Was There a Fifth Beatle?

It seems the whole “fifth Beatle” talk began with this New York D.J., who was an early fan, promoter, and friend to the group when they first came to America. As he became more friendly with them, he began calling himself the fifth Beatle, and George and Ringo also seem to have called him that in some interviews or radio spots. (He is shown here posing with the Beatles in a publicity shot.) But it was all just talk and P.R.—Murry The K was no more the fifth Beatle than I am.

He was the fourth Beatle for a while, not the fifth. And though he was a bona fide member of the group, he was still not in the inner circle with John, Paul and George. He was brought in when they really needed a drummer, and went through a lot with them; playing both in Liverpool and their storied times in Hamburg, where they really developed their skills, showmanship, and endurance. The Beatles would never have become the band they were without the Hamburg experience, and Pete was part of that. And he was a decent drummer, but his good looks (rivaling Paul’s) and that he never really fit in (he never got a “Beatle Haircut”) helped the boys find good reason to dump him when they had a chance. (And it had already been decided that he was not good enough technically for their records.)

He is really the only person with a real claim to the fifth Beatle title, since he actually was the fifth Beatle. However, he was only a Beatle because one, he was John’s best friend; and two, he won a fine arts award and could afford to buy an electric bass. But he was never a musician, and did his best to just play the notes they showed him, trying to just fit in. But he was crucial to the development of their look, along with his German girlfriend Astrid, who helped choose their haircuts and early wardrobe. Stu sadly died shortly after leaving the Beatles, but he never would have been able to remain in the group anyway once they began recording and touring.

The Beatles’ sometime road manager, bodyguard, gofer, and companion. Mal was always around to help, and appears on several songs (he plays the “bang bang” in Maxwell’s Silver Hammer) and even contributed lyrics. In the film Magical Mystery Tour, Mal is the fifth wizard with the four Beatles. He was one of their best friends, but no, he was not a Beatle.

For half of the Let It Be album, Preston filled the role of a fifth member of the group. Playing organ, he added a distinctive sound to songs like Let It Be, The Long and Winding Road, Get Back, and others. Not just a hired hand, he was allowed to play what he felt worked with their music. Had the Beatles been able to hang in together and resume playing live concerts (real rock shows, not the Beatlemania fests they had been limited to in the mid-sixties) they would have needed at least one other musician to fill out their live sound, and there’s a good chance Preston would have been offered the spot, and perhaps even become a fifth Beatle. He was certainly talented enough.

If John had been able to get his way in 1968 like he could in 1958, Yoko would have very likely become a full-time member of the group. Her voice, and sometimes playing, can be heard on several songs, most notably Bungalo Bill and Revolution No. 9. She was John’s constant companion from the White Album on, and she helped write, or at least heavily influenced, his songs. But she was never close to the other three. Contrary to some impressions, the others didn’t hate, or even dislike her, but they wanted John to leave his wife or girlfriend at home while they worked, and they never considered her a part of the band. 

Like Mal Evans, he was a constant companion and friend to the Beatles. He began as a road manager, and evolved into a personal assistant, and more of a personal friend. He was one of the few in the inner circle, and ended up handling the running of Apple Corps. Personality-wise, he was probably the closest thing to a fifth Beatle there was, but he was not a musician, and that’s pretty much a requirement to be a Beatle. (He is pictured here standing in for George in a sound check.)

Not only was George Martin the Beatles producer from their first EMI recordings, he was a true musical collaborator. He not only advised them on their sound, he made it possible to realize their visions in the studio. He also played piano on many songs, and arranged the music for the other studio musicians who contributed to their records. ﷯He was solely responsible for an entire side of a Beatles album—the Yellow Submarine score, and a very close collab-

-orator on side two of Abbey Road. He is the most frequent contributor, besides the four of them, as a musician on their records. Without Martin, the Beatles sound would have been very different, and one could argue that their huge success was only made possible thanks to his contributions. If there must be a fifth Beatle, Martin is the only logical choice.

But there were really only four Beatles.