Peter Bassano was a qualified musician with historic royal connections - and as well as being a conductor and a trombonist who contributed to huge Beatles hit 'Hey Jude', he also worked as an author and academic. However, when he died suddenly on February 1, his wife and four children received just £1,000 between them.

Peter studied at the Royal College of Music until 1968 - and the same year he graduated, he got the gig as trombonist on the studio recording of 'Hey Jude', while he also contributed backing vocals to the chorus. He also went on to work with the likes of The Bee Gees and Pink Floyd, and played in the London Philharmonic Orchestra for almost three decades. Talking of the Beatles song, which turned out to be the highest paying job of his career, he revealed to a podcast in 2022: "I turned up with my trombone and producer George Martin said, ‘All I want you to do is play four notes consecutively.' That was straightforward."

The then 76-year-old shuddered: "Then he said he wanted us to sing... I thought, 'This sounds awful, it won’t get anywhere!'"

However, there was a change of atmosphere when John Lennon brought a crate of beer into the studio, and "it became a party".

He soon realised the chorus might not be as "awful" as he'd first thought - and was proven wrong when the song exploded on the pop music scene.

Peter proudly declared: "Over the years, that single, easy and enjoyable session has earned me more money than anything else I have ever done."

The musician, 79 at the time of his death, had been first inspired to get into the industry by hearing the sounds at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.

Music was in his veins as a descendant of Anthony Bassano - a Venetian musician who'd impressed King Henry VIII so much that he'd invited him and his five brothers over to Britain.

Despite his famous connections and career, and the sales of his memoir, Before The Music Stopped, when he died suddenly this year, he had just £1,000 to his name.

His final funds were divided equally between his four adult children.