‘Fifth Beatle’ George Martin dies aged 90
MOLLY Meldrum and other members of the music industry have paid tribute to music producer and “fifth Beatle” George Martin who has died.
LEGENDARY producer and “the fifth Beatle” George Martin has died at 90, according to Ringo Starr.
The band’s drummer Ringo Starr was the first to pay tribute to the man who helped develop their sound on Wednesday as news of Martin’s death spread.
“God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family love Ringo and Barbara George will be missed xxx,” he posted.
“Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love.”
Martin was the man who signed the Beatles when they had been infamously rejected by other record labels.
The head of EMI’s Parlophone records in the early 1960s, Martin wanted to broaden the label’s roster beyond its jazz and comedy stable when he heard the demos the band recorded for Decca who didn’t proceed with the band.
Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love xx😎✌ï¸ðŸŒŸðŸ’– pic.twitter.com/um2hRFB7qF
— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) March 9, 2016
The finely-tuned ear of the producer and musician could hear something in the beatles’ harmonies and booked them into a session at Abbey Road Studios in June 1962.
He offered them a deal after recording and encouraged them to dump drummer Pete Best, who would ultimately be replaced by Starr.
Martin also encouraged them to share the frontmen duties rather than focus on one singer.
His studio wizardry helped the band reach the dizzying heights of success and build their sonic palette with more lavish productions as their musical ambitions grew., adding strings to tracks including Yesterday and the haunting Eleanor Rigby.
Martin’s other lightning bolt moments in the studio included the boldly cacophonous orchestral buildup in A Day In The Life and running tapes backwards to give Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band its psychedelic trippiness.
Molly Meldrum, who has recently returned to his production duties after decades out of the studio, said Martin was his inspiration even before he signed The Beatles.
“I admired George for so long, even before I got into rock music, because he was producing classical music and also comedy records like Peter Sellers,” Meldrum said.
“When he started working with the Beatles, I was really in awe of him. I firmly believe that because of his knowledge of classical music that he knew how to guide the Beatles in the studio.
“Sgt Peppers was no freak accident, he taught them how to have orchestras on their records and expand their sound.”
The Australian music guru also recalled a key moment in his life when Martin had heard Russell Morris’ The Real Thing, which a young Meldrum produced.
“It was 1969, I was in London working at EMI as a producer and my friend Terry Doran worked at Apple, the Beatles’ record label so I’d get to Abbey Road. One day George Martin pulled me aside and said ‘Young man, I must congratulate you on a record I heard you produced in Australia, The Real Thing’,” Meldrum recalled.
“I told him I’d borrowed some of his production ideas and he said ‘No, no, it’s fantastic, I love it’. I felt like the king of the world. John, Paul, George and Ringo all said he was the fifth Beatle and that’s exactly what he was.”
Martin continued his career - and working regularly with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr - after The Beatles quit.
Australian rock legend Glenn Shorrock shared a long association with Martin which began in the 1960s when he was recording with his band The Twilights.
“We were at Abbey Road in 1966 and George popped his head in the door and had a listen to what we were doing, walking around like the Duke of Edinburgh as he did,” Shorrock said.
“He said ‘Jolly good, chaps; sounds wonderful’ and then returned to the next studio where Paul McCartney was laying down the vocals for Penny Lane. It was a very exciting night.”
Their next encounter was when Martin agreed to produce Time Exposure, Shorrock’s final album with Little River Band at his Montserrat studios in the Caribbean in 1981. The studios were closed after a devastating hurricane in 1989.
He said Martin did not produce with an “iron fist” and the pair bonded over a shared sense of humour and love of Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers who the producer had worked with before he signed The Beatles.
He then coerced Martin to conduct the orchestra for his production of All You Need Is The Beatles in Australia in 1998.
“He asked if we would play the Opera House and when I said yes he said ‘Of course I will be there’. Those concerts go down as the highlight of my career because we got to perform all these Abbey Road songs that The Beatles had never played live,” he said.
“He loved to have a martini before he went on stage.
“Later on, he was back in Australia for his book and I was asked to launch that.
“A nicer man you could never meet.”
He produced a raft of major artists including America, Jeff Beck, Neil Sedaka, Jimmy Webb and Cheap Trick, as well as Australia’s own Little River Band.
Martin produced their 1981 record Time Exposure at his AIR Studios in Montserrat.
He was behind the re-recording of Elton John’s Candle in the Wind as a tribute to Princess Diana after her death in 1997 and signalled it was “probably my last single. It’s not a bad one to go out on.” It became the second highest-selling single in history.
The English musician, born on January 3, 1926 was knighted in 1996 and his last major production work was with his son Giles for the Cirque du Soleil stage production of The Beatles music called LOVE.
Martin is survived by his wife, Judy and four children Giles, Gregory, Alexis and Lucy.
Tributes to Martin started to flow through from Twitter.
Sir George Martin RIP LG x
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) March 9, 2016
RIP Beatles producer George Martin pic.twitter.com/JIJLf0FLtR
— Brian Eno (@dark_shark) March 9, 2016
The legends are really going home! Visionary producer of #TheBeatles, George Martin (1926-2016). pic.twitter.com/X8sVf9iNQ7
— Lenny Kravitz (@LennyKravitz) March 9, 2016
Think about your favourite Beatles song. George Martin made that song come to life. The architect of the best band ever. What a legacy
— David Campbell (@DavidCampbell73) March 9, 2016
Rest in peace George Martin and thank you for the music
— Andy Bell (@Andybebop) March 9, 2016
George martin. Wow. People made records that were that good.
— Flea (@flea333) March 9, 2016
Police stop huge pop star mid-show
Ed Sheeran found himself in hot water with police in India who approached him before angrily unplugging his microphone.
Rapper’s insane fast food order revealed
The Hotline Bling hit maker made the massive order just minutes before he was scheduled to perform in Melbourne. This is exactly what he got.
Kendrick Lamar’s epic Drake feud explained
The beef between Drake and Super Bowl star Kendrick Lamar dominated headlines in 2024 — and has done anything but abate ever since.