**1998**

April 17
Linda McCartney (wife to Paul) passes away.

September 18
Paul McCartney's lyrics to HEY JUDE are auctioned off at the Hard Rock Cafe, London , for $167,700 (£100,000). The auction was overseen by Sotheby's.

October 20
SIR GEORGE MARTIN RELEASES FINAL ALBUM: "IN MY LIFE"

Sir George Martin, Beatles record producer and now 72 years old, releases "In My Life" -- a swansong of Beatle cover versions on the MCA label.

Regarding media reaction over his final album, Sir George Martin had this to say in an interview with Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Sun: "In England , when it first came out, we had a hostile reaction from some elements of the press. One or two of the rock people said, "How can George Martin do this? It's like strangling his own children." They didn't get the point of it. I love Beatles music. I never regarded it, however, as The Holy Grail."

December 25 & 26:
The Brian Epstein Story - A BBC-2 television docu-drama portraying the history of the Beatles manager is aired, in two parts, in England . The film ran 150 minutes and had won the BAFTA Award in England . Later, a poorly "watered-down version" of only 48 minutes is presented on the Arts & Entertainment network in the United States on September 19, 1999. It is on this BBC broadcast where Paul McCartney officially announces and gives his past manager the nod: "If any one was a 5th Beatle, it was Brian."