Students follow in the footsteps of the greats at Abbey Road Studios

Music students got a taste of fame when they recorded their own track, entitled In Flames, in the world famous Abbey Road Studios this summer.

Not only did the students from Southampton Solent University have a once in a lifetime chance to record at Abbey Road, but the studio they recorded in was the celebrated Studio 2, which has also played host to musical icons including The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Kate Bush.

The opportunity came after the students won an annual competition, which has been part of their BA (Hons) Popular Music Performance course for the last six years. Students are invited to write an original track and play it live in front of their lecturers who judge each song before announcing the winner.

Popular Music Performance course leader Professor Pete Wilson, who accompanied the students and worked with them as they recorded their track, said: “Enabling students to visit and record at Abbey Road Studios is the perfect way for Solent to give music students some of the finest work experience available. It’s a glimpse of working at the top end of the music industry and I hope that, for many of them, it’s the start of a long and fruitful career.”

“I’d like to think that when these performers and producers return to Abbey Road as professionals they’ll remember their first experience visiting as Solent students,” he continues.

Fourteen students jumped at the opportunity to go to the illustrious studios – eight band members, five students from a range of music courses, and two members of student agency Solent Creatives, who captured the experience on camera.

The visit couldn’t have come at a more perfect time as the students received their degree results the day before the trip. All students in the band were awarded 2:1s in BA (Hons) Popular Music Performance and the two singers, Sarah Pardoe and Paul Solomon, were awarded First Class degrees.

Speaking about her future, lead singer Sarah Pardoe said: “There are so many jobs where you can carry on doing music. Whether it’s reaching ten people or ten thousand people, I’m always going to do music no matter what.”

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