Post 5: The Fifth Beatle…

Brian Samuel Epstein was the manager of the Beatles from January 24, 1962 until his death on August 27, 1967. He also managed other musical artists, such as Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, and the Remo Four, but the Beatles were by far the most popular.

Beatles Lyrics – Let It Be Big and Tall Lounge Pants for men

What was the impact of Brian Epstein on the group? He has long been attributed to the success of the Beatles, especially in the early years. In the words of Paul McCartney, “If anyone was the Fifth Beatle, it was Brian”.

Brian was born on September 19, 1934 in Liverpool, England. At the age of 16 he expressed his desire to become a dress designer. His father was mortified at this suggestion, and ordered him to “report for duty” at the family’s furniture shop. This was not Brian’s idea of a meaningful career, but he did comply.

Supposedly the first time Brian heard of the Beatles was via the issues of the Mersey Beat, and on the numerous posters that were displayed around Liverpool at the time. On November 9, 1961 he heard them perform at the Cavern Club. Immediately impressed with their sound and sense of “on stage” humor, it all started from there. The Beatles signed a 5 year contract for Brian to manage them on January 24, 1962.

This was the first time that Brian entered into the arena of “artist management”, but he made his impact on their early dress-code, and the attitude that they displayed on stage. He encouraged the group to wear suits. He also stopped them from smoking, swearing, drinking or eating onstage. Remember the synchronized bow at the end of the Beatles performances? It was Brian who suggested that move.

Purchase the Sheet Music

Brian made many trips to London to try and secure a recording contract for the Beatles. He was rejected by many labels, including Columbia, Philips, Pye, Oriole, and Decca. The Decca audition in particular is historic, and we will be discussing this in another post. Eventually Brian worked his way over to EMI, and they were signed by their Parlophone label after the group had been rejected by almost every other company. George Martin, the A&R manager of Parlophone, who had never even see the Beatles play, said it was Brian’s enthusiasm that won the deal.

Brian died of a drug overdose on August 27, 1967. The Beatles did not attend the funeral as they wanted to give his family privacy, and they would only have drawn the media and fans. Years later, in 2008, the first contract that the Beatles signed with Brian was auctioned off for 240,000 pounds…