Jacobs was owned by Andy – who’d had a nascent music career in the late ’60s – and Fran Fernbach. They had previously had a 16-track studio called Vivatone in their home, and this was a distinct upgrade. Jacobs had two main studios, The Pool Room and The Court Room, and other recording spaces. It ran for almost 30 years – from January 1980 through to 2006 – out of the old Georgian farmhouse called Ridgeway House, which sat on Runwick Lane, Farnham. The house, with 37-rooms that covered over 9,000sq ft, once belonged to Sir John Verney, who apart from being ex-Special Boat Service, a children and young adult book author, also helped found The Farnham Trust that secured some of the funding to rebuild and launch The Maltings, Farnham.
Jacob’s Studio, purportedly named for the Jacob sheep, has an impressive list of credits that includes “The Queen is Dead” by The Smiths, “Woman in Red” by Stevie Wonder, and “Pablo Honey” by Radiohead. It was also the venue for a numerous of shenanigans. One band frontman drove a lawn tractor into the studio’s swimming pool after taking it for a spin along the A31; and one keyboardist was discovered with a dinghy in the same pool after a few drinks. Reportedly, in 1985, The Smiths considered using Rick Parfitt on “The Queen is Dead”, when the two bands were both recording at Jacobs; an alternative version of the tale has Parfitt stumbling into The Smiths’ session and sitting down for a bit of a rest. Another story has Johnny Marr trying to steal The Smiths master tapes early one morning.
In ’82 to ’83, a teenage Mark “Spike” Stent was the studio’s assistant, where he got his first experience as an engineer before moving on; ultimately working with Massive Attack, Bjork, Madonna, U2, Keane, Oasis, and more recently Miley Cyrus, and on releases that have secured nine Grammys to date. Stent may have got to work on tracks with The Meteors, who were in the studio in ’82. In 1984 the Court Room studio was reconstructed.
Critically acclaimed sound engineer, Mark Saunders recalls sessions at Jacobs Studios for The Cameleon’s third LP ‘Strange Times’ in ’85 being fun in his autobiographical blog. He was hired by producer Dave Allen, who turned up at the residential studio on day one with a trunk of mixed alcoholic beverages, to engineer the sound! Saunders also recalls Jacobs’ assistant engineer Beki, who a few of the boys had crushes on – causing a little friction between The Cameleon’s’ Reg Smithies and Mark Burgess. She even gets a lyrical reference in ‘Caution’. The other assistant engineer at the time, Paul Corkett, wasn’t so fancied. Geffen A&R man, Tom Zutaut, flew in from LA for a listen at the end of the sessions, who loved it, with a caveat…
In mid ’85 the studio upgraded to 32-track equipment, installing a Mitsubishi X850, 32-track plus X80, both with razorblade and electronic editing, and an SSL 4000 Series console with total recall in The Pool Studio (formerly Studio 1). Studio 2, which was renamed The Court Studio, featured 23/48 analogue with Adam Smith synchronizer and Otari MTR 90 recorders, and the SSL 6000 console with primary computer.
It was also the studio where Nigel Kennedy arrived to do a Primal Scream session, and promptly left because no one could wake the band up. In late 2002, local promotor and now Kickarts founder Barney Jeavons, along with Reuben, used a day of recording time, gifted by Andy Fernbach in return for a photograph of the band in the pool in Jacobs studio’s grounds, to record the single version of ‘Let’s Stop Hanging Out’. This was mixed by Paul Tipler and may have been re-recorded at some point.
In 2005 Ian Gillan took up residence for a week with a raft of session musicians, and Sim Jones from local folk rock duo Kindred Spirit after Gillan had heard him playing Hendrix on the violin at the now closed local pub The Bull, Bentley. Jones played on “Smoke”, cutting his section in one take. The studio closed in the Summer of 2006, but as late as 2019 the hallways were still lined with gold discs.
