Studio maverick Joe Meek departed this mortal coil 40 years ago this month, Pop-kids.

Not your usual exit-style it must be said; On February 3rd 1967, (the 8th anniversary of his hero Buddy Holly's death) he killed his landlady after an argument, apparently about the rent, then shot himself.
Much has been written about Meek and his legacy, so I won't bother with a potted version. If you're curious just click on the links.

Suffice it to say, he was a genuine innovator in the field of sound-manipulation and recording. In Popular music, where the word 'Genius' is mostly overused, he was truly deserving of the accolade.
Using a converted flat (above a shop in Holloway Road, North London) as a home-studio decades before the very idea became even remotely feasible, he produced numerous Top 10 hits in the UK, using The Outlaws and The Tornados as his backing bands. With the latter he composed and produced the UK Number 1, and first U.S. Number 1 ever by a UK act, Telstar, in 1962.
However, the new era of Pop Culture ushered in by The Beatles (who he regarded as 'Just a Bunch of Noise') was the eventual undoing of Meek, whose life was, at times as dramatic as some of his arrangements.
I recommend y'all check out his I Hear A New World album.