"The band's accountants possibly didn't figure in the cost of their eccentric new guitarist insisting upon recording his parts inside a bespoke chicken coop." The 10 most eye-wateringly expensive rock albums ever recorded

Monitor speakers and mixing desk in recording studio control room.

Famously, on October 16, 1969, Black Sabbath recorded their self-titled debut album at Regent Sounds studio in central London in a single 12-hour session, at a cost, guitarist Tony Iommi recalled in 2017, of just £800. Twenty years on, producer Jack Endino presented Nirvana with a bill for $606.17 for the 30 hours it took to record their debut album Bleach at his Reciprocal Recording studio in Seattle.

Not every band, however, is as time-and-cost-efficient in their efforts to capture their music for posterity, with quests for sonic perfection in recording studios capable of giving record label bean-counters anxious, sleepless nights.

Here are the stories behind ten of the most expensive rock albums ever made.