I am Kingsley Ward, founder of Rockfield Studios, our new documentary 'Rockfield - The Studio on the Farm' is now available in the US featuring Queen, Black Sabbath, Oasis, Coldplay and more.. Ask Me Anything!

Was there ever a band you recorded where you thought “these guys will never make it” but then mad it big regardless?

Adam and the Ants were unlike anything we had seen, they were using two drum kits when they were recording here but they started an entire new trend with their music and image.

There’s a story I heard that when Rush recorded albums, they were extremely fast, often recording as an ensemble in one take. Do you recall if they were significantly more efficient than other band’s recording processes? Are there any other bands that got amazing amounts of stuff recorded in a short amount of studio hours?

You are absolute right, they knew what they were doing which gave them some spare time to help us out with some decorating, painting our studio windows, they were a great band with a great work ethic.

What is your best Black Sabbath story?

When they were at Rockfield Ozzy thought there were ghosts in one of our old buildings, turned out it was the other band members messing with him, frightened him to death. They were outside making noises for most of the night, he was paranoid the entire week.

Hello, I’m Emily! I’m a recording engineer from New Orleans. Are there any female recording engineers that worked for your studio in the past 60 years?

We have worked with both female engineers and producers over the years such as Cate Lebon, Dani Bennett Spragg and Martha Salogni. In the early days it was definitely a more male dominated industry and its great to see more and more women being represented.

Hi there, huge fan of the story and dedication that your brought to studio management. Im currently in the process of opening my own complex which is (like the Rockfield studio) in the countryside (2h or so away from Paris). If you could give yourself any advice from today’s perspective to your young and ambitious self, what would it be? I feel like im in a constant battle between the believers of a such project and the pessimistic ones that can only find reasons not to do such a thing in 2021. Thanks for reading! Love from France!

I would tell my younger self to ignore the nay-sayers, originally everyone told me that Rockfield Studios wouldn’t happen in the country as at the time London was the only place where big studios operated. We proved them wrong so always follow your intuition.

I heard Rush recorded their hemispheres album, how did you find working with them? Heard fun stories from them during that period.

Rush were brilliant. They were such a talented band and used every bit of the studio, they also helped around the farm painting our outside windows when they weren’t in the studio.

What was the most unconventional recording technique ever used at Rockfield?

Originally before digital everything was done on tape, including locking tape machines together to produce flanging and phasing and other quirky tricks. Queen often put their drums in one of the stables and ran leads across from the studio. Noel Gallagher also used the same technique when he recorded Wonderwall, sitting outside on a large stone wall that has since become a bit of an attraction.

Any fun stories on Oasis?

Only when they had a slight dispute on the lawn outside, there was definitely a bit of damage done to the accommodations but the good news was the album went on to sell 23 million. Good lads.

What’s your favourite track that was ever recorded in your studios? What was it like creating it?

Robert Plant - Big Log. It’s a great single and a great song, still on my playlist.

Hi Kingsley! Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath is notorious for pulling pranks. Did he pull any on you or anyone else at Rockfield while Sabbath was recording there?

He tortured Ozzy during their stay here. We had an Old Mill that was used as a rehearsal room that later became its own recording studio (Monnow Valley) - He would stalk around at night with a sheet over his head.

Biggest diva story?

Maybe not from the bands but a few producers names spring to mind. I will say no more.

What made you decide to convert a farm into a Studio and did you ever suspect it would become as successful and iconic as it did?

We decided to convert the attic in our farmhouse into a studio to record our own group as there were no commercial studios to hire outside the major ones in London. Nobody ever thought it would work in the country and we never thought that other studios would start copying us.

What was the one moment you guys knew you were on to something REALLY big?

When Dave Edmunds recorded ‘I hear you knocking’ in 1972, it went number one around the world. Also when Black Sabbath turned up in 1969, they were our first major heavy rock band that we recorded with.

What is your personal favourite session you’ve seen at your studios?

There have been too many to count but I loved Ace when they recorded ‘How Long’ - John Anthony was the producer and he was always great fun to be around.

What are a couple of your favourite anecdotes from your time there, that you’ll tell at dinner parties and the like?

We had a big drug bust in 1972 that we mention in the film, always goes down well at a dinner party. At the time I was cleaning up the studios and walked straight into the police without realising I had a big bag of ‘evidence’ in my hands.

Thank you all for the questions. We have some great projects coming up so please feel free to follow us on our social media for more updates on Rockfield Studios.

As a big Budgie and Manic Street Preachers fan, Rockfield has always been my studio Mecca so thanks for being part of some great music!

Over all the time you've been involved with the place, what are the most interesting changes to the recording process (or business) you've noticed?

The onset of automated consoles. Before it was always hands-on but the digital format has changed everything.

By your estimates, which band/songwriter was the best at getting a song down in one take?

Liam Gallagher would try and get his vocals down as quickly as possible so he could go off down the pub. Also June Tabor, a famous folk singer, she would always do her songs in one take.

What's the best rockstar party story that occured on the farm?!

When Lemi was here he never seemed to sleep, you might be able to guess why.

Are there any animals still active on the farm, and if so, how have they reacted to various bands?

We still have our Jersey cows on the farm, they are just as famous as some of the bands here and all the musicians love being around them, especially when there are new calves.

Do you have any particularly funny moments that you can remember with one of the bands?

A band from Los Angeles called Salty Dog insisted on bringing some girls they met in London who proved to be a total nuisance. They were so bad me and Otto (one of our beloved engineers) hid in the garden.

what is your biggest regret and pride over the years?

Our biggest regret was never having a big hit of our own, when we started the studio it was with the purpose of recording our own band ‘The Charles Kingsley Creation’ - We were produced by Joe Meek at the time. My biggest pride is the successful feedback we have had from our film and being able to share our story.

What are some horror stories of difficult/painful recording sessions you've had to oversee?

We had a band fly in from Canada at the same time the police decided to raid the studios. Little bit of a horror show to have clients turn up to that.

How have the loudness wars affected how you track, and mix? What modern audio technology can you not live without in the studio?

Pro Tools, digital recording techniques have changed the game. We still also use older recording techniques.

Who was your favourite producer to work with?

I haven’t worked with many producers for the past 30 years but I loved Gus Dudgeon (no longer with us) who produced Elton John, John Anthony and Hugh Jones were all great fun.

Favorite band?

I love Guns n’ Roses, would have loved to have them at the studio.