Sir George Martin RIP

[pastoralguy]

... not to mention Rolf Harris...

I'm sure that George Martin's remit didn't involve looking into his personal life.

And I think it's in rather bad taste to associate the passing of a distinguished producer's life with the depravity of another person.

So much so, I've reported you to the administrators for sheer bad taste.

And you, Tony, should be ashamed of yourself for encouraging him!

[french frank]

So can we stick to the tributes rather than recreate the same controversies as the BBC Breakfast programme?

[Richard Barrett]

Don't be silly, pastoralguy. I didn't mention Harris' depravity or suggest that Martin was in any way connected with it - I was only following up on the idea suggested by MrGongGong that George Martin, whom I regard very highly indeed as a musician (as opposed to Charlie Drake and Rolf Harris for whose musical doings I have considerably less respect), was involved with some fairly low-quality musical projects in his time, which is what I assumed lay behind MrGG's reference to gilding. The fact that he lent his considerable sonic skills to such things is indeed intended as a tribute - for example the strange sounds with which Drake's "My Boomerang Won't Come Back" begins are a great deal more memorable than the rather racist song that follows.

[MrGongGong]

Don't be silly, pastoralguy. I didn't mention Harris' depravity or suggest that Martin was in any way connected with it - I was only following up on the idea suggested by MrGongGong that George Martin, who I regard very highly indeed as a musician (as opposed to Charlie Drake and Rolf Harris for whose musical doings I have considerably less respect), was involved with some fairly low-quality musical projects in his time, which is what I assumed lay behind MrGG's reference to gilding.

The ability to turn unpromising material into music worth listening to is a great skill and one to be admired (and maybe more so than some of those who were the generators of the material in the first place)....

[Richard Barrett]

The ability to turn unpromising material into music worth listening to is a great skill and one to be admired (and maybe more so than some of those who were the generators of the material in the first place)....

Precisely.

[pastoralguy]

Don't be silly, pastoralguy. I didn't mention Harris' depravity or suggest that Martin was in any way connected with it - I was only following up on the idea suggested by MrGongGong that George Martin, who I regard very highly indeed as a musician (as opposed to Charlie Drake and Rolf Harris for whose musical doings I have considerably less respect), was involved with some fairly low-quality musical projects in his time, which is what I assumed lay behind MrGG's reference to gilding.

We all have things that we're not proud of in our lives. It's called paying the mortgage! And I stand by my remark that George Martin's death is not the time for levity.

And don't call me silly, you silly man!

[MrGongGong]

We all have things that we're not proud of in our lives. It's called paying the mortgage! And I stand by my remark that George Martin's death is not the time for levity.

And don't call me silly, you silly man!

Do you use a mounting block?

[pastoralguy]

The ability to turn unpromising material into music worth listening to is a great skill and one to be admired (and maybe more so than some of those who were the generators of the material in the first place)....

[french frank]

It is never absolutely necessary to respond when you feel there is something you feel like saying.

[pastoralguy]

It is never absolutely necessary to respond when you feel there is something you feel like saying.

So my line manager tells me. However, 18 months from retirement tends to put a different perspective on things!

[Lat-Literal]

Following our discussion on Bowie etc, my feeling is that the newspaper coverage has if anything been underdone. However, if people under a certain age have never heard of him, I suppose that tells us why. Unlike Bowie, there is no doubt less scope to talk about controversies, personal memories and all the rest. I find that I have less to say because the musical achievement speaks for itself. The Beatles were and are bigger than them all. Be in no doubt that George Martin was an absolutely towering figure in popular music as well as a gentleman as JC said. And no disrespect to Ringo who was a much better drummer than many thought but the Fifth Beatle as a tag doesn't do GM justice in my humble opinion.

[teamsaint]

So my line manager tells me. However, 18 months from retirement tends to put a different perspective on things!

are you counting it out in box sets, PG?

[pastoralguy]

are you counting it out in box sets, PG?

Pay slips, TS! 19 to go and counting.

[BBMmk2]

He certainly had a good innings! RIP

[Richard Barrett]

We all have things that we're not proud of in our lives. It's called paying the mortgage! And I stand by my remark that George Martin's death is not the time for levity.

There was in fact no levity, nor indeed any suggestion that GM shouldn't be proud of the work he did on projects such as the ones I mentioned. (Although the same might not go for the people whose names get principal billing on them.) I don't really see why you've made what I posted into something you want to disagree with. As for mortgages, I admit to never having dealt with such things so perhaps there are whole depths here that I don't understand.

I find it absolutely fascinating to go through the Beatles' recorded output and trace the evolution of the synergy between them and Martin, to the point where they were basically free to dream up anything at all, no matter how outlandish, and he would be able to realise it somehow - very few musicians before or since have had such freedom, but on the other hand Martin's abilities were expanding at the same time, not just technically but in terms of stimulating and channelling the others' creativity. If they had only stayed together longer... but it's hard to imagine anything more perfect in its own way than for example "Here comes the sun".