Former Beatles engineer Norman Smith dies at 85
Norman Smith worked on a large number of the Beatles' tracks
Friday, 07, Mar 2008 10:10
The Beatles' former engineer, Norman Smith, has died at the age of 85.
Smith worked on every studio recording the Beatles made between 1962 and 1965.
In 1965 record label EMI promoted him from engineer to producer and in 1967 he signed Pink Floyd and producing their first studio albums, including A Saucerful of Secrets.
He also achieved success in the UK singles chart, under the name Hurricane Smith, with songs such as Don’t Let It Die reaching number two in 1971.
EMI released a statement announcing their grief at the news of Smith's death and describing him as "a legendary figure in the history of EMI and British music".
"We are very saddened to hear of his passing away, and our thoughts and condolences go out to his family at this time."
Rubber Soul was the last Beatles record Smith worked on and in total he engineered around 180 of the band's songs.
He later claimed it was the band's sense of humour and style when they came into Abbey Road studios for their first session for EMI that made him convince George Martin to sign them.