Shepperton Studios

Lying to the South West of London, and just North of the small town of Shepperton, is the Shepperton Studios complex.

The Studio's huge sound stages and highly experienced staff (who've spent the last couple of decades here working on Alien, Star Wars and James Bond movies) make it a highly desirable filming location for big budget productions.















In 1974 Led Zeppelin filmed some live sequences at Shepperton for their movie 'The Song Remains The Same', creating an identical mock-up of their Madison Square Gardens stage-set for the purpose.

In 1977 The Who (under the name Ramport Enterprises) leased a 6 acre section of the Studio for the price of just over 1 million pounds. The lease gave them the use of Littleton House, an old manor near the edge of the studio site, and stages J and K - located just behind the manor.
















The Manor house was used by the band as office space, and can be seen in a short promotional film made at the time featuring Keith Moon giving a guided tour of the site.







Stages J and K were used by the band as rehearsal space and as a warehouse for their equipment. They also ran a business from the Studio, hiring out stage equipment and leasing storage space to other bands.

Smaller than the other stages on the site, J and K were originally built to be used for screen-tests and TV commercials. The Who were photographed here for the cover of their 'Who Are You' album.

















In May of 1978 the J and K stage building became the site of Keith Moon's final gig with The Who. This took place in front of a small invited Fan Club audience, and was filmed for the movie 'The Kids Are Alright'.

During the 1990's it was converted into office space, and renamed The David Lean Building, in honour of the Director of classics such as Lawrence Of Arabia and Bridge On The River Kwai. The current stages J and K are enlarged replacements, built on a different section of the studio complex.











Whilst at Shepperton The Who joined a campaign to preserve a 400 year old Cedar tree on the site from being felled to make way for a housing development. The campaign was succesful and the tree still stands today.

















In 1984 The Who's business interests in Shepperton came to an end, and Shepperton's owners sold the land leased by the band for £3.6 million. Today the studios are owned by Pinewood, and continue to churn out assorted cinematic blockbusters.

Shepperton Studios can be found at North End, Littleton Lane, Shepperton. The nearest train station is Shepperton.