Article Preview - Norman Smith: The Beatles' First Engineer : May 2008
Article Preview - Norman Smith: The Beatles' First Engineer Obituary Published in SOS May 2008 People : Artists/Engineers/Producers/Programmers On March 3rd, the world of music lost one of its pivotal figures. Norman 'Hurricane' Smith recorded the Beatles' first six albums, produced the first four Pink Floyd LPs and even enjoyed chart success in his own right. In his 'Hurricane' alter ego, Norman Smith went on to have several solo hits as an artist in his own right. Photo courtesy of EMI "With The Beatles we're talking about something really melodic, whereas with Pink Floyd, bless them, I can't really say the same thing for the majority of their material. 'A mood creation through sound' is the best way that I could describe Floyd." So said Norman Smith when I spoke to him a decade ago about his work with two of rock music's most influential bands. In 1959, while struggling as a session pianist and drummer, Smith had landed a job as a recording assistant at the EMI Studios on Abbey Road. "I had to start right at the bottom as a gofer, but I kept my eyes and ears open, I learned very quickly, and it wasn't long before I got onto the mixing desk," he said. "In those days every prospective artist that came in had to have a recording test, and that's what we started doing as engineers, because we couldn't really cock anything up. Normally, each of the producers at EMI had their own assistants and they would be the ones to keep an eye on the potential talent, and that's what I was doing when one day this group with funny haircuts came in." Cue John, Paul, George and Pete Best, who, having been rejected by virtually every UK label, turned up for a Parlophone audition in EMI's Studio 2 on Wednesday, June 6, 1962. A Bad Impression ...
Published in SOS May 2008 | Saturday 17th May 2008 | ||||||||
