Separated at Birth?

Here is actor Alan Rickman…

Alan Rickman

…and below is Beatles recording engineer Norman Smith, who was a recording artist himself under the pseudonym Hurricane Smith.

Norman Smith
From Recording the Beatles © 2006 Curvebender Publishing

Norman Smith first joined the Abbey Road staff in 1959 as an assistant and quickly progressed to Balance Engineer. He served as the Beatles’ engineer from their Artist Test in 1962 until the completion of Rubber Soul in 1965. In addition to every album made during that time period, he also engineered all of the accompanying singles, including such standouts as “She Loves You”, “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, “I Feel Fine”, “Day Tripper”, and “We Can Work It Out.” Nicknamed “Normal” by the group, he left the engineer’s seat in 1966 when he was promoted to EMI’s A&R department (assuming George Martin’s former position as the head of Parlophone). From there, he went on to produce Pink Floyd’s first two albums — Piper at the Gates and A Saucerful of Secrets — as well as notable work with The Pretty Things. Smith also tried his hand as a recording artist, and in the early 1970s he scored a #3 US hit with “Oh Babe, What Would You Say?” using the alias “Hurricane Smith”.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Sounds/Wordpress/DEC06/OhBabe.mp3]

2 thoughts on “Separated at Birth?”

  1. That tall bureau is now in the unfinished half of the basement. You did more than find that 45, as you know. You had it in your possession until a couple of years ago! But that’s OK, because technically it doesn’t belong to me, either.

  2. I can still remember seeing that 45 in one of the drawers in that tall bureau across from your bed in Acton. What was I doing snooping in there? Looking for scotch tape! I was frantic, because I needed it for a school project. All these years later, I STILL can never find scotch tape when I need it, because Molly scarfs it all. Great song; ageless, and yes, those guys were separated at birth.

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