Tarmac Group centenary in 1953, Tarmac was processing over two million tons of slag a year, its road surfacing had developed into a significant civil engineering business, and its Vinculum subsidiary "had become one of the major precast concrete undertakings in the country." Under Robin Martin's leadership, Tarmac moved from being an important regional force to a national roadstone and contracting business. Acquisitions played a major role in Tarmac's growth. While leading the roadstone division, Martin had been responsible in 1959 for the acquisition of local competitor Tarslag and Crow Catchpole, which gave it a greater presence in the south east. In
What Is Life the role of "entertainer" in his songwriting. In "I Me Mine", Harrison recalls that he changed his mind about offering "What Is Life" to Preston once he'd arrived at Olympic Studios and found the singer busy working on more typical material – or "playing his funky stuff" as Harrison puts it. Rather than attempt it with the Beatles during the band's concurrent "Abbey Road" sessions, he stockpiled the track with his many other unused songs from the period – "All Things Must Pass", "Let It Down", "I'd Have You Anytime" and "Run of the Mill" among them – and revisited