Latest news with #GeorgeMartin
Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Professor Peter Bassano obituary: Trombonist on Hey Jude
Peter Bassano spent almost three decades as a trombonist with the London Philharmonia Orchestra and served almost as long as a professor at the Royal College of Music. Yet the best-paid gig of his career came in August 1968 when he was still a student and got a call to turn up with his trombone one evening for a three-hour recording session at Trident studios in London's Soho. 'We weren't told what it was but then George Martin arrived and I realised it was a Beatles session,' he recalled. Martin told Bassano and the other 35 members of the ad hoc orchestra that they were required to play four notes in the coda of Hey Jude. According to Norman Sheffield, the studio's owner, several
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
The British and Irish Lions squad announcement LIVE: Full team revealed as Andy Farrell makes decision for Australia with Maro Itoje set to be named captain
12:02 George Martin to miss out One player we know who will not be heading to Australia this summer is Itoje's fellow England lock George Martin. Martin has been ruled out through injury, and Farrell has several other fitness concerns to contend with as well. England lock George Martin out of British & Irish Lions tour England lock George Martin has been ruled out of the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia as head coach Andy Farrell continues to deal with a series of fitness headaches. 11:59 Maro Itoje to be named captain? We are expecting England skipper Maro Itoje to be unveiled as Lions captain this afternoon. But who will be joining him as the Lions head Down Under? Itoje is shoo-in for captain but selection day will be full of drama CHRIS FOY: England captain Maro Itoje's coronation on Thursday as the Lion king is now regarded as a formality, but there will be drama and tension, shocks and raw emotion. 11:55 Good afternoon! Welcome to our coverage of today's Lions squad announcement. Which players will Andy Farrell pick to head to Australia this summer as the Lions aim for their first series win in 12 years? We will find out very soon...
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Don't Let It Be! Son of legendary Beatles producer demands Labour 'listen to artists' as he joins Mail campaign against controversial AI proposals
The son of legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin has demanded the Government 'listen to artists' over controversial AI proposals that would let tech firms use their work for free. Giles Martin used Artificial Intelligence to 'reunite' The Beatles for the John Lennon hit Now And Then two years ago, but warns Labour 's plan for the technology 'makes no sense at all'. It comes as the Government once more forced out amendments to the Bill which would have bolstered the protection of artists' copyright, in another blow for Britain's world-leading creative industry. Mr Martin earlier hit out at the 'nonsensical' move to allow Big Tech to use creatives' work to train their algorithms for free unless the artists 'opt out'. The Data (Use and Access) Bill primarily covers data-sharing agreements, but has received a backlash from the likes of UK Music after transparency safeguards were removed at the committee stage. Some MPs had wanted to reintroduce the amendments which would protect copyright by forcing firms training AI models to disclose whether work by a human creator has been used. But in a vote in Parliament last night the Government successfully resisted this. British songs, films, paintings and news articles are protected under UK copyright law. But the Government proposes giving Big Tech an 'exception', allowing them to access such works to train generative AI models, without permission or payment, unless creators 'opt-out' of letting them. Ahead of the vote, Mr Martin, a Grammy-winning producer, joined fellow creatives in a protest calling on Labour to 'Make It Fair'. He said: 'It makes no sense at all the idea of opting out. The Government has a lot of financiers and not many artists looking at this, and they seem overly impressed by tech firms making false promises.' He said AI was 'not a bad thing' but added: 'It's like The Little Mermaid – you should own your own voice.'
The Independent
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Producer Giles Martin says Government must do more to ‘protect artists' from AI
The Government must do more to 'protect artists' from AI developers as a data Bill moves through parliament, award-winning producer Giles Martin has said. Creatives, industry leaders and politicians gathered in central London to call on the Government to scrap plans that would allow AI developers to use creative content without permission or payment. It comes ahead of a parliamentary debate where MPs are due to discuss the Data (Use and Access) Bill which primarily covers data-sharing agreements, but has received a backlash from the likes of UK Music after transparency safeguards were removed at committee stage. Martin, a Grammy-winning English record producer and son of Beatles producer George Martin, attended the event claiming that the Government is not doing enough 'to protect artists'. He said: 'The Government seem to be more and more influenced by large technology companies, seem more impressed by them. '(If) Paul McCartney today writes Yesterday, that should belong to him, or he should just say what happens to that, or his voice. He should say what happens to his voice and right now, with the Government, they're not doing enough to protect artists. 'If you make something, if something is yours, it shouldn't be taken by a company and used without your permission. It's as simple as that.' UK Music claims the Bill would put creatives at risk after amendments put forward by Baroness Kidron to ensure transparency and international compliance safeguards were removed. The protest saw industry leaders and creatives call on the Government to make changes to the Bill to ensure that companies training generative AI models, such as ChatGPT, disclose whether work by a human creator has been used and protect creatives under existing copyright rules. Martin added: 'I think we should be worried about protecting artists, and actually not just artists. I think people's own personalities, their own voices, their own creations. I think that's what needs to grow. I think we need to look after the individual. I think tech companies will look after themselves.' Currently, British songs, films, paintings and news articles are protected under UK copyright law but a recent Government consultation proposed that it could offer tech companies free access to British music, films, books and more in order to train generative AI models without permission or payment, with creators required to 'opt-out' if they do not want their work to be used. Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds and Central and Headingley, who also attended the event, tabled an amendment to the Bill, requiring greater transparency from tech companies, ensuring that creatives know when their work is being used and how. Mr Sobel said: 'I'm very concerned about creator content being ingested by AI without any traceability. 'It's really important for creators, creative industries, that we have traceability, that we know what's going in, so artists and creative companies are not completely deluded of income in the future. 'It could absolutely ruin the creative industries in the UK.' The consequences of the Bill, if the amendments do not go through, could point to a future with 'no income in music' according to Mr Sobel. Describing how this would impact new artists if protections are not added to the Bill, Mr Sobel said: (AI models would) ingest a few different catalogues of similar artists, Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris, etc. You create a song, the song sounds just like them. The streamers just put those AI-generated songs. 'Artists don't get anything. Record companies don't get anything because nobody knows what was ingested in so people are listening to content but nobody's earning any income. And what happens in future? No new artists come through because there's no income in music. So then we just have legacy industry, and nothing new. 'What we don't want to do is stop progress. All we do is ensure that those creators and creative industries who generate the content are being recognised and enumerated. 'I think there's a lack of understanding about the real significant dangers, because it's a new area, because it's complicated, because it's confusing. 'There isn't just one form of AI. There's generative AI, which is this one we're worried about. But there's also assistive AI, where artists might use AI to create songs, that's completely different, and people can easily get confused between different types of AI and what they do and how they operate.' Lord Watson of Wyre Forest, chairman of UK Music, said: 'The UK music industry has always embraced tech. We've been at the forefront of using tech to create new sounds to give new energy to different generations of music. That's not going away. But what we're saying is there is a danger with this particular technology. 'We're at a critical point in the future of British music. Give our creators and music and businesses protections they need and deserve, and we can carry on going forward with the British music industry in good condition.'
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
England lock George Martin out of British & Irish Lions tour as head coach Andy Farrell faces injury concerns
England lock George Martin has been ruled out of the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia as head coach Andy Farrell continues to deal with a series of fitness headaches. Farrell will confirm his final squad for the hotly-anticipated series with the Wallabies at a glittering event at London's O2 Arena on Thursday. But Mail Sport understands that Leicester enforcer Martin won't be named, as he hasn't recovered from the combination of knee and shoulder injuries which have disrupted his season. Martin's fitness troubles also mean he won't be a part of England's summer tour of Argentina and the USA. The 23-year-old hasn't played since he was replaced in the second half of England's Six Nations win over France on February 8. Had he been fit, he would very much have been in Lions consideration, with two-time former captain Sam Warburton extolling his virtues as a potential tourist. As the countdown to Thursday's announcement continues, Farrell has a number of injury concerns. Leinster No 8 and potential captain Caelan Doris will this week have surgery on a shoulder problem. It looks likely the issue will keep him out for several months and means he won't be available for the crusade Down Under. His expected absence means England captain and Saracens second row Maro Itoje is now the overwhelming favourite to be named as Lions skipper. Behind the scrum, the situation is even more worrying for Farrell and his assistants, not least in the back three, where Ireland wing Mack Hansen has become the latest contender to join the growing casualty list. Connacht have confirmed that he will miss their last two games of the season due to an ankle injury and Hansen is projected to be out of action for five weeks. So many of those vying for back-line roles are racing to regain full fitness and match sharpness. Giant Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe suffered ankle damage while playing for Edinburgh against the Dragons on March 28. The vague update has been that he will conclude his rehabilitation this month, but he may be deemed a risky selection due to a lack of game-time. It is a similar predicament for sidelined England pair Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and George Furbank, while Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn is injured and facing a late arrival on tour even if he does recover soon, due to club commitments with Toulouse. Farrell has problems in midfield too, with England centre Ollie Lawrence out of the tour after Achilles surgery, Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones both injured and Bundee Aki of Ireland preparing to return from an enforced break. Farrell also has a big fly-half decision to make. Scotland's Finn Russell is a nailed-on selection, but England two Smiths – Fin and Marcus, George Ford, Owen Farrell and Ireland's Sam Prendergast are also vying for playmaker places. Fin Smith has had a superb season, becoming England's first-choice No 10. He got the better of Prendergast when Northampton beat Leinster in a thrilling Investec Champions Cup semi-final last Saturday. 'You really go from not having thought about it to being like, 'I'm going to be pretty nervous when the announcement's happening',' Fin Smith told the ainslie + ainslie Performance People podcast ahead of the Lions squad confirmation. 'I'm trying to prepare for the worst and if the best happens then how good!' Smith chose to play for England despite both his parents being Scottish. His grandfather Tom Elliot was a Lions tourist in 1955. 'At least my dad could cheer for me this time if I'm playing for the Lions,' Smith said. 'We were up to see my granny not too long ago and she's still got all of his (Elliot's) Lions outfits. 'The blazer and the cap. I used to run around in those when I was a little lad, so it would be pretty special to have some of my stuff next to his if I did get called up.'
