From haunted castles to high-street shops
With Kanye West relocating to a remote mountaintop retreat in the US state of Wyoming to record the follow up to 2016’s ‘The Life of Pablo’, here’s a run-through of some of the weirdest and wackiest places people have chosen to lay down their albums…
1. Radiohead – ‘OK Computer’
The album: Radiohead’s magnum opus. The record that catapulted them to super-stardom was their first UK No.1 album and got a 10/10 NME review. Home of some of their biggest anthems – including ‘Karma Police’, ‘Paranoid Android’ and ‘No Surprises’ – this was the record where Radiohead outgrew beyond their peers, home to artistically layered rock arrangements and some of Thom Yorke’s finest lyrics.
Where it was recorded: The album was recorded in St. Catherine’s Court, a rural 15th century Tudor mansion near Bath owned by actress and ex-Bond girl Jane Seymour. The grade I listed former monastery was once the site King Henry VIII kept his illegitimate daughter, as well as being supposedly haunted by a number of ghosts. The house has also been used by acts including New Order, Robbie Williams and The Cure.
What they said about it: “Studios are generally very horrible places for recording,” said lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood in 1997. “They’re pretty unmusical so we decided to turn a big empty house into a studio… (Jane Seymour) said to us ‘come and stay’, handed us the keys, and told us to feed the cat.” Thom Yorke also recalled the house being haunted, “ghosts would talk to me while I was asleep. There was one point when I got up in the morning after a night of hearing voices, and I decided to cut my hair.”
2. Nine Inch Nails – ‘The Downward Spiral’
The album: ‘The Downward Spiral’ was the breakout hit for industrial rock heavyweights Nine Inch Nails. This distorted concept album documented the breakdown of a man and his tumultuous journey down the so-called ‘Downward Spiral’.
Where it was recorded: Trent Reznor recorded their breakthrough album at 10050 Cielo Drive, the place where the infamous Charles Manson Family cult committed the Tate Murders in 1969. The grotesque location was dubbed ‘Le Pig’ by Reznor, a reference to the fact that one of the murderers wrote the word ‘Pig’ in blood above the entrance to the house.
What they said about it: “Sometimes I’d come home and find bouquets of dead roses and lit candles in the front gate,” said Reznor on his creepy experience. “It was really eerie. Who were they leaving the shrines for – Tate or Manson?”
