The 1970s

As one of the best rock guitarists of his generation, Eric Clapton first recorded at Olympic Studios' Central London location. As part of the group The Yardbirds, Eric recorded their first 3 singles in 1964 I Wish You Would, Good Morning Little School Girl and Putty In Her Hands. Clapton continued to frequent the studios in their current South West London location, as a session musician playing alongside Steve Winwood, Bill Wyman, Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts on the London Howlin' Wolf Sessions in 1971, as a member of Derek & The Dominoes and as a solo artist, recording one of his most well loved songs Wonderful Tonight in 1975.

Other bands to choose Olympic for recording in the 1970s include the rock blues quartet Ten Years After, who completed their album Cricklewood Green containing the hit single Love Like A Man; the album Watt and the gold selling pop album A Space In Time in 1971 which was a change in musical direction for the group.

Theatre musicals also grew in popularity throughout the seventies. A young Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice set about recording their seminal rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar. As a rock album initially, it garnered interest and a large enough audience to pave the way for the London stage show, thus establishing Lloyd Webber & Rice as the 'force majeure' of musical theatre. Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Picture Show was also scored at Olympic in 1975, as well as films including Mahoney's Last Stand and the theme for the credits of The Life Of Brian.