A Brief History of Abbey Road Studios

Soundboard
Throughout its history, the studio remained a leader in technical innovation. Prompted by the demands of the Beatles Sergeant Pepper album, Abbey Road engineer Ken Townsend developed a system where by two four-track machines could be linked together, thereby ushering in a new era of multitrack recording. The innovation led quickly to the creation of an 8, then 16 and 24-track recording. In this 1967 photo, John Lennon sits with producer George Martin.

• The Beatles Final Performance