Olympic Sound Studios

This is a seriously luxury cinema with wide reclining chairs and loveseats. The sloping is not quite right — if people in front of you sit bolt upright you’re likely to have their heads obstructing an irritating amount of the bottom of the screen but it certainly didn’t ruin my experience. Sound quality seemed excellent. Matinée seats were not too expensive (£10) but I think in the evening you’re close to West End prices.
Some gripes: the snacks range. Popcorn not particularly fresh (it cannot be as it is in sealed bags). Giant bags of chocolate not readily available. On the plus side, there is delightful bar downstairs you can access without going outside.
I saw the Hobbit here in 3D. No fault of the cinema, really, but I wouldn’t see the next instalment in 3D. Due to the camera used in some of the scenes the lighting made it look more like a cheap BBC sitcom than a beautifully shot epic fantasty film.
See the Qype User reviews for some fascinating information about the history of this building as a recording studio — a great shame it was shut down, and a pity it couldn’t have been an awesome Stax-​style museum, but the cinema conversion is certainly not a total tragedy.

A famous recording studio has been snapped up by a Barnes businessman with dreams of turning it into a boutique cinema. In its heyday, Olympic Studios was one of the top independent recording studios in the country with stars including the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, U2 and Oasis passing through its doors. But it closed in November 2008 after owners EMI said it was no longer viable. The studios, in Church Road, Barnes, were sold earlier this year for a reported £3.5m. Now it has emerged its new owners plan to turn the historic building into a two-​screen cinema re-​creating its early life. The building, which dates back to 1906, was originally called Byfeld Hall and was used as a centre of entertainment for the community. It later became a cinema. But it has been closed to the public since the 60s when it became a recording studio.

The building itself is a stunning piece of early 20^th century architecture, which was originally built to be a theatre for the Barnes Repertory Company, and later became a cinema. Guild TV bought the building in the late 1950s and converted it into a film studio. In 1965 it changed hands and became Olympic Sound Studios. The studios won Music Week Magazine Best Recording Studio, five times. However the studio facilities were closed down by the merged EMI and Virgin Group in 2009. Recent reports suggest it is set to be converted into an independent local cinema to incorporate reminders of the building’s rich history. Many film scores and orchestral works were recorded during this period. The studio also produced film music for The Italian Job (1969), the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. People who have used the studios include The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Queen, David Bowie, The Small Faces, Traffic, Hawkwind, The Moody Blues, Deep Purple, and Procol Harum. Steve Tyler was one artist to have recorded here shortly before it closed and visited Marc Bolan’s Rock Shrine while he was in Barnes. I spotted the photo on the Qype listing for his shrine.