Sir George Martin CBE |
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Martin backstage at the Beatles' Love show, Las Vegas, c. 2006
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Background information | |
Birth name | George Henry Martin |
Born |
Highbury, London, UK |
3 January 1926
Died | 8 March 2016 Wiltshire, UK |
(aged 90)
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1950–2006 |
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Sir George Henry Martin CBE (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, audio engineer and musician. He was referred to as the "Fifth Beatle", including by Paul McCartney, in reference to his extensive involvement on each of the Beatles' original albums. Martin had 30 number-one hit singles in the United Kingdom and 23 number-one hits in the United States.
Martin produced comedy and novelty records in the early 1950s, working with Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Bernard Cribbins, among others. His career spanned more than six decades of work in music, film, television and live performance. He held a number of senior executive roles at media companies and contributed to a wide range of charitable causes, including his work for The Prince's Trust and the Caribbean island of Montserrat. In recognition of his services to the music industry and popular culture, he was made a Knight Bachelor in 1996.
Martin was born in Highbury, London. When he was six, Martin's family acquired a piano that sparked his interest in music. At eight years of age, Martin persuaded his parents, Henry and Betha Beatrice (nėe Simpson) Martin, that he should take piano lessons, but those ended after only eight lessons because of a disagreement between his mother and the teacher.
As a child, he attended several schools, including a "convent school in Holloway", St Joseph's School (Highgate), and at St Ignatius' College (Stamford Hill), where he had won a scholarship. When WWII broke out, and St. Ignatius College students were evacuated to Welwyn Garden City, his family left London, and he was enrolled at Bromley Grammar School.