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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Claire Phipps and Nadia Khomami

'Fifth Beatle' music producer George Martin dies – tributes

Producer George Martin recalls making the Beatles’ classic Yesterday – archive video

We’re closing the liveblog now, but you can continue to leave your tributes to George Martin in the comments section. The full report of his life and death can be found here.

Thanks for reading. Below, listen to the producer talking about the creation of Beatles song Strawberry Fields Forever.

The Press Association have written about George Martin’s life in 11 numbers:

  • 1926 - The year Martin was born. He was a carpenter’s son from Holloway, north London
  • 7 - His career spanned seven decades
  • 6 - He won six Grammy Awards and in 2008 was the recipient of the Grammy Foundation’s Leadership Award
  • 2 - Martin won two Ivor Novello Awards - Special Award for Outstanding Services to British Music in 1964, with Brian Epstein and The Beatles, and the Award for Outstanding Services to British Music in 1979
  • 37,000,000 - Martin co-produced Sir Elton John’s Candle In The Wind, which was released to mark the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 and sold 37 million copies
  • 1 - He was nominated for one Oscar for his work composing the score for Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night
  • 205 - The number of commercially released Beatles tracks Martin produced
  • 30 - In 1963 alone his productions spent 32 weeks at number one and he remains the world’s most successful record producer with 30 number ones in the US and UK singles charts
  • 3 - He has written three books. The first dealt with the early years of his life in the music business, the second looked at all aspects of making music, and the third was about the historic making of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
  • 1996 - Martin was knighted by the Queen in 1996 and six years later arranged the musical celebrations for her Golden Jubilee
  • 90 - Martin died on Tuesday March 8 2016 aged 90

Producer George Martin recalls making the Beatles’ classic Yesterday – archive video

Here’s an interview with Martin after he was given the Outstanding Contribution To UK Music Award by the Music Producers Guild. Asked what piece of advice he would give to the new generation, he responds: “Never give up”.

Tributes are still pouring in to Martin on social media:

Martin talks about his life and career in this interview with Beatles aficionado Jeremy Ansell on Radio New Zealand in 1998.

There’s been plenty of confusion voiced on Twitter – where the M.O. is to tweet first, check later – over George Martin’s death. Specifically, plenty of Game of Thrones fans have expressed shock at the fantasy author’s passing, then relief that it’s a public figure who doesn’t matter to them.

Here’s George Martin reminiscing with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 2013 about replacing Pete Best:

Updated

Journalist Pete Paphides has paid a lengthy tribute to Martin. In a series of tweets, he says Martin was the main piece of good fortune that marked the Beatles’ path:

Updated

Philip Norman wrote this of Martin’s role in shaping The Beatles in his book Shout!:

The importance of George Martin cannot be overemphasised. First of all, he signed them. Second, he did not cheat them. Third, he did not adulterate them. It would have been easy for him, as all-powerful record producer, to insist that each release should carry a B-side composed by himself. Martin happened to be of the rare breed who are content to use their talents in improving other people’s work. To Lennon and McCartney he was the editor that all creative promise strikes if it is lucky. He took the raw songs, he shaped and pruned and polished them and, with scarcely believable altruism, asked nothing for himself but his EMI salary and the satisfaction of seeing the songs come out right. As the songs grew more complex, so did Martin’s unsung, unsinging role.

The Beatles had been turned down by several record labels including Decca when Martin invited them for an audience at Abbey Road in June 1962. He subsequently signed the band to his Parlophone label.

Martin in particular took to their humour – George Harrison told him: “I don’t like your tie for a start” when Martin asked him if they disliked anything about the set up.

British culture secretary John Whittingdale has tweeted:

Updated

More appreciation, from Crowded House’s Neil Finn:

And from the Charlatans’ Tim Burgess:

Martin won six Grammys over the course of his long career, and the awards organisers have paid tribute to him today:

Martin – or at least this sketch suggests – could rarely be dissuaded from talking about the subject he knew best.

Kevin Eldon plays Martin in this good-natured series of skits from the UK series Big Train, featuring Simon Pegg. Eldon wrote it in collaboration with Big Train’s creators, Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews.

‘The harrowing kidnap of George Martin.’

C A Management, which represented Martin, has issued a statement confirming his death:

We can confirm that Sir George Martin passed away peacefully at home yesterday evening, Tuesday March 8th. The family would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages of support.

Sir George started producing records for EMI’s Parlophone label in 1950. He was noted for his comedy recordings with the likes of Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Beyond the Fringe and got his first Number 1 with The Temperance Seven in 1961. He signed The Beatles in 1962 and, with the band, helped revolutionise the art of popular music recording.

In a career that spanned seven decades he was recognised globally as one of music’s most creative talents and a gentleman to the end.

The family ask that their privacy be respected at this time.

As well as the Beatles, Martin went on to produce artists including Elton John, Celine Dion, Kenny Rogers, Jeff Beck and Neil Sedaka.

He also produced two James Bond themes: Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey and Paul McCartney and Wings’s Live and Let Die.

Bond actor Sir Roger Moore was certainly appreciative:

Tributes from the music world are flowing in now.

And this from Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich:

Although the true holder of the “fifth Beatle” title is in some dispute, it seems fair to allow Martin to own it today:

British prime minister David Cameron has tweeted his appreciation of a “giant of music”:

In this archive interview, Paul McCartney talked about what the Beatles’ success owed to Martin:

I keep saying he’s like an old shoe. I like them, I put them on, there’s no problem, it doesn’t hurt a bit.

Plus he’s a very good producer. He’s one of the best in the world.

Paul McCartney discusses his relationship with George Martin.

Sean Ono Lennon – son of Yoko Ono and John Lennon – posted an image of Martin on Instagram, saying he was “so gutted I don’t have many words”:

Sir George Martin has died at the age of 90.

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was the first to break the news, via Twitter:

We’ll be rounding up tributes to Martin on this rolling blog; feel free to add your own in the comments below the line.

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