Maida Vale opens

Image: BBC Symphony Orchestra, Section D, conducted by Aylmer Buesst in studio MV1 at Maida Vale, 1934.

The BBC's Maida Vale building witnessed every sort of BBC music making - from Pink Floyd to BBC Symphony Orchestra! Acquired in response to the rapidly increasing requirements of broadcasting in the early 30s, it was in fact one of the BBC's earliest premises, pre-dating Broadcasting House in central London. It was the centre of the BBC radio news service during the Second World War, and like Broadcasting House, the site had to be repaired after taking a direct hit during the London Blitz.

Initially, however, it was acquired for orchestral purposes, and so in 1934 a skating rink in Maida Vale was converted into studio facilities large enough to accommodate a major orchestra. Originally it could accommodate more than 150 musicians, a choir of over 100 and an audience of 220.

Overall, the building housed a total of seven music and radio drama studios, and - outside its classical music remit - was most famously home to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 Peel Sessions, and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (as used in the Doctor Who theme music).

Now a new state-of-the-art facility in Stratford, east London has replaced it, and the original building sold to a partnership that includes the Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer and film producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.