Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm
NOW AVAILABLE TO RENT OR OWN
Release Date: May 14, 2021
Running Time: 93 min
Rating: NR
Director: Hannah Berryman
Producer: Catryn Ramasut
Editor: Rupert Houseman
Black Sabbath, Queen, The Stone Roses, Oasis, Coldplay, Simple Minds, Robert Plant, Manic Street Preachers are some of the greatest bands and musicians of our time, but what is the one thing these titans of music have in common?
This film tells the unlikely tale of how two Welsh farming brothers turned their dairy farm into one of the most successful recording studios of all time, producing four decades of legendary rock music. It’s where Queen recorded their seminal Bohemian Rhapsody and featured in the Hollywood blockbuster of the same name. But Rockfield’s own story has never been told…until now.
Fifty years ago, deep in the Welsh countryside, brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward were starting out in the family dairy farming business. But they yearned to do something different – they wanted to make music. So they built a studio in the attic of their farmhouse and started recording with their friends. Kingsley’s new wife, Ann, left her job in the local bank to do the books, and they continued farming all the while. Animals were kicked out of barns to make way for recording equipment, and musicians were moved into Nan’s spare bedroom. Inadvertently, they’d launched the world’s first independent residential recording studio.
Rockfield’s reputation spread like wildfire, quickly garnering international acclaim. From Black Sabbath, Hawkwind and Queen, to Simple MInds, Iggy Pop and Robert Plant, and later Oasis, The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, Manic Street Preachers and Coldplay - an unbelievable roll call of artists have made music and mayhem at Rockfield.
Innovatively told through archive, animation and personal interviews, legendary musicians give us their awe-inspiring Rockfield stories - sharing with us the highs, lows and magical moments that created some the worlds’ best-known and loved songs of our times - from Wonderwall to Yellow.
“Just to go from Birmingham to Monmouth was an adventure. You don’t understand, we’d never been in a studio, we’d never been on a farm!” says Ozzy Osbourne
“We used to smoke marijuana and smoke a bit of hash and play music. Sometimes record under the
influence of organic mescaline ..we were renowned for doing that.” says Dave Brock
“You lived there and you didn’t leave the studio until you had your album finished. It’s like the Big Brother house, innit, but with tunes” says Liam Gallagher
“It was very much like some sort of musical Hogwarts, we were sent away to figure it out” says Chris Martin
Rockfield: The Studio On The Farm is an extraordinary story of rock and roll dreams intertwined with a family business’s struggle for survival in the face of an ever-changing music landscape. Amazingly Kingsley Ward and his wife Ann, now in their 80’s are still at the helm today with daughter Lisa ‘front of house’. “Well if you’re gonna do something in your life, never give in, keep going.. The best is yet to come” says Kingsley.
The film is the debut documentary feature from director Hannah Berryman, produced by Catryn Ramasut from award-winning Welsh production company ie ie Productions.