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Brian Samuel
Epstein - The Beatles first manager, born at a private nursing
home in Liverpool on 19 September 1934. His mother was Malka (known
as "Queenie"), daughter of a furniture manufacturer in Sheffield,
and his father was Harry Epstein, whose family owned a furniture store
in Liverpool.
At the age of ten he was expelled from Liverpool College for drawing
obscene pictures and by the age of 16 had been placed in seven different
schools. Brian has ambitions of becoming a dress designer, but his father
forbade it and he went to work as a salesman in the family business.
At the age of 18 he was called up for national service but he was discharged
after ten months on medical grounds, although it was said he had been
found importuning in a public toilet while dressed in an officer's uniform.
For a time he worked at Clarendon Furnishings in Hoylake, a branch of
the family firm.
He then revealed to his family that he was a homosexual, shocking his
father and younger brother, Clive, but receiving sympathy from "Queenie".
He was then allowed to study at RADA ( Royal Academy of Dramatic Art),
passing the audition on his twenty-second birthday. It was alleged that
he was once again found importuning in a public toilet and he left the
course to return to the family business in 1957.
Scandal followed when he attempted to pick up a man in a public toilet
in Liverpool and became the victim of blackmail. The family informed
the police and at the trial Brian was referred to as "Mr X".
By that time he was managing the record department at the new (North
End Music Stores) (NEMS) branch in Great Charlotte Street. It was so
successful that he was placed in charge of an even larger branch in
Whitechapel.
At the beginning of July 1961 I approached him to stock copies of a
new publication, Mersey Beat, which contained news of the remarkable
music scene in Liverpool, with the first issue featuring a biography
of the Beatles written by John Lennon. Brian ordered a dozen copies,
which sold out almost immediately, and he ordered increasing numbers
over the next few days before ordering 144 copies of the second issue:
This was published on 20 July 1961 and the cover announced "Beatles
Sign Recording Contract". Below an Astrid Kirchher photograph of
the Beatles in Hamburg was the detailed story of their recording session
there. Bert Kaempfret, who may be remembered for his golden record "Wonderland
By Night", which reached the top of the American hit parade, contracted
the Beatles for Polydor, Germany's top record company. Under the contract
they will make four records per year for the company.
At the recording session, the Beatles provided vocals and backing for
three numbers for Tony Sheridan. Tony a first-class songwriter, penned
"Why?", a number familiar to readers through Gerry Marsden's
excellent rendering. Apart from waxing "Why?", the Beatles
recorded "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean", opening in waltz-time,
then breaking into a rock beat. Finally, the group provided good bass
and drum backing for Sheridan for "The Saints Go Marching In",
a very popular number in Germany.
The Beatles recorded two further numbers for Kaempfert on their own
Own. One side, an instrumental written by George Harrison, has not yet
been named - probable titles include "Cry for a Shadow" and
"Beatle Bop". The other side "Ain't She Sweet?",
featured a vocal by John Lennon. The boys weren't quite satisfied with
these two numbers, so they sold the rights to Polydor. Thus, in fact,
under the contact the Beatles still have four more records to make this
year".
Bass guitarist
Stuart Sutcliffe has remained in Hamburg and will shortly be marrying
a German girl. At present he is studying at a Hamburg Art College and
has an English tutor. The group have no plans for taking on another
guitarist, but have decided to remain a quartet.
With dozens of youngsters coming into his store asking for copies of
Mersey Beat, and with the details of the unique music scene in
the city in the first two issues, Epstein became intrigued. He invited
me up to his office to discuss the local scene and was quite fascinated.
He also asked if he could become the paper's record reviewer. I agreed
and in the third issue, dated 3 August 1961, his first column, "Stop
The World - and listen to everything in it. Brian Epstein of Mems"
was published.
Each time I delivered copies of Mersey Beat, Epstein would invite
he to the office for a chat and it was obvious that he was beginning
to see the potential of this huge musical movement which literally was
on his doorstep. The Next issue of Mersey Beat featured a full-page
feature by Bob Wooler extolling the merits of the Beatles, expressing
this conviction that they were the number one band around.
When Epstein decided to become involved on the local scene, it was the
group featured in every issue of Mersey Beat that interested
him and he phoned me to arrange for him to visit the Cavern,
where he could see the Beatles perform for the first time. Brian, accompanied
by his personal assistant, Alistair Taylor,
dropped into the club at 12.30pm on 9 November 1961. By then he was
very familiar with the Beatles and they were aware of him. Brian had
noticed the members of local groups who came into NEMS to listen to
new releases in the record booths and often chatted to people like Gerry
Marsden to ask them about their choice of repertoire. The Beatles had
dropped into NEMS regularly and local promoter Sam Leach had arranged
for Brian to sell tickets to his Tower Ballroom promotion "Operation
Big Beat". This took place on 10 November 1961 and Brian had been
selling tickets for more that two weeks prior to the gig. The posters
in NEMS prominently featured the Beatles as the bill-topping band.
