Macclesfield music studio celebrates thirty-year anniversary
A Macclesfield music business with a studio in the town centre are celebrating their 30th anniversary this month.
Trackside Studios, which is jointly-ran by father and son Alan and Stuart Bailey, is situated on Elizabeth Street.
The studio provides a relaxing, enjoyable space for musicians around Macclesfield, where they can rehearse or learn from an amazing set of teachers and develop their interest in music.
Alan originally was a plumber but after an injury to his leg he ended up rekindling his hobby of music leading to Trackside being established.
"It started after I fell off scaffolding and really badly broke my leg," said Alan.
"A friend of mine Steve said 'you used to play bass guitar Alan', and I said 'yeah when I was 15'. But, he reminded me that I wasn't going to be able to do anything else. So we started playing and we got back into it [performing music].
"We found a place on Crompton Road-we did it just as a hobby really.
"It was very damp there though, so we had to find a new space. So we got this place and me and Stuart built it all, we actually carried 541 sheets of clipboards up the stairs!
"It took us a while to find anywhere because we wanted somewhere in town, but not near any housing obviously.
Stuart joined his dad with the business as he himself was in a band and wanted to use the space to rehearse. From there, the company gradually developed and got bigger.
Trackside originally started just with rehearsal rooms, but now has a team of teachers that offer lessons for those interested in guitar, bass, drums and vocals. They are an official Rock School Exam centre.
Their music lessons start from 3:30pm to about 7:30pm, and the space is always favoured for those wanting to learn, the drums especially have proven to be the most popular.
"We currently have free slots in the daytime," added Alan.
"And we've got some brilliant teachers here. We are very lucky. There's about five guitar teachers and two drum teachers
"Steve used to own a music shop in town called Jones's which closed, so teachers there came here and it developed from there.
Alan, who is now aged 76, is retired but sees running the space as a way to keep him active and focussed.
Various Macclesfield bands have used Trackside records over the years.
Internationally-renowned Macclesfield rock band The Virginmarys is one amongst many others who have then grown over the three decades the studio has been open.
"You see different bands come and develop, it's satisfying to see," said Alan, who is a Co-Director of the business.
"We had one youngster come here and family members thought he was autistic, but he was actually profoundly deaf and he put himself behind other kids.
"They brought him here and he played the drums like you wouldn't believe. Seeing kids do things like that where music is helping them come out of their shell makes it worthwhile.
"We had one lad that smashed that cymbal up, and he ended up at the Royal Northern College of Music.
"We've got a few bands around Macclesfield that are working hard at the moment. There's a band called Von and a band called SHADER, who are really good.
Trackside is a relatively large studio with three rehearsal rooms, and has been painted by one of the women that teaches at the studio, giving the space a creative atmosphere.
As Trackside looks forward to many more years, Alan hopes to open the place up more for older people as learning an instrument, as he believes the guitar can actually be a great way for keeping the mind active.
"In the future for Trackside, I'd also like to us get more young bands in," Alan also said.
Macclesfield: Want to rehearse here? For more information, please visit their website.
Rehearsals start from £30 for three hours. They have over 1000 followers on Facebook.
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