Ultimately, this studio, recorded over 750 singles, EPs and Albums by 23 Skidoo, 3hird Light, ABC, Agent Blue, Alien Sex Fiend, Amplifier, Andrea Black, Andy Fernbach (yes, the guy who owned the studio), Anne Clark, Annette Peacock, Anti-Nowhere League, Apes Pigs And Spacemen, Artery, Au Pairs, b.l.o.w., Babybird, Ballard and Walsh, Battle, Bennet, Bernie Tormé, Big Sun, Billie Ray Martin, Billy Rankin, Black Michael’s Gang, Bloc Party, Boris Gardiner, Bosé, Brainstorm, Bruce Woolley, Bryan Adams, Bush Tetras, C.C. Sager, Capercaillie, Caryl A’R Band, Cay, Charlatans, Clock DVA, Cocteau Twins, Colin Thurston, Covenant, Crazy Gods Of Endless Noise, Cube, Daniel Beddingfield, David Bowie, David Knopfler, David Palmer, De Blanc, Deacon Blue, Death In June, Deep Sea Jivers, Def Leppard, Delta Saxophone Quartet, Diana Burta, Dubh Chapter, Easyworld, Echo and The Bunnymen, Elviss, Embrace, Engineers, Enigma, English Subtitles, Ensemble Bash, Faultline, Feelabeelia, Fightstar, Fischer-Z, Five Star, Foreign Bodies, Forrester, Galliano, Gang of Four, Gary Brooker, Gary Hughes, Genesis, P-Orridge, Geraint Jarman, Geraint Jarman A’r Cynganeddwyr, Gerard Presencer, Goldie, Graham Fitkin, Greg Walsh, Haircut One Hundred, Halo, Harriet, Hear’Say, Heartland, Herb Miler Orchestra, High Society, Hope Of The States, Humble Pie, IQ, I’m So Hollow, Iain Archer, Ian Brown, Ian Gillan, Icebreaker, Idlewild, Indochine, Inspiral Carpets, Isabelle Antena, It Bites, Jadis, Jhelisa, Joe Jackson, John Harle Band, Kai Yoshihiro, Kansas, Kate Yanai, Kevin Roland, KUBB, La Crus, La L00ra, Lemon Kittens, Les Désaxés, Levellers, Linda Lewis, Little Angels, Lovely Previn, Lowgold, Malaria!, Mammoth, Mansun, Marc Almond, Marc And The Mambas, Matt Bianco, Mega City Four, Miguel Bosè, Milburn, Mobiles, Modern English, N-Tyce, Napalm Death, Natalie Imbruglia, Nazareth, Negrocan, Nicolette, Nigel Watson, Nils Lofgren, No-Man, Noisettes, Oceansize, One Nation, Optimum Wound, Orb, Profile, Páll Óskar, Papa Brittle, Paradise Lost, Passion Fodder, Patti Palladin, Paul Weller, Pavarotti, Peter Green, Peter Green Splinter Group, Peter Murphy, Pigbag, Pink Grease, Placebo, Police, Pooka, Primal Scream, Psychic TV, Pulp, Quincey Jones Productions, R.E.M., Ragga and The Jack Magic Orchestra, Red White & Pheonix, Rick Wakeman, Robbie Williams…
…Robert Gorl, Robert Hart, Robert Plant, Robyn Loau, Roger Chapman & The Shortlist, Rowan Keith & Rooney, S Club 7, Samuel Eddy, Scorpion Wind, Shakatak, Sean Tyla, Sex Gang Children, Sheila Walsh, Skin Games, Skyclad, Slade, Smokie, Snowy White, Snowy White & The White Flames, Soothsayers, Space Monkeys, Squeeze, Squire, Status Quo, Steel Pulse, Steve Brown, Strangers And Brothers, Strangelove, Stress, Terraplane, Test Dept., The Bai Bang, The Big Dish, The Bloods, The Bongos, The Box, The Business, The Capes, The Chills, The Cooper Temple Clause, The Conway Story, The Cult, The Cure, The D4, The Damned, The Datsuns, The Defects, The Force, The Heart Throbs, The Jackie Lynton Band, The Koreans, The London Symphony Orchestra, The Marbles, The Mike Flowers Pops, The Mission, The Music, The Mutts, The Orb, The Park, The Polka Dots, The Promise Ring, The Rakes, The RC Succession, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Stranglers, The Supernaturals, The Troggs, The Verve, The Webb Brothers, The Wedding Present, The Wildhearts, The Wolfmen, Theo Travis, Therapy?, These Animal Men, Think Twice, This Picture, Thunder, Time In Motion, Thompson Twins, Toba, Tokyo Offshore Project, Toranaga, Tori Amos, Tuxedomoon, Twelfth Night, U.K. Subs, U2, Uriah Heep, Vega4, Venom, Von Magnet, Vox Pop, Whipped Cream, Wild Life, Wise Guys, Сегодня Ночью, Xutos & Pontapés, Xymox, Ευριδίκη*, Γιώργος Θεοφάνους, くるり*, and יהודה פוליקר among others.
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