Norman Smith, who died on 3 March, 2008, was a skilled record producer and sound engineer who, despite claiming he "didn’t understand" psychedelica, was best known for his work on the early albums of The Beatles and Pink Floyd.

He was a versatile musician who acquired a great technical knowledge as he worked his way through the ranks at EMI, allowing trailblazing artists to realise their visions on vinyl.

He then went on to a short career as a pop crooner, releasing a string of cheery pop hits under the name Hurricane Smith.

Norman Smith was born 22 February, 1923, and raised in Edmonton, North London. His tinkering with musical instruments began as a child and by his teens he could play piano, trombone, vibraphone, double bass and drums.

During the Second World War he served with the RAF as a glider pilot, although he never saw combat. After the war he joined a jazz band, the Bobby Arnold Quintet, playing percussion.

Despite his dreams of jazz stardom, the group never rose above playing local clubs and dance halls, so Mr Smith opted for a day job with EMI. He started out as a tea boy at their Abbey Road studios, but gradually gained more responsibility – by 1962 he was a frontline engineer and had worked on several hit records.

The Beatles’ appearance was just as shocking for the studio staff present at their June 1962 demo session as it would be for the public the following year. Mr Smith later described them as looking like "louts". In turn, John Lennon nicknamed him ‘Normal Norman’ because of his staid jacket-and-tie get up.

But despite not being much impressed with each other initially, they would record 180 tracks together. Working closely with producer George Martin, it was Smith’s role to find the equipment and recording methods they needed to create their revolutionary sound and put it all together in the final mix.

He was impressed with the band’s ability to play live and tailored the recording process to emphasise that, creating a crisp, stripped-down feel. There was no wall of sound in Smith’s studio, but there was reverb, feedback and the sound of Paul McCartney shouting "1-2-3-4" at the start of I Saw Her Standing There, the opening track of Please Please Me (1963), the band’s debut album.

Norman Smith worked on the first six Beatles studio albums, including A Hard Day’s Night (1964), Help! (1965) and finally Rubber Soul (1965), thought by many to be their finest material. On Rubber Soul he helped lay the foundations of their more experimental later work, successfully implementing sitars for the first time on a Western pop record.

George Martin left his position as senior producer with EMI in 1966, taking The Beatles with him (although they would, of course, continue to record at Abbey Road). Mr Smith was duly promoted to fill Martin’s position and began hunting for new bands to record.

Though he was denied the chance to work with The Beatles during their psychedelic phase, he soon discovered another band that would arguably be just as influential in that field.

He saw Pink Floyd at London’s UFO Club and immediately signed them. However, he later admitted: "Their music did absolutely nothing for me. I didn't really understand psychedelica. But I could see that they did have one hell of a following even then. I figured I should put my business hat on, as it was obvious that we could sell some records."

Despite being baffled by Syd Barrett and co’s music, he took the band into Studio Three at Abbey Road in February 1967 – The Beatles were making Sgt. Pepper’s next door and The Pretty Things were also working with Smith on their pioneering concept album S.F. Sorrow.

The result, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, is heralded as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time. Smith also produced A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) and the second disc of Ummagumma (1969). He even contributed the occasional bit of playing to recording sessions and the band later spoke of the musical education he had given them.

Over the years he had also written several songs himself, but most of these failed to sell. In the early 1970s, aged 50, he was persuaded to have a go at recording them himself. He charted in the UK with Don’t Let It Die (1971) and Oh Babe, What Would You Say? (1972) reached number one on the US jukebox charts.

Soon afterwards he went into semi-retirement in Surrey where he bred horses, occasionally producing with artists like Denny Laine (of The Moody Blues and Wings) and post-punk group Teardrop Explodes. He was also a regular talking head in documentaries about the bands he worked with and published an autobiography, John Lennon Called Me Normal, in 2007.

He died in Sussex from cancer at the age of 85. He was survived by his wife, Eileen, and their two children, Nick and Dee.