I know that my thoughts over the next few hours
mirrored those of hundreds of Perth musicians around my age. I know
because I’ve since talked to many of them. There was a palpable
sense of loss. For my generation Planet holds a special place. Digital
technology has in the past ten years in particular brought world
class recording within everyone’s reach, and these days Perth positively
bristles with studios capable of making recordings for the world
market but that wasn’t always the case. When I started my career
there was only one place that truly offered world-class recording
facilities and invariably, when we were serious, that’s where we
recorded.
Those recordings have become the milestones of
our careers and consequently our lives, for myself two significant
highlights were recording the first Boys album in 1980 and the first
Jackals album in 1992. As is standard industry practice the master
tapes of those albums were stored in the studio in which they were
recorded. The lion’s share of Perth’s major recordings from the
eighties and early nineties were done at Planet and that was where
the master tapes were stored. It wasn’t just gear that went up in
the flames.
Planet staff of course also experienced the sense
of loss felt by Perth’s musicians. Les Williams, one of Perth’s
most respected sound engineers, has worked there since the beginning
of the eighties, a significant part of his career. As all industry
members will appreciate, this type of work becomes much more than
a job, sure it pays the bills but it’s also a labour of love and
a large part of his life’s work.
Trevor Spencer had spent twenty years working
in major and minor studios in London as a producer and musician
before returning to Australia and commencing work at Planet in 1995,
he and Les became the backbone of the studio. There were difficult
times, when the necessity of having such a high-end studio in Perth
came into question. With their focus on other projects the studio’s
previous management failed to respond to the changing marketplace,
then they lost a pile of money elsewhere and Planet went into receivership.
That could have been the end of the story had it not been for the
fact that Les and Trevor refused to let the place die. They canvassed
far and wide and just when it seemed all hope of Planet surviving
was gone they met up with Ken Booy.
Ken comes from a corporate background having
established a number of successful companies, importantly one of
those was a video production company. He’d always regarded audio
as the weakest area of the video production company and initially
looked at Planet with a view to solving that problem. On closer
inspection he saw untapped potential and as he became more involved,
that which has happened to most industry members happened to him,
he got the bug and the studio became more than a business, it became
a passion.
In the past year and a half Ken had come a long
way in turning around the fortunes of our most prestigious studio.
He brought in a new member of staff in the form of Laurie McCullum,
who quickly became a valued member of the team; he slashed recording
rates, making Planet affordable to local musicians; he initiated
a partnership with high schools; established an indigenous music
record label; and had just announced plans of a record label for
local musicians under the stewardship of respected industry identity
Pete Carroll. Then the fire struck.
As we go to press Ken and the boys are tying
up the paperwork with various insurance companies and salvaging
what gear they can. Obviously the last few weeks have been trying
but the message from all involved is very clear. Planet will be
back within the next few months. Their commitment to the local industry
is undiminished and their excitement about the projects announced
before the fire remains, it’s just the timetable that has changed.
www.planetstudios.com.au
