In 1968, when Island Records wanted a mixing console for the company's new Basing Street Studios, Glyn Johns persuaded Swettenham to leave Olympic Studios and partner with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell to start his own mixing console manufacturing company, and Helios Electronics was established in 1969.
Also in 1969, Island Records commissioned a 20-input, 8-bus Helios console with 16-channel monitoring for their new Basing Street Studios,[7][8] where the console was used to record Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Dire Straits, and the Led Zeppelin album Led Zeppelin IV, including "Black Dog" and "Stairway to Heaven".
A quad-ready 32-input Helios console with Allison automation was part of Virgin's 1975 refurbishment of The Manor studios, where it remained in use through late 1981.
During the making of the sixth Deep Purple album, Machine Head, the Mobile nearly caught fire as it stood next to the Montreux Casino in Switzerland, which was set ablaze during a Frank Zappa concert.
[18] In 2004, Helios Electronics released the Type 69 mic/line/EQ module, a reissue of the input section of the rare silver Olympic Studios mixing desk.
Waves developed the plug-in in cooperation with producer/engineer Eddie Kramer and with the use of the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio Helios console.