​Quebec's Legendary Le Studio Destroyed in Fire

David Bowie, Rush, the Police and Cat Stevens were among the artists who recorded there

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Aug 11, 2017

Taking away a piece of Canadian music history, a fire has destroyed the site that once housed Quebec's famed Le Studio, which once greeted the likes of David Bowie, Rush and Cat Stevens.

Emergency crews were called to the former site of Le Studio in the Laurentian Mountains at 5:30 a.m. EDT today (August 11), and firefighters have since confirmed the building is completely ruined.
 
As CBC reports, firefighters say they have found evidence that suggests the fire may have been set on purpose.
 
Located approximately in the town of Morin-Heights, 90 kilometres northwest of Montreal, the studio was once home to visiting artists like David Bowie, Rush, the Police, Keith Richards, Cat Stevens, the Bee Gees, Roberta Flack, Celine Dion, Kim Mitchell, Bryan Adams and more.

The studio was also featured in April Wine's "I Like to Rock" music video, as well as on an Elisha Cuthbert- and Jay Baruchel-hosted episode of Popular Mechanics for Kids. Watch both of those clips down below.
 
Le Studio was originally built by recording engineer André Perry in the mid-'70s as a retreat and live-in studio for artists. Perry eventually sold the studio in 1988 and retired in the early '90s. The building ceased to operate as a studio in 2003 and has not been occupied since 2008.
 
You can see footage from the fire below, courtesy of Radio-Canada reporter Sebastien Desrosiers via Twitter.
 

 

 

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