the London School of Sound's training facility in 2012 and receiving council permission for a flat conversion in 2016—the Fulham site continued recording until September 2015. Upon closing, that Fulham location was converted into flats, ending a forty-year era of music production that began with Wish You Were Here.

Reader's Guide

For those tracking the physical legacy of Pink Floyd's infrastructure, Britannia Row Studios offers two distinct historical sites. The original site at 35 Britannia Row in Islington, active from 1975 to 1995, is now a converted building with limited office space and residential flats. In 2016, Islington Council approved an extension for this property. The second site, which operated from 1995 to 2015, was located on Wandsworth Bridge Road in Fulham (SW6). This location housed the studio's equipment and operations after Kate Koumi moved it there. Visitors should note that both original recording environments have been repurposed: the Islington site as offices and flats, and the Fulham site entirely converted into residential units following its September 2015 closure.

Did You Know?

• The studio was purchased and converted by Pink Floyd in 1974, becoming operational by early 1975, before the release of their album Wish You Were Here.
• The studio was owned collectively by Pink Floyd as a partnership, not by Nick Mason alone, until it was sold to Kate Koumi in the early 1990s.
• The school chorus for 'Another Brick in the Wall' was recorded at Islington Green School, not at the original Britannia Row location; it was mixed at Britannia Row and other studios.
• Britannia Row Productions, an equipment rental company founded by the band, provided sound for Queen's 1976 Hyde Park show with over 150,000 attendees.
• The original building at 35 Britannia Row was sold along with the business to Kate Koumi and later redeveloped, not retained by Mason as serviced offices or a training facility.