Sir George Martin, producer of the Beatles and the man Sir Paul McCartney described as a “second father”, has died aged 90.
Martin passed away at his home on Tuesday evening. The news was broken in a tweet from Ringo Star, who wrote: “God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family love Ringo and Barbara George will be missed.”

Sir Paul McCartney paid tribute to a “great man”, saying : “He was a true gentleman and like a second father to me. He guided the career of The Beatleswith such skill and good humour that he became a true friend to me and my family. If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George.”

Martin signed the Beatles to Parlophone records when others had turned them down and produced all but one of their albums. He became and remained one of the most influential producers in popular music history and was often described as the “fifth Beatle”. His reputation stretched well beyond his 23 US and 30 UK No 1 singles.
“George Martin made us what we were in the studio,” Lennon once said. “He helped us develop a language to talk to other musicians.”