A Cumbrian recording studio that has welcomed stars from huge bands including 10cc, ELO and more is set to close its doors.
The Music Farm, just outside Egremont, was first opened in 1990 by Tom Tyson, 64, a professional musician, songwriter and music producer, who was born in Whitehaven.
It’s a recording studio that has welcomed top musicians, music moguls, X-Factor stars throughout the years and under Tom’s guidance and it’s also been a huge asset to the local community.
But after 34 years of service, Tom and his wife have now decided to continue producing music on a smaller scale and sell on the property to be closer to their daughter, who lives in Cheshire.
Tom said: “What we’ve done over the last 35 years is a bit of everything really. There are some named clients we’ve worked with, but we’ve also had a lot of local people supporting us.
“Unfortunately we’ve no other relations in this area and it’s a huge property and a lot for two people to run. We just think it’s now time for us to downsize a little bit.
“We’ll still be recording and I’m still going to write and produce and such, just not on the same scale as The Music Farm, it’ll be on a smaller scale.
“But we’re still here for now and we’re continuing to work and do recording. Even if we sold it tomorrow it would take months to put through, so it could be the end of this year if not next year by the time we start to move on.
“We’ve had loads of different people here over the years and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, but it’s time to move on to something new and start a new chapter.”
Tom is continuing to work with musicians at the farm while the site remains on sale and has recently worked with Graham Gouldham, co-lead singer of 10cc on his upcoming album.
But it all began back in 1989 after Tom spent years working as both a professional musician and music producer.
Tom said: “I was a musician originally and I worked with Gene Pitney, I was his base player for a few years. Before that I was with The Freddie Starr Band.
“It was a great time and a well paid job and it got me into my first recording studio.
“I went from being a musician to recording and then I decided I was going to be a session musician and worked in London for a while before I came back to Cumbria and met my wife.
“I did sessions in Nashville and got to work with Buddy Emmons and Albert Lee at same time. Buddy played with The Carpenters and Ray Charles and during the sessions Phil Everley came and sat in for a session.
“He was sat watching me produce which was daunting – but to have an Everley brother sat with you was just surreal. I also got to work with and know Bill Wyman, one of the Rolling Stones.
“But there wasn’t really any other studios in the area when I moved to Cumbria, so I built one and that’s how I got into The Music Farm.”
Tom initially picked the site for The Music Farm after experimenting to see if there was a demand for a studio in West Cumbria.
He said: “We did start off with a small studio in our garage in Whitehaven, which was a trial to see if this would work in this area. It quickly got really busy and we got a lot of clients, and I thought, well, this is worth taking to next level.
“When we saw the place advertised, because it was set in two acres of land and had a workshop perfect for a big studio it was the place to go. A lot of people did say we were mad and it was a huge challenge, but we’re glad we did it.
“The studio plans were looked over by the same people who built Phil Collins’ recording studio and it’s same as it was 34 years ago, but with new equipment and up to date software.
“A lot of people will come up the drive and say wow, we didn’t think this existed in Cumbria. But we’ve always been there. Word of mouth got around so quick we didn’t need to advertise. Everyone just knew if you needed a studio, you called Tom.”
Top musicians including legendary guitarist Albert Lee, who played with the likes of The Everly Brothers and Eric Clapton, violinist Mik Kaminski, from ELO, session singer Jackie Rawe, who has been featured on tracks with Celine Dion and Elton John and co-lead singer Graham Gouldham, from 10cc have all recorded at the studio.
Other big music moguls who have worked with Tom at the farm include engineer Dick Plant, who has worked with Cliff Richard and The Hollies, producer, writer and session musician Alan Hawkshaw, who worked with Olivia Newton-John and Tom Jones and producer Pete Wingfield, who has worked with the likes of Dexy’s Midnight Runners and Paul McCartney.
The Music Farm has also welcomed actors including Emmerdale’s Roxanne Pallett, who played Jo Stiles, and home-grown talent Brad Kavanagh, who appeared in several UK Disney Channel shows – and Tom has also helped produce audiobooks, jingles, and more sounds for TV while working at the site.
Tom said: “I have so many stories from different musicians coming in. Every album and every time someone comes in it’s a new experience, because it’s a totally new song, writer or actor, so it’s a job that has been really really interesting and never boring.
“We’ve done a lot of jingles for CFM and Border TV and even one for the One Show and we wrote all the Opera Bingo jingles, I actually sang on that too.
“But we’ve done loads over the years. People watch TV and don’t realise the advert was recorded in Egremont. They always think it was recorded in a city.
“I remember the first I did I was in Bigrigg garage queuing to pay for petrol and a jingle I wrote for CFM came on and I thought wow, that’s me! It was really strange.”
Tom said while it was difficult to pick out favourite memories of recording in the studio – that there were a few that stood out.
He said: “I think meeting and recording with Albert Lee has been a highlight. We became friends, really great friends and that was a defining moment when I started believing in me as a writer and producer.
“It was albert that gave me that belief and encouragement because before then I didn’t believe in myself. I went on to pursue writing and production because of him.”
The Music Farm was also used to do top-secret recording for the early days of the hit TV show The X Factor – and Tom has also worked closely with Simon Cowell.
Tom added: “We did some X-Factor stuff for Simon in the very early days when it was Pop Idol. In the contract we signed we weren’t allowed to speak about it – some of the artists we went on to deal with won the show, so we had to sign NDAs – we were involved but we still cant give names out.
“But before that I did write a couple of tracks with Simon and I got my first gold album through that. We were doing recordings in Hertfordshire and one of the girl singers we were working with was doing an album with Simon.
“I gave her a cassette tape of the songs we were going to record the next day and she played the wrong side and heard these two songs of mine. We didn’t think much of them, but she said look these songs would be ideal for Simon.
“Back then he wasn’t a household name and I called him he listened to the tracks and we did the deal there and then. He said he needed them on the album and getting my first gold disc from it was a great feeling.
“I got to meet Simon and did some TV music for him after that. But he is a really lovely person, a bit of a businessman but we shook hands and stayed in touch and we used to call every few months.
“In this business it’s all who you know and there’s always some offshoots where someone needs music written or tracks to be done.
“It’s like for example with Graham’s album coming out next month. I did work on it for him and on the same album he has Ringo Starr on drums.
“So I’m really looking forward to that coming out.”
While Tom is considered a local music legend by many – he said doesn’t consider himself one.
He said: “I don’t know about being a music legend! But it’s nice to know your work is admired and approved. With things like Graham Gouldman coming in from 10cc it makes you happy to know you’re good enough for them.
“It makes you think wow I’m working for 10cc and they like what I’m doing. But to have that success and work with those people is great. I’d buy their records growing up so for them to ring you up and call you by first name is still surreal.
“It will be quite sad for us to leave The Music Farm in a way, but I’m taking lots of memories with me. I won’t be stopping recording either. When you take a track apart you have so many colours to add and so many things to do with a song, it’s something you can’t put to bed and not do again. It’s a skill you do every day.”
Tom added that he would be open to the studio and its contents if someone were to come along with an interest in keeping The Music Farm alive.
He said: “I haven’t been planning to sell the studio and contents as well, but if people want the studio, we can arrange something.
“It would be nice for the area to keep the studio, there’s not many around here so it does sadden me a bit. But it would be nice to have someone carry it on and for it to live beyond me.
“But overall I think it’s proof things like this can be done here and that they can be done by people in Cumbria.”
Tom will still be working with clients on a one-to-one basis. You can contact him via The Music Farm’s Facebook page.
