GEORGE MARTIN: "ALL YOU NEED IS EARS"

-"George," he said, "I don't know if you'd be interested, but there's a chap who's come in with a tape of a group he runs. They haven't got a recording contract, and I wonder if you'd like to see him and listen to what he's got?"

-"Certainly," I said, "I'm willing to listen to anything. Ask him to come and see me."

-"O.K., I will. His name's Brian Epstein..."

"[Paul] said: 'There's a guy in them playing this fantastic high trumpet.' 
'Yes,' I said, 'the piccolo trumpet, the Bach trumpet. Why?' 
'It's a great sound. Why can't we use it?' 
'Sure we can,' I said, and at that he asked me to organize it for him. Now the normal trumpet is in B flat. But there is also the D trumpet, which is what Bach mostly used, and the F trumpet. In this case, I decided to use a B-flat piccolo trumpet an octave above the normal. To play it I engaged Dave Mason, who was with the London Symphony Orchestra."



All You Need Is Ears (1979, republished in 1994) is the story of George Martin, the man who spotted the Beatles' talent, who recorded and produced them from the start, and who brought their musical ideas to life. In this autobiography, he describes exactly what it was like to work in the studio with the Beatles--from the first audition (and his decision to scrap Pete Best on drums) to the wild experimentation of Sgt. Pepper (complete with sound effects, animal noises and full orchestras in evening dress at the direct request of Paul McCartney).

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"JUST STOP BLAMING YOKO. BLAME THE BEATLES."

September 1st, 1967: The Beatles met up at Paul McCartney's house in London to decide what to do following the death of their manager, Brian Epstein. According to many of the group's insiders,  it was Epstein who kept the Beatles grounded and protected.

They decided to be their own managers, and McCartney took the lead on most business decisions. Five days after Epstein's death, Paul convinced the others to write and film a music fantasia: "Magical Mystery Tour". The band spent months filming odd scenes and recording music to accompany them. The film debuted on the BBC the day after Christmas in 1967, and the next day it was brutally criticised. ("Blatant rubbish," wrote London's Daily Express). 

During the following two years, McCartney tried to keep the others on track, but it was a difficult and thankless task.  "Paul would want us to work all the time," Ringo said, "because he was the workaholic." This view was in part shared by George Martin, who said: "Paul would be rather overbossy, which the other boys would dislike. But it was the only way of getting together ... It was just a general disintegration."

During the recording of the "Let It Be" album, Paul was telling everybody what notes and tempo to play, even telling the film director how to direct. When Harrison and Lennon wanted to add organist Billy Preston to the band as a fifth Beatle, McCartney's response was adamant: "It's bad enough with four". 

Moreover Apple was running out of control at the time, as a result of buying the Savile Row building and bad management. McCartney was the only Beatle who took an interest in the business. When Paul told the rest of the band that Apple had financial problems, they simply wouldn't listen. McCartney told Lennon that he in particular was spending too much, and Lennon angrily answered back: '"You're always right, aren't you?'"

After that the band decided they needed to get a manager. Paul wanted his father-in-law to be and his brother-in-law to be to manage and save Apple. The rest confronted him, because they didn't want Paul and his family to control their business and their money. Finally all of them but Paul signed with Allen Klein as manager. 

By the time "Abbey Road" was released on September 26th, 1969, The Beatles were no longer together. On December 31st, 1970, McCartney sued to dissolve the Beatles. The rest is history.

BEATLES CHANGE DRUMMER!

August the 16th, 1962: Pete Best is fired as drummer for The Beatles, replaced by Ringo Starr. The group's manager Brian Epstein does the firing by calling Best into his record shop and giving him the bad news.