EUROPEAN VEGAS

Summer Nocturne   -   Clara Gangutia

The Beatles and George Martin, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, 1963 and 1967

Photo 1 © Apple Corps Ltd (presumably); photos 2 and 3 © Henry Grossman

Remembering Sir George Martin (1926-2016) with gratitude, not least of all for giving four Liverpool musicians a chance when nobody else would. Sincerest condolences to his family, thoughts are with them.

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“What I recall about George Martin the first time we met him was his accent. He didn’t speak in a Cockney or a Liverpool or a Birmingham accent, and anyone who didn’t speak like that we thought was very posh. He was friendly, but schoolteacherly: we had to respect him, but at the same time he gave us the impression that he wasn’t stiff - that you could joke with him. There is a well-known story about when we’d finished playing [in June 1962] and we were walking up the stairs to the control room in Studio Two. He was explaining things and he said, ‘Is there anything that you’re not happy about?’ We shuffled about silently, then I said, ‘Well… I don’t like your tie!’ There was a moment of 'Ohhhhh’, but then we laughed and he did too. Being born in Liverpool you have to be a comedian.” - George Harrison, The Beatles Anthology

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“He wasn’t beastly to me, but he spoke to me recently and said his only regret was that he didn’t realise sooner what I was. He already had enough to deal with, I suppose, with this band The Beatles who already had two guys out there writing and singing. He didn’t really need to try because in thise days most groups had their songs written for them. It was all quite new. But only this summer he said to me, Will you ever forgive me, George? (Laughs) He’s such a gentleman! It was nice of him to say that, you know.” - George Harrison in response to the question, “George Martin recently admitted he still felt embarrassed about not giving you more attention in the studio, He claimed he’d 'been beastly to George’.” - Q, 1988 [Many thanks to friarparksoulclub for sending this!]

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“George was always very kind to his intimate friends. A few years ago I became rather ill and had a series of operations which left me low for a while. Hearing I was under the weather, George rang up and suggested he came over one afternoon. He brought a huge bunch of flowers and a small, beautifully carved statue of the Hindu God Ganesh. ‘Keep him by your bedside,’ he told me, ‘He will look after you.’ I must say, so far he has. It was typical of George to show he cared. His faith never wavered. He was a one-off, a very special person, and we all miss him dreadfully.” - Sir George Martin [x]

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Diana Thater - The Sympathetic Imagination

Los Angeles County Museum of Art