London Bridge Studio

London Bridge Studio is a historic and iconic recording facility in the Seattle area.

Founded in 1985, London Bridge Studio is located in Shoreline, just north of the Seattle, on a street with no immediate tourist appeal. But anyone familiar with the grunge discography can begin to imagine what happened inside these rooms: Pearl Jam’s Ten, Alice in Chains’ Facelift, Soundgarden’s Louder Than Love, Mother Love Bone’s Apple, and the Temple of the Dog album were all recorded here.

In a window of just over two years, between 1989 and 1991, London Bridge was the space where much of the sound that would define a generation took shape.

Albums Recorded at London Bridge Studio

The list of records made at London Bridge covers virtually the entire backbone of the Seattle scene:

• Mother Love Bone – Shine EP (1989)
• Soundgarden – Louder Than Love (1989)
• Mother Love Bone – Apple (1990)
• Alice in Chains – Facelift (1990)
• Screaming Trees – Uncle Anesthesia (1991)
• Temple of the Dog – Temple of the Dog (1991)
• Pearl Jam – Ten (1991)
• Alice in Chains – Sap (1992)
• Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1992)
• Blind Melon – Blind Melon (1992)
• Candlebox – Candlebox (1993)
• Alice in Chains – Jar of Flies (1994)
• Candlebox – Lucy (1995)
• Queensrÿche – Q2K (1999)
• Nickelback – Silver Side Up (2001)
• 3 Doors Down – Away from the Sun (2002)
• Queensrÿche – American Soldier (2009)
• Queensrÿche – Dedicated to Chaos (2011)
• Candlebox – Love Stories & Other Musings (2012)
• Queensrÿche – Queensrÿche (2013)

Temple of the Dog at London Bridge Studio

The Temple of the Dog album was recorded here in just 15 days. The project brought together Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron from Soundgarden with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Mike McCready — who would soon form Pearl Jam with Eddie Vedder, also present during the sessions.

The goal was to honor Andrew Wood, Mother Love Bone’s vocalist, who had died of a heroin overdose in March 1990. What emerged was an album recorded with urgency, inside a grief that was still raw, in the very studio where Wood had also been just months earlier to record Apple.

Visiting London Bridge Studio

London Bridge Studio accepts visitors by appointment through its official website. Visits are not available every day. Group historical sessions are generally offered on Saturdays. Private tours led by the studio’s own owners and producers can be booked on Mondays, Sundays, and select Saturdays, at a higher price point.

What justifies the investment: depending on the session you choose, it is possible to listen to the isolated instrument tracks from songs such as “Hunger Strike” by Temple of the Dog and “Jeremy” by Pearl Jam. It is an experience with no equivalent in any museum or exhibition.

Walking through the studio, you will find commemorative plaques from albums recorded here, photographs, and flyers documenting that era. You will also encounter the original Yamaha C7 grand piano — the same instrument used to record Pearl Jam’s “Black” and Mother Love Bone’s “Crown of Thorns.” A concrete object carrying a history entirely out of proportion to its size.