Alex Grob

Alex Grob, a Swiss businessman and producer, married the American arranger Anita Kerr in 1965 and became her manager. Together, in 1975, they founded Mountain Studios, inside the Casino de Montreux — the studio that would record part of the history of rock and of the Montreux Jazz Festival.

Alex Grob: building a studio by the lake

1975: founding Mountain Studios

A producer and businessman, Alex Grob had married Anita Kerr in 1965 and managed her career. In 1975 the couple decided to give Montreux a top-flight studio: they called on Westlake Audio and the American designer Tom Hidley to fit out Mountain Studios inside the Casino de Montreux.

On one side, Anita Kerr’s ear; on the other, Alex Grob’s business sense: it was this alliance that gave birth to one of the most sought-after studios in Europe.

The Swiss advantage, then Queen

The studio recorded every concert of the Montreux Jazz Festival and used Switzerland’s tax advantages to attract the British: David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Yes, Rick Wakeman and Emerson, Lake & Palmer all came to work there.

In 1979, Queen bought Mountain Studios from Anita Kerr and Alex Grob. The studio would become legendary — but it owes its very existence to Grob and Kerr.