Arabs mourn Beatles producer amid fantasy fiction fans' panic

Beatles producer George Martin died on Tuesday, aged 90. As Arab outlets circulated the news online, many social media users confused the record producer with the Game of Thrones author.

Narrated

2 min read

The New Arab

09 Mar, 2016

Legendary music producer George Martin died on Tuesday [Getty]

The Beatle's record producer, George Martin, died quietly on his bed on Tuesday aged 90, his managed announced on Wednesday.

But while Arab music fans mourned the superstar producer as Arabic news outlets reported his demise, others got caught up in confusion, worried that the news signified a premature end to the fantasy fiction series Game of Thrones.

Affectionately dubbed "the fifth Beatle", Martin, the studio genius, was instrumental in helping Liverpool boys The Beatles attain unprecedented global success.

Arabic news outlets shared news of his passing on Wednesday, and Arab Beatles fans expressed sorrow at the loss of a legendary artist, who produced more than 700 records.

Twitter Post

[Translation: Legendary Beatles producer George Martin has passed away]

Twitter Post

[Translation: A farewell to the producer of The Beatles George Martin]

But others confused him with the author of the renowned Game of Thrones series, George RR Martin.

Twitter Post

[Translation: George RR Martin died?!]

Knowing that the final chapters in the story of the House of Stark and its rivals is still yet to be written, others expressed relief that author was still alive.

Twitter Post

[Translation: I read online that someone named George Martin died, I thought it was the author of Game of Thrones but thankfully it was not]

Their confusion was not completely unwarranted, with several news outlets reporting the death of the Beatles producer themselves mistaking his picture with that of the Game of Thrones creator.