“let’s try that one again…”

In September 1968, with Beatles producer George Martin on holiday, his 21-year old assistant Chris Thomas filled in during sessions for the White Album. Paul McCartney’s dismissive reaction was: “Well, if you wanna produce us, you can produce us. If you don’t, we might just tell you to fuck off!”

Thomas (pictured) rose to the challenge, stopping a take of Helter Skelter when he heard a bum note. “Something went wrong there,” he said. “No it didn’t,” said the band. A tense moment followed, but after listening to the playback The Beatles agreed. He was invited back the next day, and ended up working on several White Album tracks. It began a storied production career that led to working on 70s classics by

Pink Floyd, Elton John and Roxy Music.