Brian Epstein

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Brian Epstein, 1965

Brian Samuel Epstein (born September 19, 1934 in Liverpool , England ; † August 27, 1967 in London , England) was a British businessman who became known as the manager of the music group The Beatles as well as Gerry & the Pacemakers and other beat bands and singers from Liverpool .

Career

Wrekin College in Wellington ( Shropshire ), Brian Epstein's last school

Brian Epstein came from a Jewish family. His grandparents immigrated to Great Britain from various Eastern European countries. The family moved to Southport during World War II . In 1943 he returned to Liverpool with his parents and, after changing schools frequently, attended the eleventh school in 1949. In 1950 he asked his parents to be allowed to finish his schooling. His father contradicted his actual wish to be allowed to work either in the field of fashion design or as an actor . However, he was finally allowed to leave Wrekin College boarding school in December 1950 and began working in the family business at the age of 16. In November 1952 Brian Epstein was called up for military service and served in the Royal Army Service Corps , which he had to leave in March 1954 due to mental problems. On August 31, 1955, his father made him a director at Isaac Epstein & Sons (Liverpool) Ltd. - one of two parental furniture stores - appointed. After a short stay at the RADA ( Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts ) from September 1956, he took another job in October 1957 in his father's shop, an electronics store with washing machines, as well as television and radio equipment.

Epstein family home where Brian Epstein grew up (197 Queens Drive, Childwall)

The parents' furniture and electronics stores were initially in the Everton district, where Jim McCartney ( Paul McCartney 's father) bought a piano from Harry Epstein (Brian Epstein's father). After moving to nearby Liverpool, a third of the store consisted of a record division, which gave the store the name Northern End Music Stores (NEMS). Epstein was allowed to take over the old store when a second store opened in downtown Liverpool in 1957. Epstein was initially not interested in pop music, but noticed the increasing demand. Cliff Richard's title Living Doll had broken all of the store's sales records by January 1959. Store clerk Alistair Taylor later recalled that one day Epstein bet that Ray Charles' single Georgia on My Mind had the potential for number one. The title, published in England in December 1960, never reached first place there, but before that in the USA on November 14, 1960.

As a gay man, Epstein had to maintain great discretion in public as homosexuality was still illegal in the UK.

Act as a manager

Brian Epstein noticed the popularity of the Liverpool music newspaper Mersey Beat and ordered twelve dozen copies of the second edition of July 20, 1961. It was reported that the Beatles - only regionally known - had signed a record deal with the German Polydor . That happened on July 1, 1961, after she had previously performed the single My Bonnie (Lies Over the Ocean) / The Saints (When the Saints ) on June 22, 1961 in the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg-Heimfeld as accompanist for Tony Sheridan Go Marching In) with producer Bert Kaempfert . The single named "Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers" as the artist and sold 100,000 copies in Germany. Experts are unsure about the German publication date, but most of them assume October 23, 1961.

A few days later, the NEMS shop received some inquiries about the Beatles single My Bonnie, which was out of stock . Epstein's shop assistant Alistair Taylor noted this on October 28, 1961, and Epstein found out that the single had been produced and released in Germany. After further inquiries, Epstein researched the whereabouts of the group and ordered the minimum quantity of 25 copies from wholesalers. These were sold quickly, so there were reorders. On November 9, 1961, he attended a Beatles concert with Alistair Taylor in the Cavern Club and made first contact with the group there. The Beatles performed here as a house band since March 21, 1961. Epstein was impressed with her music, rhythm and humor on stage. A meeting between Epstein and the group in the NEMS store was scheduled for December 10, 1961.

From 1963 to 1964, NEMS had its first office in London at 13 Monmouth Street

Here it was agreed that Epstein should become the manager of the group. The five-year contract, which began on February 1, 1962 and was prepared by the family lawyer Rex Makin, provided for an income share of initially 10% for Epstein; if the threshold of 1500 pounds annually was exceeded  , the participation increased to 15%. The contract also stipulated that Epstein should advise the group "on all matters relating to clothing, appearance (" make-up "), presentation and structuring of the performance." Epstein was the choreographer of the synchronous bowing of the Beatles at the end of each Appearance. This clean, preppy demeanor made the Beatles acceptable to a larger audience. On January 24, 1962, the four Beatles - who then consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Pete Best - signed, but Epstein did not. This ensured a consistent implementation of the management contract and gave the Beatles the image of disciplined, well-dressed and decent boys. Epstein, a columnist for the Mersey Beat since August 3, 1961 , took every opportunity to spread the Beatles' name.

Record deal for the Beatles

Epstein's main goal was to broker a record deal for the Beatles, because their record deal with the German Polydor Records ended on June 24, 1961. The Epsteins now had nine record stores in Liverpool with over 500,000 records in stock, which was not hidden from British record companies. On December 18, 1961, he received a rejection from Ron White because EMI had no interest in the group. After all, Epstein then managed to get an appointment for test recordings at Decca for January 1, 1962 , which were monitored by Mike Smith. Here, too, there was a rejection by boss Dick Rowe because Brian Poole & The Tremeloes had been preferred. Further rejections from Pye , Philips and Oriole followed, but the tireless manager tried again at EMI. For February 13, 1962 a meeting was arranged with the label boss George Martin of the EMI subsidiary label Parlophone , and another meeting took place on May 9, 1962. The result was a test recording on June 6, 1962. In the same month Parlophone offered the Beatles a record deal, which they signed. The first regular recording session was scheduled for September 4, 1962, when the single Love Me Do / PS I Love You was created at Abbey Road Studios .

