15 Non-Beatles Albums Recorded at Apple Studios

In 1968, the Beatles' Apple Corps bought 3 Savile Row, a building in central London that became their official headquarters. Wasting no time, a recording studio was designed and built in the basement.

Apple Studio, as it was initially called, was not fully equipped at first — it lacked a number of basic things, including a talk-back system between the studio and the control room and proper soundproofing — but nevertheless, the Beatles chose to record much of Let It Be in the space. Eventually, the studio was completely renovated, upgraded with better technology and reopened in 1971 under the slightly different name Apple Studios.

By then, of course, the Beatles had gone their separate ways, but Apple Studios was very much open for business. Over the years, it hosted a number of famous acts, including people who worked directly with the former members of the Fab Four.

Below, we're taking a took at 15 Non-Beatles Albums Recorded at Apple Studios, organized chronologically. To be clear: this is not an exhaustive list, and sometimes multiple recording locations were used, but it does showcase the wide range of talent that passed through the famous building's doors.

1. The Radha Krsna Temple, The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (May 1971)

It should surprise no one that one of the first non-Beatle albums to be recorded at Apple Studios was one called The Radha Krsna Temple, which featured a collection of Hindu devotional songs as performed by the U.K. branch of the Hare Krishna movement. At the production helm was none other than George Harrison himself and it was released on the Beatles' own Apple record label. This album yielded two hit singles, "Hare Krishna Mantra" and "Govinda."

2. Fanny Hill, Fanny (February 1972)

If you're not already familiar with the work of Fanny, the all-female rock band out of Los Angeles, we highly recommend that you check them out — David Bowie once called them "one of the finest f---ing rock bands of their time." Fanny recorded their third album, Fanny Hill, at Apple Studios, produced by Richard Perry and engineered by Geoff Emerick. Fittingly, they included a Beatles cover on the album, "Hey Bulldog."

3. Son of Schmilsson, Harry Nilsson (July 1972)

Not only was Harry Nilsson's eighth album, Son of Schmilsson, recorded at Apple Studios, it also included guests Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Nicky Hopkins (more on him later), Klaus Voormann, Bobby Keys and Peter Frampton. When all was said and done, Son of Schmilsson landed at No. 12 on the U.S. albums chart.

4. Brother, Lon & Derrek Van Eaton (September 1972)

Here's another Harrison production: 1972's Brother by Lon and Derrek Van Eaton, once again featuring Voormann, Frampton and Starr as guests, plus Jim Gordon of Derek and the Dominos, Andy Newmark of Sly and the Family Stone and Mike Hugg of Manfred Mann. (And yes, Lon and Derrek were actual brothers.)

5. Stealers Wheel, Stealers Wheel (November 1972)

There would not be "Stuck in the Middle With You" without Apple Studios. That's where Stealers Wheel recorded the Top 10 hit single, as well as the rest of the tracks to their self-titled debut album, which went to No. 50 in America.

6. Painted Head, Tim Hardin (1972)

For much of the '60s, Tim Hardin worked out of American hubs of music: New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, etc. It wasn't until around 1969 or so that he began traveling back and forth from the U.S. to England, unfortunately for both professional and personal reasons — for a while he attended an addiction treatment program in the U.K. in an attempt to control his heroin habit. By the time he made 1972's Painted Head, Hardin was fully living in England.

Guests on Painted Head included Frampton again, plus original Genesis member Chris Stewart, Bruce Rowland of Fairport Convention and others.

7. Daltrey, Roger Daltrey (April 1973)

In April of 1973, Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the Who, made his solo debut with an album simply titled Daltrey. Though the bulk of it was recorded at Daltrey's own barn studio out in the countryside of East Sussex, overdubs, mixing and the rest of the finishing touches were done at Apple Studios. Daltrey, which made the Top 50 in America, yielded the No. 5 hit in England "Giving It All Away."

8. The Tin Man Was a Dreamer, Nicky Hopkins (April 1973)

Nicky Hopkins was arguably one of the most important pianists in rock music — you can hear him on seminal albums by the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Beatles and so many more. But he only released three solo albums in his lifetime, the second of which, 1973's The Tin Man Was a Dreamer, was started at Apple Studios. And just to give you a sense of how busy and important Hopkins was at that moment in time: sessions for The Tin Man Was a Dreamer took place in between Hopkins' contributing to George Harrison's Living in the Material World and the Stones' Goats Head Soup.

9. You Broke My Heart So ... I Busted Your Jaw, Spooky Tooth (May 1973)

Spooky Tooth broke up in 1970, but that situation didn't last terribly long. Two years later, they reformed with a different lineup — sans Luther Grosvenor who had joined Mott the Hoople, replaced by Mick Jones, future co-founder of Foreigner — and then released a new album in May of 1973 called You Broke My Heart So ... I Busted Your Jaw.

10. Wishbone Four, Wishbone Ash (May 1973)

Unfortunately, Wishbone Ash's fourth album, Wishbone Four, wasn't well-received. Both fans and critics felt it strayed too far from the things they liked best about the band, and yet, it still went to No. 12 on the U.K. albums chart.

11. Loud 'n' Proud, Nazareth (November 1973)

Nazareth kept busy in 1973, releasing not one but two albums during that year. Loud 'n' Proud was the second, arriving in November and bringing with it a No. 11 hit cover of Joni Mitchell's "This Flight Tonight." Produced by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, Loud 'n' Proud reached No. 10 on the British albums chart, making it their highest-ranked release.

12. Ass, Badfinger (November 1973)

If you're familiar with the history of the Beatles then you almost certainly know about their connection with Badfinger, who released a total of five albums under Apple Records. They used Apple Studios for two albums, 1973's Ass and 2000's Head First, the latter of which had been recorded over two decades prior but went unreleased at the time.

13. First of the Big Bands, Tony Ashton and Jon Lord (April 1974)

In 1974, there was a collaboration in the form of Tony Ashton of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke and Jon Lord of Deep Purple. Together, working often out of Apple Studios, they made an album called First of the Big Bands. In the U.K. and Europe, it was released under Deep Purple's own label, Purple Records.

14. The Impossible Dream, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (October 1974)

Glasgow's Sensational Alex Harvey Band made two albums at Apple Studios. The first was 1973's The Impossible Dream, followed by 1974's Next.

15. Not a Little Girl Anymore, Linda Lewis (1975)

Over the years, Linda Lewis sang backing vocals for the likes of David Bowie, Al Kooper, Cat Stevens, Rick Wakeman, Rod Stewart and others. But she also released several of her own solo albums, including 1975's Not a Little Girl Anymore, a No. 40 hit on the U.K. albums chart.