The Ivor Novello Award-winning singer-songwriter Laura Mvula and Oliver Award-winning actor Adrian Lester officially reopened the famous Birmingham music studios on Friday 22 September after it received over a quarter of a million pounds of National Lottery funding to support its future.

Since the 1950s, Birmingham Civic Society has erected more than 100 blue plaques which recognise individuals connected to Birmingham who have made a significant contribution to their local community or excelled in their career, along with places of historical interest in and around the city.

Grosvenor Road Studios, formerly the renowned Hollick & Taylor Studios, has been operating as recording studios since the late 1940s and during that time many firsts have been recorded there including all the original sound effects for Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds and Stingray, the fabulous brass band rendition of Brighouse and Ratrick’s The Floral Dance and the first Brum Beat album, Jasper Carrott’s Funky Moped. It was acquired by the all-female a cappella quintet Black Voices in 2001, who continue to bring their diverse skills and knowledge of the music industry and community development to the studios.

The historic recording studio celebrated its reopening on Friday 22 September after being awarded over a quarter of a million pounds in National Lottery funding to support its work in encouraging stronger community cohesion while increasing the building’s usage. This funding has enabled refurbishments which improve, modernise and future-proof Grosvenor Road Studios, ensuring that it remains a welcoming centre in the heart of the Handsworth community.

Grosvenor Road Studios boasts one of the largest recording studios in the West Midlands as well as a workspace of seven offices for creative, cultural and community businesses, a centre for arts training and development, a hub for arts and community development, and a woodland garden for local children and their families.

The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, has seen the studios be redeveloped and modernised to better serve the local communities, the city and beyond.

At the same time, the studios are now able to continue its programme of training and development while playing a full part in nurturing home-grown talent to be seen regionally, nationally and internationally.

Invited guests at the official reopening of Grosvenor Road Studios were also able to discover Birmingham photographer Rob Bailey’s debut photography exhibition and the first retrospective of Birmingham’s hidden musical hip hop scene, as well as listening to the world-renowned Black Voices sing with Laura Mvula.