Legendary Beatles producer George Martin has died aged 90.

His death was confirmed by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr:

Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love xx😎✌️🌟💖 pic.twitter.com/um2hRFB7qF

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) March 9, 2016

A spokesperson for Universal Music also confirmed Martin's passing to The Hollywood Reporter.

Martin signed the Beatles to a recording contract in 1962 after listening to them audition, and he was in the control room for the making of virtually all of their music.

He first met the Beatles in his capacity as a talent scout and producer for Parlophone Records in London when he was 36. The oldest Beatle was 22.

Martin told The Associated Press in an interview in 1998 that he believed the Beatles were major talents when he first saw them, even if their music wasn't very good at the time.
"I was able to identify potential greatness when I saw it," he said.

"I was convinced that I would make some very good records with them that would last five years at the least."

Little did he know. Their subsequent musical growth "was a continuous surprise to me and I adored them for it", he told AP.

Martin is the most successful record producer of all time, according to The Recording Academy's Grammy Foundation.

He produced more than 50 chart-topping hits and also holds the record for the longest run of No.1 pop chart hits in history, spanning 36 years.

Martin was awarded a CBE by the Queen in 1988 and received a knighthood in the 1996.
He is survived by his wife Judy and four children Giles, Gregory, Alexis and Lucy.