Brian went into the Cavern bandroom
to have a brief chat with the group and dropped in to see them a month
later. He left a message with George Harrison suggesting that we would
like to arrange a meeting with them at NEMS. This was arranged for
4.30 pm on Wednesday 3 December 1961. John Lennon asked disc jockey
Bob Woller to join them, telling Epstein
that Bob was his farther. Paul was 30 minutes late, which irked the
punctilious record-store manager. Another meeting was arranged for 10
December, with Alistair Taylor
present, and it was agreed that Brian would become their manager.
The first contract would be for a five-year period from 1962 Epstein's
commission was to be 10 per cent of any income up to £1,500 per
year and 15 per cent above that amount. The formal signing took place
at Pete Best's home on 24 January 1962. A second management contract
for five years was drawn up on 1 Octobers 1962. By 1963 Brian's commission
has been increased to 25 per cent. Brian might have given up control
of the Beatles in the early stages of his management. According to reports,
he was offering a slice of his management percentage to several different
people - all on whom refused. It was said that in 1963 he offered Joe
Collins (father of Joan and Jackie) a share of the Beatles and in 1964
Epstein reputedly approached Lew Grade and told him he was ready to
sell the Beatles. When John Lennon heard about it he told Epstein "If
you sell, we'll never play again. We'll disband"
Mike and Bernie Winters, in the biography Up a Pagoda Tree, revealed
that they were appearing at the London Palladium when Jack Murray called
to see them in their dressing room and showed Mike a magazine picture
of the group. "They're big up North",
he said "I've got them for 16 to 20 weeks, and I can have a permanent
share of their contract if I want to. Do you want to come in with me?"
Mike told him: "I'm not gambling any more, Jack. Bernie and I are
going to work on our act and try to make good of it. Thanks all the
same". It has also been reported that Epstein offered impresario
Larry Parnes a share in the Beatles, but was also rejected.
In the book the Life and Times of Little Richard, Richard claims that
after the Beatles came off stage at the Liverpool Empire, where Richard
had been topping the bill, Epstein approached him and said: "Richard,
I'll give you 50 per cent of the Beatles". Richard commented: "
I couldn't accept 'cos I never thought they would make it".
It was essential for Brian to secure the group a recording contact.
Initially, he thought he would have a great deal or clout due to his
position as a prominent north-western record dealer, but this seemed
to cut no ice and he was turned down by all of the EMI pop labels (Parlophone
wasn't approached regarding the Beatles at this time as George Martin
was on holiday). Epstein received an official letter from EMI confirming
that the company was not intrested in the group. Pye and various other
labels turned down, and he began to despair.
Through Tony Barrow, he'd put a foot in the door at Decca and followed
through, stressing his position as a record dealer. Decca arranged a
recording audition for the group, but they were turned down. Brian didn't
actually like pop music at the time and really has now idea of the group's
intincsic value. He'd signed the Beatles quite simply because they had
been established as the No. 1 group locally, as he'd read in the pages
of Mersey Beat. His initial attempts to alter the Beatles image
met with some resistance from John Lennon and Pete Best, who didn't
like the idea of discarding their leathers in favour of mohair suits.
The leather image seemed popular: Youngsters began wearing leather jackets
and coats, even Epstein took to wearing leather, yet he insisted they
wear mohair suits. This cleaning up of the image - telling them not
to smoke on stage, not to swear, not to clown around - actually wasn't
part of a clever plan. Brian was simply following convention in smartening
up an image to make it palatable to the moguls who controlled the entertainment
industry and were a generation above the kids they manipulated. Most
groups on television, like the Shadows, wore smart suits, so Epstein
made the Beatles conform. Although it's hypothetical, it would have
been interesting to see how the Beatles
fared if they'd been allowed to continue with their leather image -
it would certainly have excited the youngsters they appealed to. After
all, in those days rock 'n' roll meant rebellion to the kids.
Epstein attempted to make suggestions about their music - such as the
type of songs to perform at their Decca recording audition - which was
taking his brier too far. A their career progressed they made sure Brian
never interfered with their music again. During one recording session,
he had swithced on the studio intercom and said: " I don't think
that sounded quite right, John", Lennon turned to him and said:
"You stick to your percentages, Brian. We'll look after the music."
