Beatles - Abbey Road Studios

Abbey Road Studios is a business name of EMI Records Ltd.

The studios were made famous as the main recording location for The Beatles in the 1960s with producer George Martin and, in some cases, as independent artists in the 1970s.

Abbey Road itself was immortalised on the cover of The Beatles album Abbey Road, in which John Lennon. Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr are pictured marching across the zebra crossing that leads to the studios. The image has long been the subject of delicious rumour beacause of Paul's practical jokes over claims that he had been killed in 1966 in a car crash in his silver Aston Martin DB5 ... one bizarre claim was that he had been replaced by a 'doppelganger' to keep The Beatles going (supposedly an American and, admittedly, one that sang and talked just like him and who managed to slot right into his life, with family and friends none-the-wiser!). For a lark, McCartney had appeared in the image with no shoes on and the 28 IF licence plate on a parked Volkswagen Beetle supposedly indicated Paul would have been 28 when that picture was taken 'if' he was still alive. This ignored the fact that he would actually have been 27.

But today Abbey Road is a much revered location for extraordinary musical creation across all styles, celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2011. The studios have their own television specials, Live at Abbey Road.

In celebration of our 80th anniversary, Abbey Road is running a worldwide anthem competition to find original, unsigned and undiscovered composers. Composers of all ages and abilities are in with a chance to record their anthem at Abbey Road Studios with the internationally regarded London Symphony Orchestra and some of the UK’s finest singers, conducted by renowned composer Eric Whitacre.

Any anthem may be submitted as long as it hasn’t been published or recorded for commercial release.

The winning anthems will be recorded in Studio One, home to the recording of many of the greatest anthems of all time, from Land of Hope and Glory to the 'Star Wars' title sequence and The Beatles’ live satellite performance of 'All You Need Is Love'.

An esteemed jury of professional composers including industry legends Eric Whitacre, Harry Christophers, George Fenton and Rob Mathes will choose the winning anthems. If required winners will receive assistance from leading arrangers to ensure the competition is accessible to composers of all ages, abilities and backgrounds and then recorded by our engineers using world-class microphones and equipment.

Jonathan Smith, manager of the studios, said, “This competition will give composers an opportunity to have their work performed and recorded to the very highest standard. Sir Edward Elgar opened Abbey Road Studios 80 years ago with a great anthem, Land of Hope and Glory, performed then by the London Symphony Orchestra. All composers will have the chance to record their anthems in the same studio with the same world-class orchestra. It’s a thrilling prospect and a wonderful way to celebrate Abbey Road Studios' 80th anniversary.”

Eric Whitacre said, “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate 80 years of excellence at the world’s most famous recording studios than creating new music, giving everyone the chance to participate. From Elgar to Radiohead, Abbey Road has hosted the very best. We want to find the great anthems of our time. It is an honour to be involved in the selection process and to record the winning entries. I encourage all writers/composers to submit their music inspire us.”

The competition ran until July 15, 2011.