Wish you were here? The house that was once the home, and rehearsal space, for British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd and is now available to rent for just under £2k a week.

%image(15204239, type="article-full", alt="In his memoir Nick Mason described 39 Stanhope Gardens as "one of those comfortable Edwardian houses with spacious rooms and high ceilings."")

Want to live in a piece of British rock history? The property that played a key role in the formation of British rock band Pink Floyd is yours to rent.

The original band members lodged at 39 Stanhope Gardens during the 1960s, and it was here that they honed their seminal psychedelic sound.

Bassist Roger Waters, drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright met in the early 1960s whilst studying architecture at the Regent Street London Polytechnic.

In the September of 1963 Waters and Mason moved in together in a flat at 39 Stanhope Gardens. The Crouch End property was owned by Mike Leonard, a tutor at the Polytechnic and the nearby Hornsey College of Art.

%image(15204239, type="article-full", alt="In his memoir Nick Mason described 39 Stanhope Gardens as "one of those comfortable Edwardian houses with spacious rooms and high ceilings."")

You might think having a burgeoning band as tenants could cause some tension, but the young prog rockers were so fond of their landlord they called themselves Leonards Lodgers for a while, with Leonard himself frequently joining the group on keys for jamming sessions.

In his book Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, Mason wrote: “Stanhope Gardens made a real difference to our musical activities. We had our own permanent rehearsal facility, thanks to an indulgent landlord.”

The endless practicing made them less popular with the neighbours.

“Rehearsals took place in the front room of the flat, where all the equipment was permanently set up,” wrote Mason.

%image(15204240, type="article-full", alt="The property was a key player in the formation of one of Britain's most popular rock bands.")

“Unfortunately, this made any study very difficult and sleep almost out of the question since it was also Roger’s and my bedroom. The neighbours naturally complained, though the threatened noise injunction never materialised, but, just in case, we occasionally eased their pain by renting rehearsal hall in the nearby Railway Tavern on the Archway Road.”

The constant noise and activity eventually caused Mason to move back in with his parents in Hampstead in the summer of 1964 so he could get some time to study – and sleep.

Taking his place was vocalist Syd Barrett, a childhood friend of Waters, who moved into the Stanhope Gardens flat and took over the catering duties, feeding the friends on just 4 shillings a day (about 20p in today’s money).

In the December of that year they bagged their first recording session at a West Hampstead Studio.

By 1965 the band, now consisting of housemates Barrett, Mason, Waters, and Wight were referring to themselves as Pink Floyd Sound, and they went on to sign their first record deal with EMI in 1967. The rest was rock n roll history.

After Leonard’s death in 2012 the house, by then in a rather decrepit state, was sold at auction for £1 million.

The buyer wasn’t much of a Pink Floyd fan, and according to reports from the BBC auctioned much of the remaining memorabilia in the house on eBay in what must have been a momentary lapse of reason.

The refurbishment went far beyond putting another brick in the wall however, and the newly modernised house went on sale last year for £3 million.

Now the home is available to rent for £1,995 a week and is available fully furnished should you have the money but not the time to decorate yourself.

The Pink Floyd connection is clearly a selling point. Ivan Hrissimov, the Highgate branch manager of Benham and Reeves Lettings said: “The property is currently is occupied by a British actress with her family for six months as they are shooting in London. When I was showing the house in the summer to the current tenant I did mention the Pink Floyd connection, and they were very intrigued.”

Even without the rock history connection the newly refurbished flat makes for an attractive prospect.

“The house is suitable for corporate lets, in my opinion,” added Mr Hrissimov. “In my experience it would be ideal for people relocating from USA who are looking for lots of space and comfortable, high tech, and high spec accommodation.”

Benham & Reeves Lettings