With the rejection by Decca there seemed nowhere else to turn, until
a freak piece of luck led Brian to the Parlophone label. Even after
the initial approach had been made, Epstein found that Parlophone treated
him in a cavalier way and he was often driven to tears of frustration
when George Martin didn't answer his calls. Eventually, he had to threaten
to boycott EMI labels at his stores. The deal he signed on behalf of
the Beatles was pathetic and George Martin was to describe it as "Pretty
awful". There was no advance payments and they would receive only
one penny per single - and half that on overseas sales. A 12-track album
would be regarded only as six cuts. There were three one-year options
with an increase of a quarter of a penny at the end of the first year
and an increase of halfpenny at the end of the second year.
Although it's true that Epstein didn't have much option at the time
the Beatles were to earn such staggering sums for EMI that he should
have been able to negotiate with the company before he eventually did,
shortly before his own contract with the Beatles ran out. John and Paul
in particular were simmering with anger for years at the pathetic royalties
they received - particularly when they discovered that, after the Rolling
Stones had been with Decca for three years, Allen Klien had appeared
and renegotiated their contract, obtaining for them an advance of almost
£3 million. The Stones were then earning far more from records
than the Beatles, even though they were selling much fewer.
Although Brian cultivated the image that he was an astute businessman,
his deals in his brief time as a manager didn't really bear it out.
Apart from the far from lucrative record deal, he signed a publishing
deal for the Beatles with publisher Dick James which resulted in the
group losing control of their own songs for ever. It was rumoured at
the time that Jame's small independent music-publishing company was
in financial trouble. Epstein had been rattled by being asked to wait
in the reception area at one of the music-publishing companies he'd
intended to negotiate with. Die to the simple fact the James managed
to get the Beatles on the TV show Thank Your Luck Stars, Epstein decided
to sign with them. Arguably, the initial arrangement was fair in relation
to music-publishing deals at the time, but Epstein could have arranges
his own publishing company and appointed James to administer it. In
addition, he could heave ensured that the later shares were fairer to
John and Paul, whose songs were, after all, what made Northern Songs
such a valuable company.
Northern Songs was formed in 1963 with James and his partner, Charles
Silver, owning 50 per cent of the company. Against the wishes of John
and Paul, it became a public company in 1965, with James and Silver
owning 23 per cent while John and Paul only had 15 per cent each. In
March, 1969 James sold his shares to ATV without offering the Beatles
a chance to buy them. If Brian's recording and publishing deals left
something to be desired, his negotiations regarding their film career
was also suspect. United Artists, keen to release a Beatles soundtrack
album, were willing to offer the Beatles 25 per cent. At the meeting
to discuss the deal, Brian pre-empted their offer by telling them: "I
wouldn't consider anything under seven and a half percent" Fortunately,
their lawyer David jacobs was able to finalize deal in which they eventually
received 25 per cent - but he asked only for gross, not net. Also, producer
Walter Shenson's lawyer negotiated a better deal for his client. United
Artists didn't really believe that the Beatles were a long-term prospect
and Shenson's lawyers suggested that the rights to the Beatles films
be given to the producer after 15 years. United Artists agreed. Epstein
should have taken that route on behalf of the Beatles. As a result,
the films are owned by Shenson and pave proved very lucrative for him.
The cost deal of all related to the Beatles merchandise, Prior to the
group's first trip to America, Brian asked his solicitor, Jacobs, to
fine someone to handle the merchandising. Jacobs met a young man called
Nicky Byrne at a cocktail party and proposed he take over the merchandising
for the Beatles. Jacobs asked him what percentage we would require and
Byrne said 90 per cent. Jacobs immediately agreed and informed Epstein,
who also agreed. Without any advance fee or discussion, he had given
away 90 per cent of the Beatles' merchandising rights to an unapproved
person who had no previous experience of merchandising, leaving a 10
per cent to be shared by the Beatles, Brian and NEMS.
Byrne flew to New York and within a week Capitol Records had offered
to buy him out for $5000,000, with the money being paid into the Bahamas
for him and also allowing him to retain half interest in the company.
He turned them down. The young man seemed to have more of an idea of
the Beatles' value than Epstein himself. When Epstein realizes the full
extent of his gaffe, he was horrified. By August 1964 Jacobs had renegotiated
the deal, raising the Beatles' royalty to 46 per cent, but by that time
Epstein had instructed NEMS to begin negotiating with US firms direct.
Court proceedings were instigated against him. Due to the legal problem,
a large number of major firms, including Woolworth's backed out of negotiations
and it was said that approximately $1000,000,000 worth of merchandising
deals were lost. To make matters worse, Byrne won his case and NEWS
had to settle with him for a substantial cash payment.
