Here I Go Again Studios In The Snow

In the grips of freezing weather Bernie reminisces about recording some classics in the cold

After the UK’s recent freezing weather conditions – dubbed the ‘Beast From The East’ – it made me think about some of the weather conditions I’ve encountered over the long years on the road.

Many times I have looked out of a hotel window in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the countries across Scandinavia to witness snowfalls of what looked (to me) to be gargantuan in size. And, I can’t remember ever actually missing a gig because of bad weather.

This I pondered on as I canceled a day in the recording studio during the freeze. Okay, it wasn’t a gig, but I’m a little annoyed with myself for not taking on the drive to the studio. To be in the recording studio is a wonderful thing – you get to show off your talent and your creative power, and it was a great chance to impress your mates in the early days!

The first recording studio I ever used was in 1969 in Kettering in Northamptonshire, it was called Shield Studios.

My band at the time was Skinny Cat and we had saved some of our gig money to record. People had been saying how good we were and that we should record something. Foolishly, but with humility, we believed them and committed to a Saturday session in the studio. Well, it was just one afternoon really as the budget only ran to about four hours…