Fire at famed Le Studio Morin Heights investigated as suspicious

Extended: Andre Perry, Le Studio founder The founder of the legendary Morin Heights music recording studio on the day the building burned

A legendary piece of musical history has gone up in flames.

The building that housed Le Studio in Morin Heights caught fire shortly before 5 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 11, 2017.

The head of operations for the Morin Heights fire department said electricity to the building was cut off long ago, so they believe the fire was started by an individual.

In its heyday Le Studio in Morin Heights hosted world-famous musicians like The Police, David Bowie, and Rush.

Founder André Perry opened Le Studio in 1974 and quickly developed a reputation for excellent production that attracted everyone from April Wine and the Bee Gees to Keith Richards.

"I worked very hard with equipment, designers and so on to create a studio that was versatile enough. I called it a Ferrari that could go very fast and then idle for several hours," said Perry.

Pierre Marchand, the founder of Musique Plus, said Perry earned the respect of musicians at a time when the recording industry was booming.

"Because of the quality, and I think the vision of André Perry at the time, it was more than a studio. It was an environment to go record," said Marchand.

Perry sold Le Studio in 1988, and the company closed its doors in 2008, putting the building up for sale in 2015.

"Artists got paid, musicians worked, the budgets were right. Now it's controlled by business people and accounting, and artists barely make a living now," said Perry.

While entrepreneurs had plans to buy the building and renovate it, perhaps turn it into a museum, music fans regularly trespassed to see what was inside.

Vandals and squatters took over the building years ago, stealing items to sell as souvenirs and knocking down walls,

Perry said that Le Studio has been dead for some time.

"I'd rather that it goes away the way it is, up in flames," he said. "In my estimation, it was done, it was done for quite a while. What stays though, is the music, the memory stays and that's the most important thing."