George Martin has passed away aged 90

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35761464

Very sad news :/

The older I get, the more I appreciate what a phenomenon The Beatles actually were.

When you think every band has a set line-up, which although can change, you never get people associated with them as official members, which makes it more incredible that there was always a case for a fifth Beatle - Sir George, Brian Epstein and Stuart Sutcliffe. Theres even a wiki page dedicated to it.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Beatle

But for me, when it comes down to the music, Sir George has to fill that role.
He was Algernon to the Fab's Bash Street Kids.

RIP, Sir George.

So sad. He was the real fifth beatle.

Yes it all becomes very clear. George Martin was musically the fifth Beatle and the Beatles were all about music.
So he WAS the fifth Beatle.
RIP

he was the real MANAGER

George Martin did so much to interpret and enhance the Beatles sound. Absolute legend of music.

R.I.P. Sir George. The Beatles wouldn’t have been what they were without you.

I agree and so does Paul. If anyone was the fifth Beatle it was George. RIP

Thought about this all day today. Of course, I got the usual messages from friends, as if one of my family members had died.

Little by little, all the people that were actually there are going away. But George Martin lived a long amazing life, I don't think anybody should be sad about it. On the list of 5th Beatles, he's at the top for me. Epstein is up there too, but Martin beats him out. No he didn't write the songs. But he was responsible for so much of the magic that we all just listen to and take for granted. So many of the cool little things about the music, buried in the background, or even glaring right in your face - it just wouldn't be there without him.

I met him once, just for a few moments. It was at a Ringo show in Vegas, I think it was the night after the Cirque premiere, when all the main Beatles people attended. He was in a VIP area, and when I saw him leave, I just walked up to him. He was with his wife and I think his son Giles too. Shook his hand, told him a few nice things, and that was that.

Not sure if anyone remembers me, I haven't been active in this forum for years, even though I check it out regularly. This sad event brought me back again, as what I'm about to write is something the people around me might not understand completely. Perhaps people here do. The death of George Martin somehow hit me hard. I agree with Jerry that he lived a long amazing life and he said himself in the nice documentary "Produced by George Martin" that he lived every day like it was the last. He seems to have been a happy man, who lived an interesting and full life. His contribution to The Beatles' sound is commonly recognized and for me he was the Fifth Beatle. Like Paul said, if anyone earned the right to be called the Fifth Beatle, it was George. Even though I have realized for a long time that he was old and this day would come sooner and later, it was still a shock to wake up to this piece of news last week's Wednesday. I can't begin to explain how much I admired Sir George and his work. In a childish way I felt like he would always be around, even though of course I knew that this is not the case. I am truly so sad that this great fantastic man has left us. In a way I am surprised at how deeply this touches me on a really personal level, he has been constantly in my thoughts every day since the news came out. A true icon, who left such a huge legacy. I can't believe he's not among us anymore. :( I am happy though that Giles Martin sort of continues his work with The Beatles and has been involved in several projects with them in the recent years. And of course George Martin lives on forever in his work and music. <3 R.I.P. Sir George!