Abbey Road became a household name in 1969 thanks to the 11th studio album by The Beatles, the cover of which also immortalized the crosswalk in front of EMI Recording Studios, as it was originally known. In a new documentary film called If These Walls Could Sing, Paul McCartney’s daughter Mary takes viewers through the history of the facility, from its pre-recording studio days as a home to the music history that’s been made there ever since. In just 90 minutes, the film chronicles almost 100 years of music history.
(Mary McCartney)
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Roger Waters, Liam Gallagher, John Williams, Celeste, and Sheku Kanneh-Mason are just a few of the Abbey Road hall of farmers interviewed for the film. If These Walls Could Sing culls together archival video and photographs to bring the story of Abbey Road to life like never before. Whether you come to it as a diehard fan of bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd or with a passion for the film scores of John Williams, you’re guaranteed to walk away with a wider breadth of knowledge about music history in general, in addition to this specific studio.
Is there magic within the walls of Abbey Road? That’s one question the film proposes to its viewers. With musicians and artists often being superstitious, there is a belief that the building itself has qualities that could enhance the work produced there. Indeed, the film may be about a music recording studio, but it’s far from the story of a brick-and-mortar home transformed into a musical icon.
Mary McCartney grounds the film with childhood memories of playing in the halls of Abbey Road before going back in time to its earliest days as a recording studio for the London Symphony Orchestra. Its transition to a rock-and-roll magnet is covered through the stories of Cliff Richard and the Drifters, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin. And yet, despite all of the studio’s accomplishments, tough times have forced it to evolve over the years, opening its doors to film score composers on films like The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and modern-day pop superstars.
(Mary McCartney/Tim Cragg)
“It was great to come back home,” Paul McCartney says in the film’s introduction. It’s clear that all of the interviewed participants feel the same way. One of the highlights for me was watching Elton John, who just finished the U.S. leg of his farewell tour on Disney+, talk about being a session musician for other bands at the studio before breaking out on his own. The history of Abbey Road comes at you from all directions in If These Walls Could Sing.
If These Walls Could Sing is now streaming on Disney+ in the US and will expand to other territories, including the UK, on January 6th.