The fact was, Brian had never been a successful businessman. His parents
initially refused to support him in NEMS Enterprises unless his brother,
Clive, become a partner to look after the business side of things. At
the time they had no faith in Brian's ability. He was to take on several
other ventures which lost a great deal of money. He employed the experienced
agent Vic Lewis as managing director of NEMS. Lewis arranged a British
tour for the Four Tops, working out that is would be profitable if it
attracted the fans, but would working out at least break even with the
deal he negotiated. Behind his back, Brian flew to Detroit and amended
the contract, giving concessions such as agreeing to pay the group's
tax, their air fares and adding bonuses to the deal. NEMS lost £10,000
on the tour. He also lost a greater amount when he flew the Four Tops
for a single appearance at this Saville Theater. Brian never understood
the music young people loved. It basically didn't appeal to him. He
liked classical music, jazz and middle-of-the-road. The Beatles, Gerry
and the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer had been voted Nos 1,2,3 in the
Mersey Beat poll when he signed them, and he also signed Cilla Black
at eh urging of Mersey Beat. Yet he was never to really understand the
sort of music they'd played and turned the rock 'n' rollers into straight
pop and middle-of-the-road performers. Gerry, who'd been rocking away
in Liverpool and Hamburg, was placed in the pantomime Babes In The Wood
and in 1963 and 1965 Brian booked three of his acts in pantomimes, Cilla
in Little Red Riding Hood, Billy J. Kramer in Mother Goose and Gerry
in Cinderella.
In spite of the fact he couldn't tell a good band from a bad one, he
sat on many talent competition panels, including "Ready Stead Win"
and "Beat Time for Oxfam". Brian also didn't like acknowledging
credit and was a great self-publicist. In the opening of his autobiography,
A Cellarful of Noise, he created the story they he'd never heard of
the Beatles until a boy came into his store and asked for their record.
He made himself available for a many television and radio shows and
media interviews as possible and in a relatively short time had appeared
on Juke Box Jury, Panorama, Desert Island Discs, The Eamonn Andrews
Show, Late Night Line-up, The David Frost Programme, Tonight, Celebrity
Game, Art's Sake and Let's Find Out. He also compered the American TV
show Hullabaloo.
He was often moody and petulant with his staff, several of whom left
him following disputes - Brian Sommerville, Derek Taylor and Wendy Hanson
among them. In fact, there was a great deal of incredible luck during
his management of the Beatles The timing was right for a supergroup
to appear, because young people were demanding their own idols for perhaps
the first time. He was unable initially to get them a recording contract,
and it was only by pure accident that his path led to Parlophone. Luck
again intervened when leading American TV host Ed Sullivan was at London
Airport to see the Beatles arrive and booked them on to his show. Although
Capitol Records in America had continued to refuse to release the Beatles'
records, when they eventually did disc jockeys all over America began
playing "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and it became a hit despite
Capitols initial lack of enthusiasm. The Beatles also arrived in America
a few months after President Kennedy had been assassinated, and were
able to draw America out of its mourning and put a smile on it's face.
Apart from Epstein's attempt to plasticizing the Beatles image with
the original mohair suits, the visual look that mattered - their "moptop"
hairstyle and collarless suites - had heir origins in Hamburg. It's
hard to find any specific plan to deal or management structure devised
by Epstein which led to the success of the Beatles. Towards the end
of his life there were suicide attempts. He had neglected his business
because of his addiction to drugs and gambling and was virtually ready
to hand his show-business empire over to Robert Stigwood, who seemed
to have more musical acumen than Brian with his signing of acts such
as the Bee Gees and Cream.
Because he was letting his business affairs slip, Brian was neglecting
his acts and Cilla, Billy J. and Gerry wanted to find new managers.
It took all his powers of persuasion to get them to remain with him.
His contract with the Beatles was nearing its end and he was worried
that they wouldn't renew it. Without their knowledge, he made a deal
with EMI to increase their percentage, but also contracting them to
pay NEMS royalties from Beatles records for years after his own contract
had expired. On Friday 25 August 1967 Brian planned to spend time at
his country home with friends Geoffrey Ellis and Peter Brown. He became
restless during the evening and returned to London. His mother rang
his Chapel Street home and his butler, Antonio, told her that Brian
was still asleep. The following morning Antonio and this wife, Maria
attempted to contact Brian on the intercom. As there was no reply, they
phoned Brian's secretary, Joanne Newfield, who arrived with Alistair
Taylor. Peter Brown's own doctor, John Gallway, was contacted and
he instructed that the doors of Brian's room to be broken open. His
body was found on the bed.
The coroner's verdict was that the dies by an accidental overdose of
the drug Carbitol. His body was buried at the Jewish cemetery in Long
Lane, Liverpool.
Extract from The Encyclopedia of Beatles People by Bill Harry,
Blandford Publications.
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