Hi Steve, I noticed that Virgin have commissioned Abbey Rd Studios to “half speed master” GTP and T-drum. What difference will this make to the originals in your opinion. I am not familiar with this method hence unsure what benefits it will bring to the originals. Also I thought Virgin had “lost” the master tapes to Japan albums after being stored somewhere in a damp basement etc? Intrigued!

The short answer is that the half speed masters will preserve quality to the max and will be comparable to the actual master tapes, unlike the original vinyl which were far inferior but alas was the acceptable standard at the time. As a recording artist, listening to the vinyl was wholly depressing after hearing it ‘perfected’ in the studio. Half speed vinyl would have been a much more acceptable form of mass production.

The master tapes were not damaged or lost. However multi-track tapes were irreparably damaged, which means the music can not be remixed.