Hi Eppy! I just read for the first time ever that George Martin cheated on his wife before he was involved with the bugs? Could you give me any more info on that?
Hi anon! I read this too quickly and for a moment thought you were implying George was in a relationship with the bugs (which is ridiculous! ......unless.....)
Some context: George married his first wife (Sheena), despite his mother's firm disapproval. She died shortly after the wedding and George apparently felt guilty for a long time after.
"Amid all this studio work, other areas of George's daily life were complex. Sheena gave birth to their second child (a boy, Gregory) in Janurary 1957, despite which this wasn't and never had been, by all known accounts, a marriage abundant in joy and happiness. There was still a lot of old guilt flying around, Sheena suffered agoraphobia, and George was always working. At some point in this period, George and his secretary began a relationship. Judy Smith, the 'Miss Lockhart Smith' who'd coolly greeted him on his first day at Parlophone, had become his ally, protector and promoter ... and over time an affair began to develop - not one entered into lightly by either side, considering the consequences. Both parties could be - had to be - terribly discreet. 'Judy has this incredible upper-class accent and George was clearly that way inclinded,' says a former colleague ... 'He was dazzled by her and by her upbringing, completely dazzled.'
"His affair with Judy Lockhart Smith remained known to precious few, but after five years something had to give. Amid emotional turmoil for all concerned, George left his wife and two young children in Hatfield and rented a small flat in central London, not far from EMI House."
(source: The Beatles: Tune In by Mark Lewisohn)