The Fifth Beatle – Sir George Martin: 1926 – 2016

#RIPGeorgeMartin has been trending all day but why? Who was he?

Quite simply, George Martin was the Fifth Beatle who sadly passed away today aged 90. Without this man, the Fab Four may not have existed. In 1962, a day in the life for the then head of Parlophone Records was spent trawling through demo tapes, eight days a week it must have felt, in search of the next big thing. After one particular hard days night, he came across one which kinda stood out from the rest from a band called The Beatles, who were making a name for themselves on the Merseyside club scene.

 

With Martin’s help, these four Liverpudlians would become known across the universe. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr would come together to become arguably the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll band in history.

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With a little help from his friends, the magical mystery tour just kept getting better. Martin was the man behind the Beatles from the early 60s, through the craziness of Beatlemania and up to the psychedelic Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band of 1967. It was his technical expertise that would allow the band to experiment and find a new sound. It was he would let George Harrison’s Guitar Gently Weep, John Lennon exclaim he was The Walrus and Paul McCartney tell the story of Yesterday.

Martin went on to produce 205 commercially released Beatles tracks, win 6 Grammys, 2 Ivor Novello Awards, an Oscar nomination and was presented with a Knighthood by her majesty in 1996.

Let it be known that, in addition to work with the Beatles, Martin also wrote and produced film scores, including Roger Moore’s first James Bond film Live and Let Die in 1971, for which Paul McCartney sang the theme song. Martin also helped Elton John re-write Candle in the Wind, which went on to become the biggest-selling single of all time.

Tributes have been made on twitter since the news of his death broke this morning.

  • Prime Minister David Cameron wrote: “Sir George Martin was a giant of music – working with the Fab Four to create the world’s most enduring pop music.”
  • Sir Paul McCartney said “I’m so sad to hear the news of the passing of dear George Martin. I have so many wonderful memories of this great man that will be with me forever. The world has lost a truly great man who left an indelible mark on my soul and the history of British music. God bless you George and all who sail in you!”
  • Sir Roger Moore wrote: “How very sad to wake to the news Sir George Martin has left us. He made my first Bond film sound brilliant!”
  • Liam Gallagher, lead singer of rock band Oasis, said on Twitter: “Sir George Martin RIP LG X”
  • Musician Lenny Kravitz wrote: “The legends are really going home! Visionary producer of #TheBeatles, George Martin (1926-2016).”

 

Sir George, we bid you hello/goodbye, and we thank you. giphy (16)

Now, we’ve hidden some Beatles song titles in this post, can you find them all? Some are obvious, others not so much. There are 15 in total. And as an extra tribute and treat, find some of the best Beatles tracks below.

 

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