Front Room Masters

About the Project

Front Room Masters - Fairview Studios 1966-1973 is a double CD featuring 42 tracks recorded at Fairview Studios, Willerby, near Hull, East Yorkshire when it was in the spare front room of founder Keith Herd's house.

To create this CD Keith Herd and Andy Richardson listened to all the tracks recorded at the studio in this period: 53 master tapes, 522 tracks by 89 artists. All together eleven miles of tape!

As Fairview was the only recording studio in the region at the time the CD provides a unique snapshot of the East Yorkshire music scene of the period - from sixties beat music to heavy rock via soul, ska, jazz, folk, pyschedelia, experimental music and communal sing-songs.

The CD features previously unreleased material by Robert Palmer (The Mandrakes), Rod Temperton (The Hammer), Basil Kirchin and Michael Chapman. Hull guitar hero Mick Ronson appears with his band The Rats

The CD also contains a 16 page booklet containing the history of Fairview and photos and press cuttings of the period.

Artists featured on the CD are:

Mandy and the Girlfriends, The Strollers, Michelle's Musketeers, The Mandrakes, The Small Four, The Gerry Widd Trio, Trevor Hickson, Jerry Page, Keith Hollome, The Bill Kinsey Quintet, Sugar and Spice, The Dave Jackson Group, Michael Chapman, Basil Kirchin, The Mayfair Mecca Bingo Choral Society, Ways n Means, Kaine's Kulture, The Ides of March, DK Duo, ABC, The Rats, The Variations, Terra Nova, The Hammer, The Axe, Karalious, Monto, Matthew and Son, Bare Soul, Bone, Bob Simes , Dave Greaves and Steve Halliwell, Johnny Small and the Little People.



The project was made possible by kind financial assistance from The Big Lottery Fund Awards for All Scheme.