1. Abbey Road - London, UK
Probably the most famous recording studio in the world due, in no small part, to the fact that The Beatles named an album after it. They recorded almost all their albums and singles there between 1962 and 1970 and are synonymous with the studio and it's nearby zebra crossing. But it wasn't just The Beatles who recorded here. Other famous recordings made here include;
- "Living Doll" - Cliff Richard
- "Apache" - The Shadows
- "Ghost Riders In The Sky" - The Scorpions
- "The Dark Side Of The Moon" - Pink Floyd
- "Duran Duran" - Duran Duran
- "The Bends" & "Kid A" - Radiohead
2. Hitsville USA - Detroit, Michigan, USA
In 1959 Berry Gordy bought this former photographer's studio and converted it into the headquarters for his Motown label along with the label's own studio. At it's peak it would stay open 22 hours a day, closing between 8am and 10am for maintenance. The house band known as "The Funk Brothers" are said to have played on more number-one records than The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys combined. Artists to have recorded here include Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson.
3. Muscle Shoals - Sheffield, Alabama, USA
Formed in 1969 when legendary session musicians Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson and David Hood, known as "The Swampers" left FAME Studios to create their own studio. Their distinctive accompaniments and arrangements have been heard on a number of legendary
recordings, including those from Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Lynyrd Synyrd and more recently, The Black Keys. If you're wondering where you've heard about Muscle Shoals and The Swampers before then have another listen to Sweet Home Alabama
4. Studio One - Kingston, Jamaica
Studio One was founded by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in the late 1950's and became known as the "Motown of Jamaica". It was hugely responsible for the catapulting of Jamaican music into the world scene. Through innovative producers like Dodd, Prince Buster and Lee "Scratch" Perry the studio oversaw the evolution of Ska to Reggae to Dancehall. Almost every Jamaican musician of note recorded here including The Skatalites, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Burning Spear, Toots & The Maytals, Delroy Wilson and Sugar Minott.
5. Hansa - Berlin, Germany
Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin became legendary in the 1970's when David Bowie went there to record his album, "Heroes", with the help of Brian Eno. It became known as "Hansa by the Wall" or "The Great Hall by
the Wall" in reference to the fact that it was right beside the city's infamous partition. It wasn't long before many of the big names in music flocked there to record. Some of those included Iggy Pop, U2, Nick Cave, Depeche Mode and in more recent years, Snow Patrol, Supergrass and REM.
The binary sequence translates to "exterminal.net",
the address of a website involved in an alternate reality game also set
up by the band to tie in with the concept of the album. Included with the album is a small insert that is a warning from the fictional United States Bureau of Morality, with a phone number
to report people who have "engaged in subversive acts". When the number
is called, a recording from the USBM is played, claiming "By calling
this number, you and your family are implicitly pleading guilty to the
consumption of anti-American media and have been flagged as potential
militants." 
