"When the Wall fell, Heroes became a hymn. It was an unbelievable feeling," said Mueller.

Bowie drifted away from Berlin after the third part of the trilogy, "Lodger," but his success drew many other artists to Hansa studios, including Depeche Mode, David Byrne, and most famously, the Irish rockers U2.

In the autumn of 1990, U2 began work on "Achtung Baby," produced by Daniel Lanois with Brian Eno, who also produced some of Bowie's Berlin oeuvre, back in the studio. The record was a renaissance for U2 and sold more than 10 million copies.

"This room saw the beginning of U2's big international success and a lot of that was about the atmosphere of the city and the atmosphere in the studio," said Mueller.

....The studio's eerie atmosphere has inspired artists in many different ways — Depeche Mode's Martin Gore famously stripped naked to get himself in the mood before recording a poignant love song in the basement.

"One time the punk band Killing Joke filled the grand piano and covered the mixing desk with fire extinguisher foam. It took us 14 days to clean it up," said Mueller.

"The atmosphere was free from pressure, where artists could be creative. We tried to be like a hotel for the stars. We removed everything that could hinder their creative urges."

....Nowadays Hansa is right at the heart of new Berlin and located near the grandiose headquarters of Sony Europe, but Mueller misses the days when it was a dusty, run-down creative hothouse.

"Nowadays, well, you can't just throw a cigarette butt on the floor anymore. I don't think heavy metal bands would feel so comfortable in this room." [Reuters]

I interviewed and profiled British producer/engineer Gareth Jones, who worked at Hansa for almost ten years:

Gareth Jones was one of the most important engineers and producers of British new wave in the '80s and '90s, producing or co-producing the techno-pop of Depeche Mode's Some Great Reward and Black Celebration ; Erasure's Wild!, Erasure (No. 14 U.K.), and Cowboy; the melodic neo-psychedelia of Wire's The Ideal Copy and A Bell Is a Cup Until It Is Struck, and the vibrant electronica of Sheep On Drugs' From A to H and Back Again and Greatest Hits.

Gareth Jones was born in the English countryside outside of London in 1954. He enjoyed classical and jazz music growing up, eschewing pop music until his mid-teens. Always interested in music and technology, Jones played piano, trumpet and French horn and studied science in school. He also "mucked about with tape recorders" from an early age.