In the meantime, Love Me Do was published on October 5, 1962 without any special public relations work and was able to penetrate to 17th place in the British charts. The rumors that Brian Epstein, as the owner of his record store NEMS, had ordered 10,000 copies to improve chart placement never stopped. In any case, Epstein did not have to help with the first single How Do You Do It ?, recorded on January 22nd, 1963. by Gerry & the Pacemakers, who were able to reach the top ranking even before the Beatles. In addition to the Beatles, Epstein-managed Billy J. Kramer and Cilla Black also topped the British charts .

Epstein was able to participate financially as well as ideally in the sensational world success of the Beatles, the media classified him as the “ fifth Beatle ”, even if he did not intervene artistically, as other managers did at the time. As his most famous protégés became more famous, he no longer had any trouble organizing performances for them. Nevertheless, he was charged with some unfavorable decisions, such as the transfer of 90% of the rights to the Beatles merchandising to a foreign company.

Dissatisfied with the weak advertising for Love Me Do by the EMI group and its music publisher Ardmore & Beachwood, Epstein decided on the recommendation of Beatles producer George Martin for the music publisher Dick James Music Ltd., which had just been founded in September 1961. When asked how Dick James envisions promoting the new single Please Please Me , he called the producer of the new television show Thank Your Lucky Stars . He got the Beatles to appear on the popular music show on January 19, 1963, and Dick James Music became the future music publisher of the Beatles. A year later, Epstein succeeded in placing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 , thereby opening up the important American market as part of the British Invasion .

In October 1964, Souvenir Epstein's autobiography, A Cellarful of Noise , was published by London-based publisher , which he wrote with journalist Derek Taylor . On December 20, 1964, he bought a five- story Georgian house in London's Belgravia (24 Chapel Street) for £ 60,000.

In early 1967, the now drug addict Epstein seemed to lose interest in his duties as the Beatles increased their success. The extension of the first management contract with the Beatles, due on February 1, 1967, did not materialize. He expressed his disappointment on this to his industry colleague Larry Parnes. On May 19, 1967, Epstein organized a press reception for the upcoming concept album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band at his Chapel Street home .

Management of other artists

Epstein took over the management for other bands from Liverpool. These included Gerry & the Pacemakers , The Big Three, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas , The Fourmost, The Remo Four and soloists like Tommy Quickly and Cilla Black . In view of the growing number of artists, he developed the idea of ​​founding a management company together with his brother Clive Epstein (1936–1988) in which the artist management could be bundled. On June 26, 1962, NEMS Enterprises was founded , half of which was held by the brothers.

death

Brian Epstein's house on 24 Chapel Street in Belgravia (London)

On Friday, August 25, 1967, Epstein was preparing for a weekend with friends at his Kingsley Hill weekend home in Sussex . Nevertheless, he went to London that evening with a promise to return to the weekend house. When he was not back on Sunday, August 27, 1967, attempts were unsuccessful to call him on Chapel Street. On the assumption that something might have happened, the door to the apartment was opened in the presence of his family doctor. Epstein lay lifeless on his bed. The cause of death was a high dose of bromide in the blood due to long-term use of Carbitral sleeping pills . Epstein suffered from insomnia. His personal assistant stated that Epstein had a recurring glandular fever that had weakened him severely.

Brian Epstein's personal assistant, Peter Brown, who worked for Apple , then took on the task of handling the Beatles' personal affairs.

literature

  • Brian Epstein: The fifth Beatle tells . Hannibal Verlag, Höfen 2014, ISBN 978-3-85445-461-8 (original edition: A Cellarful of Noise ).
  • Vivek J. Tiwary, drawings. Andrew C. Robinson, Kyle Baker: The fifth Beatle: the Brian Epstein story , translated by Gerlinde Althoff, Panini-Comics, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-86201-786-7 .

Web links

Commons : Brian Epstein  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mark Lewisohn: The Beatles: All These Years - Extended Special Edition, Volume One - Tune In . Little, Brown Books, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-4087-0478-3 , p. 150.
  2. ↑ a b c d Bill Harry: The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia . 1993, pp. 224-225.
  3. ↑ Debbie Geller: The Brian Epstein Story . 2000, p. 23.
  4. ↑ a b Debbie Geller: The Brian Epstein Story . 2000, pp. 31-33.
  5. ^ The first edition appeared on July 6, 1961; Barry Miles / Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary: The Beatles Years , 2001, p. 39.
  6. ↑ No recording studio, but a school auditorium that is used for concerts, among other things.
  7. ^ Mark Lewisohn: The Beatles Recording Sessions . London: Hamlyn, 1988. p. 22
  8. ↑ Bill Harry: The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia . 1993, p. 229.
  9. ↑ Recorded on January 13, 1963.
  10. ↑ Strictly speaking, Northern Songs Ltd., newly founded on February 28, 1963, was the Beatles music publisher, managed by Dick James Music.
  11. ↑ www.findagrave: Clive John Epstein .
  12. ^ L. John Perkins: A Day in the Life . 2005, p. 212.
  13. ^ The Times , Sep 9, 1967, Issue 57042, p. 3.
  14. ^ Brian Roylance, Nicky Page, Derek Taylor (Eds.): The Beatles Anthology. Chronicle Books, San Francisco 2000; as a translation from English: Ullstein, Munich 2000. ISBN 3-550-07132-9 , p. 304.
personal data
SURNAME Epstein, Brian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Epstein, Brian Samuel (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British music manager, manager of the Beatles
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Liverpool , England
DATE OF DEATH August 27, 1967
Place of death London , England