Andrew Lloyd Webber 'very interested' in buying Abbey Road studios

Musical supremo Andrew Lloyd Webber has joined the battle to save the historic Abbey Road studios, revealing he would like to buy it.

The composer, who will also soon be leading BBC1 talent search Over The Rainbow, has often used the famed venue for soundtrack albums.

Embattled music group EMI is said to be planning to sell the venue which was home to almost all the Beatles recordings. It also inspired the name of the Beatles final recordings, and was the venue for such landmark albums as Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.

EMI's private equity parent Terra Firma is said to be hoping the north London site could raise tens of millions of pounds.

Lloyd Webber has often favoured the venue because of its unrivalled size, which can fit full orchestras - vital for recordings of stage productions.

The composer is estimated to be worth around £750 million according to least year's Sunday Times Rich List.

And the National Trust has said it will look into whether it should buy the studios to preserve them for the nation.

A spokesman for Lloyd Webber confirmed he was "very interested" in buying Abbey Road studios.

"He first recorded there in 1967 with Tim Rice. Andrew has since recorded most of his musicals there, from Jesus Christ Superstar to his new musical Love Never Dies.

"He thinks it is vital that the studios are saved for the future of the music industry in the UK.

"Abbey Road has such great facilities, with three major recording studios, and Andrew has probably brought more musicians to record there than anyone else because it has the capacity to record large orchestral productions."

Beatles history already figures in the National Trust's catalogue of properties, with the Liverpool childhood homes of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney already on the books.

Around 8,000 people have joined a Facebook campaign and online petition urging Abbey Road to be kept on as a working studio.

"Abbey Road studios holds a special place in the hearts of the general public. For many this world class studio was the birthplace of their favourite musical recording," said former Abbey Road employee Roland Heap, who founded the Facebook group.

He plans to hand the petition to Sitn Simon, the minister for creative industries