Abbey Road Studios in London is not only one of the world’s most renowned music production facilities but also the oldest. Established in 1929 during the era of wax disc and wooden horn recordings, The Gramophone Company set out to create a cutting-edge recording site.
The company purchased a nine-bedroom Georgian townhouse in St John’s Wood, complete with a spacious garden, for £16,500—a sum equivalent to nearly £900,000 today. After two years of renovations, the studios opened with a ceremonial performance of Edward Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Abbey Road Studios has hosted a long list of legendary artists, including Pink Floyd, Fela Kuti, Radiohead, and Kate Bush. However, it is most closely associated with The Beatles. The Fab Four recorded nearly all their material there, working with in-house producer George Martin, and immortalized the studio’s street in their 1969 album, Abbey Road.
Today, the studio is a shrine for Beatles fans, who leave messages on its walls and recreate the band’s iconic zebra crossing photo.
While Abbey Road is synonymous with The Beatles, an unexpected figure has also left an indelible mark: Gladys Mills, affectionately known as “Mrs. Mills.” By day, Mills worked as a superintendent in the Paymaster General’s typing pool, but by night, she entertained crowds with her lively honky-tonk piano performances.
Spotted by a talent scout at Essex’s Woodford Golf Club, Mills wowed audiences with her upbeat repertoire of music hall numbers. With Eric Easton, later co-manager of The Rolling Stones, as her agent, she released her first record, Mrs. Mills Medley, which reached the UK Top 20 in 1961.
Mills recorded the majority of her albums at Abbey Road Studios, where a 1905 Steinway Vertegrand piano became central to her distinctive ragtime sound. Studio engineer Stuart Eltham modified the piano’s hammers with lacquer to replicate the vintage tack piano effect, reminiscent of jazz greats like Fats Waller and Mary Lou Williams.
The piano, nicknamed the “Mrs. Mills Piano,” continues to be used for its nostalgic tone. Its distinctive sound can be heard in several Beatles tracks, including Penny Lane, With a Little Help from My Friends, and The Fool on the Hill. Even John Lennon’s avant-garde Tomorrow Never Knows features a fleeting burst of the Steinway’s trippy ragtime in its closing moments.
Mills embraced an unlikely career shift, releasing albums with colorful covers and even covering contemporary hits like Yellow Submarine. She appeared twice on The Morecambe and Wise Show and toured internationally, entertaining audiences in Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong.
While The Beatles were creating their self-titled double album, Mills was captivating fans overseas. Tragically, her vibrant second act ended with her passing in 1978 at the age of 59.
In 2021, Abbey Road Studios collaborated with Spitfire Audio to release a digital plug-in of the Mrs. Mills Piano, meticulously sampling each note for modern producers seeking its vintage charm. The piano’s influence continues to resonate, appearing on Eddie Vedder’s solo album Earthling and in a 2024 episode of Doctor Who.
Through her lively performances and the enduring appeal of her piano, Mrs. Mills’ unexpected legacy has traveled to places she likely never imagined, cementing her role in the storied history of Abbey Road Studios.
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