LONDON, United Kingdom (2nd UPDATE) – Legendary British music producer George Martin, who turned the Beatles into the best-selling band in history, has died at the age of 90, the band's drummer Ringo Starr said on Wednesday.
"God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family... George will be missed," Starr said on Twitter, also posting a black and white picture of the band with Martin.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family love Ringo and Barbara George will be missed xxx</p>— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) <a href="https://twitter.com/ringostarrmusic/status/707420462620381184">March 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love xx<a href="https://t.co/um2hRFB7qF">pic.twitter.com/um2hRFB7qF</a></p>— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) <a href="https://twitter.com/ringostarrmusic/status/707421932522577920">March 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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British Prime Minister David Cameron led tributes to the producer, who signed up the Beatles when he was the head of the Parlophone label after hearing their demo record in 1962.
"Sir George Martin was a giant of music – working with the Fab Four to create the world's most enduring pop music," Cameron wrote on Twitter.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sir George Martin was a giant of music - working with the Fab Four to create the world's most enduring pop music.</p>— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) <a href="https://twitter.com/David_Cameron/status/707455101192036352">March 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The producer, who signed up the Beatles after hearing their demo record in 1962, was so essential to the band's success that he was nicknamed the "Fifth Beatle".
"R.I.P. George Martin. I'm so gutted I don't have many words. Thinking of Judy and Giles and family," late band member John Lennon's son Sean wrote on Instagram, referring to Martin's wife and one of his four children.
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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="6" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BCuE5N6FEpz/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">R.I.P. George Martin. I'm so gutted I don't have many words. Thinking of Judy and Giles and family. Love Always, Sean</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Sean Ono Lennon (@sean_ono_lennon) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-03-09T05:06:52+00:00">Mar 8, 2016 at 9:06pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote>
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Martin was born in January 1926, a carpenter’s son from north London.
After serving in World War II, he studied at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and began playing the oboe in bars and clubs around London.
His first job was in the BBC's music library.
He then joined the record label Parlophone, a division of EMI, and rose to become its head by 1955 at the age of just 29.
First single 'pretty poor'
Martin quickly realized the Beatles' potential after first hearing them in 1962.
"I liked them as people apart from anything else and I was convinced that we had the makings of a hit group," he told Melody Maker magazine in an interview.
But he added that: "As composers, they didn't rate. They hadn't shown me that they could write anything at all."
The band's first single "Love Me Do", which reached number four in the charts in October 1962, "was pretty poor but it was the best we could do," he said.
That song was followed by "Please Please Me", which made number two, and "From Me To You" in April 1963 – their first chart-topper.
Martin also composed scores for the Beatles films A Hard Day's Night and Yellow Submarine.
After the band split, he built the Air Studios on the Caribbean island of Montserrat and went on to work with other artists including Bob Dylan, Sting and Elton John.
He also recorded two of former Beatle Paul McCartney's solo albums, Tug of War and Pipes of Peace.
He continued to write music and work with music charities until his death.
Music stars reacted quickly to the news, with singer Lenny Kravitz paying tribute to Martin as a "visionary producer" and tweeting: "The legends are really going home!"
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The legends are really going home! Visionary producer of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheBeatles?src=hash">#TheBeatles</a>, George Martin (1926-2016). <a href="https://t.co/X8sVf9iNQ7">pic.twitter.com/X8sVf9iNQ7</a></p>— Lenny Kravitz (@LennyKravitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/LennyKravitz/status/707446787578183680">March 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher also took to Twitter, writing "Sir George Martin RIP."
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sir George Martin RIP LG x</p>— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) <a href="https://twitter.com/liamgallagher/status/707441576977498112">March 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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– Rappler.com