Fifth 'Beatle' Speaks at Sanders Theatre

Sir George Martin didn't think much of the Beatles when he first heard their demo tape, the man now known as "The Fifth Beatle" told a packed Sanders Theatre crowd last night.

But then-Beatles manager Brian Epstein loved the group and convinced Martin to take them on.

"I eventually loved them too," Martin said.

The Beatles producer gave a multi-media presentation last night that focused largely on the Fab Four's watershed 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which Martin produced.

The 1,150 people in attendance were mostly middle-aged adults, including Aerosmith member Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, who came to see one of the creators of the music they grew up listening to.

"Sir George Martin is one of my heroes," said former Rolling Stone writer Kathleen Mackay '72, a Crimson editor. "His understated and brilliant style helped the Beatles become what they did."

While there were not many college students, largely because of the $35 student ticket price, second generation Beatles fans, like Brown sophomore Jeremy Adams, were easy to find.

"I'm a Beatlemaniac and being that close to The Fifth Beatle was exceptional," Adams said.

Proceeds from Martin's presentation benefited Revels, the Boston based non-profit organization which runs seasonal cultural shows around the country, including the famed "Christmas Revels."

Considered by many fans and critics alike to be the first "concept album," Sgt. Pepper helped raise rock and roll above its pop background. The record contained numerous hits, including "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "With a Little Help From My Friends" and "A Day In The Life."

Martin said the record was revolutionary because it was intended to be listened to as a cohesive album and not just a collection of songs.

Martin's presentation included humorous retellings of stories and anecdotes from his years spent producing all of the Beatles albums.

The story that elicited the most crowd response dealt with the recording of "A Day in the Life."

Martin and the strings section of an orchestra dressed in formal attire while Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr ran around blowing bubbles and wreaking havoc with sparklers, balloons and a variety of carnival prizes.

The highlight of the evening for many was Martin's in-depth discussion of how one of the most elaborate, lavish albums in rock history came together with only four microphones and without the aid of synthesizers, computers.

"We didn't have tape synchronizers. It was hit or miss," Martin said.

His presentation included a number of video clips, as well as interviews with McCartney, Harrison, Starr and Martine himself talking about the insanity, occasionally drug-induced, of the Abbey Road Studios during the recording sessions for the Sgt. Pepper album.

Martin also played a number of rare Beatles recordings that showed the evolution of well-known Beatles songs like "She's Leaving Home" and "Strawberry Fields Forever."

Martin also cleared up a number of rumors about the band and the album. Martin said the title of the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," often thought to be about the drug LSD, was inspired by a painting created by John Lennon's young son Julian. The painting depicted Julian's classmate Lucy literally in the sky with diamonds.

"It was not intended to be about drugs," Martin said.

Martin said the song's surreal lyrics do, however, contain psychedelic images. Martin also said the spiky, leafed plants in the foreground album's cover are not marijuana leaves, as rumored among some fans.

The two-hour presentation ended with an extended standing ovation for the aging musical icon, who was visibly touched.

"It was simply amazing," said audience member Kathleen M. Fay '04.