Windmill Lane Recording Studios: The Stories, The Sessions, The Sound

Discover how Ireland’s Windmill Lane shaped music creation for nearly fifty years through artists, engineers, and producers.

Where music history is made

For nearly fifty years, Windmill Lane has been at the heart of music creation in Ireland. It has drawn musicians from rock to pop and electronic, folk and traditional to full-scale orchestras through its doors:

• Irish artists such as U2, The Cranberries, Clannad, The Chieftains, The Corrs, The Waterboys, Altan, Phil Lynott, Van Morrison, Sinéad O’Connor, Christy Moore and Hozier.

• International superstars like The Rolling Stones, REM, Kate Bush, New Order, Def Leppard, Elvis Costello, Status Quo, AC/DC, UB40, Kylie Minogue, Five, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Kris Kristofferson, Ed Sheeran, Nick Jonas, Lady Gaga, Metallica and Spice Girls.

• Soundtrack recordings such as Riverdance, The Commitments, Mission Impossible and My Left Foot.

• Legendary composers and producers like Elmer Bernstein, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

This is the story of a global icon of the music world, told through the voices of the artists, engineers and producers who have worked there.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Michael D Higgins

01. ‘Let’s Aim High’

02. U2

03. How Do You Start a Studio?

04. Bill Whelan

05. Paul Brady

06. Dónal lunny

07. Horslips

08. Shay Hennessy

09. Steve Lillywhite

10. Clannad

11. Growth and Greatness

12. Midge Ure – Ultravox and The Chieftains

13. People and Music

14. The Move to Ringsend

15. The Commitments

16. The Corrs

17. The Cranberries

18. Film Scores

19. The Rolling Stones

20. Working at Windmill 102

21. Some other Memorable Artists at Windmill Lane 106

22. REM 110

23. Fiachra Trench 114

24. Other Notable Artists 118

25. Biff Stannard 124

26. The Script 130

27. The Mantle Passes 134

28. Built To Last 138

A devoted Horslips fan since his early teens, Mark Cunningham first interviewed the band in 1995, for Hot Press magazine. Later, he created the souvenir brochures for the band's reunion tours, and produced videos for their general promotion.

Mark's early career was focused on work as a bass guitarist, composer and producer. He produced the first official BBC Children In Need charity single, and played a supporting role with several well-known artists.

Moving into music journalism in the early 'nineties, Mark contributed to a wide range of magazines, as well as writing two popular reference books Good Vibrations: A History Of Record Production and Live & Kicking: The Rock Concert Industry In The Nineties.

In 1998, Mark co-founded TPi (Total Production International) a monthly magazine for the live industry and its associated annual TPi Awards event.

Since leaving TPi in 2011, he has worked in a marketing role for leading live sound company Clair Global, as well as advising on numerous entertainment production initiatives worldwide.

Mark lives in Southend-on-Sea, in the south-east of England.

For further information on Mark's career activities, please visit www.froog.net

Tony Clayton-Lea is award-winning Irish-based freelance journalist, writer and editor who writes primarily on pop culture. His work has been featured in The Irish Times, specifically for its Arts pages and its weekly music/movies/culture magazine, The Ticket, the Irish Independent, and The Irish Post.

Michael D Higgins was President of Ireland from 2011 to 2025. An innovative minister for the Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht from 1993 to 1997, he has always had a keen interest in music, poetry and literature.