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How a council house in Sheffield launched a legion of Britain’s best bands
A Sheffield council house known as Studio Electrophonique became an influential low-cost recording space in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Run by car mechanic and hobbyist producer Ken Patten, it gave emerging local musicians access to recording equipment and helped nurture acts including The Human League, Heaven 17, ABC and Pulp.
The ordinary-looking home contained synthesisers, an electronic drum kit and a homemade vocoder, while sessions cost £15. Martyn Ware’s band The Future recorded there after responding to a local advert in 1977, and Pulp made an early demo there in 1981 which Jarvis Cocker passed to John Peel, leading to a Peel Session before the band had a record deal.
In short
- Ken Patten’s home studio supported major Sheffield bands.
- Pulp recorded an early demo there in 1981.
- Sessions cost musicians £15.
Explained simply
Sheffield is a city in the north of England that became an important centre for electronic music in the late 1970s and early 1980s. A council house owned by a car mechanic called Ken Patten became an influential recording studio for local musicians, offering cheap sessions for £15 at a time when most commercial studios were expensive and out of reach for emerging artists.
The studio, known as Studio Electrophonique, contained synthesisers, an electronic drum kit and other equipment that Patten had built or collected. Several bands that would become major names in British music recorded there, including The Human League, Heaven 17, ABC and Pulp, helping them develop their sound before they signed record deals.
Pulp's early experience there shows the studio's significance. The band made a demo at the Sheffield council house in 1981, which lead singer Jarvis Cocker passed to John Peel, an influential radio DJ known for championing new music. This led to a BBC Radio session before Pulp had even released a record, giving them crucial early exposure that helped launch their career.