Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein was by all accounts a frequently troubled young man, a reputed homosexual in a time when such behavior was illegal, who had once aspired to be an actor, attending drama classes in London. Albert Finney and Peter O’Toole were both classmates. In the 1950s he took over one of his family’s several businesses, the North End Music Stores (NEMS) shop in Great Charlotte Street in Liverpool. In due course another store was opened in Whitechapel Street, and Epstein was instrumental in making both stores successful.
Epstein was at least vaguely familiar with the Beatles from the many posters around Liverpool and the frequent articles about them in Mersey Beat, a local music newspaper. Epstein heard them perform on November 9, 1961, and was impressed enough to offer to manage them, promising them a record contract. After several weeks of negotiating and in the case of three of the band, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Pete Best obtaining parental permission (all were under 21 and thus couldn’t enter into a contract) Epstein and the band signed a five year contract for him to manage the group on January 24, 1962. Before the year was out they agreed to another contract, superseding the first.
It was Brian Epstein who took the band out of the black leather suits which they had favored since their engagements in Hamburg, and it was he who shaped their stage persona. Epstein put the band in matching suits, removed drink and cigarettes from the stage, and taught them to bow after a number in response to the applause. The band resisted the changes but gradually adopted them as they saw the growing success of their appearances. It was the non-threatening image of the band in jackets and ties when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show which led to their acceptance by many American adults.
Despite his efforts a recording contract was not forthcoming for some time, and when it was finally received it was with the proviso that Pete Best be replaced by another drummer. Producer George Martin refused to use Best in recordings, and it fell to Epstein to tell the popular drummer that he was out of the band. When Ringo Starr replaced him Martin initially had reservations about his drumming as well, but Ringo remained with the band other than on some early recordings. The band’s rocketing success which followed convinced them to have complete faith with their manager, which later proved to be costly in lost royalties.
Without Epstein there likely would not have been a British Invasion, at least not in the manner in which it evolved. Epstein had a stable of Liverpool bands which were sent to America to capitalize on the success of the Beatles, and a direct line to the stage of The Ed Sullivan Show. He made many mistakes and entered into business deals which cost the Beatles a great deal of money, but it was his marketing savvy in terms of how he presented his boys which created the exposure which led to Beatlemania in Great Britain and the British Invasion in the United States. One of his young assistants in the early days was Andrew Loog Olldham, who went on to manage The Rolling Stones, creating an opposite image from the Beatles.