In 1995 Martin Lewis interviewed Beatles producer Sir George Martin, the late Derek
Taylor (longtime Beatles publicist and co-author of
A Cellarful of Noise), and the late Ray Coleman (Brian Epstein
and John Lennon biographer) for an E! documentary, and asked them what Brian Epstein meant
to the Beatles. Here are a few never before seen extracts from those interviews:
George Martin
"First of all he picked them. He actually said 'I want to be your
manager... I want to look after you.' And if he hadn't brought them to
me, I wouldn't have recorded them.
"He gave them style... He gave them taste.... He gave them their
charm and their impeccability in dress. He was quite strict with them in
dressing them up. He made them bow after each performance. Brian gave
them all that. He was a dear man and he had a great deal of talent."
"Brian Epstein is a crucial part of the Beatles story. A most
engaging, amusing 'tyrant'! And much more fun than is known. Much more
fun. Much more light-hearted and witty and cheeky! Brian was a most
wonderful chap. Quite impossible to work for on a one-to-one basis.
Because of his demands. But a terrifically good servant for them.
And because he gave so much of himself to them - he expected people
like me to give all of themselves to him. (But I had a family - so
I wisely got out.)
"Brian gave them a very, very nice road. Really quite a carefree
way into fame by taking care of business. No matter how many mistakes
he made. When he 'went' it was pretty well all over in terms of
direction."
"Brian Epstein's special qualities were his honesty, passion,
determination, and the fact that he was a loyal friend and trustworthy.
He cared very, very deeply for them. He believed from the moment he saw
them that they were going to be the world stars they became. He was
absolutely passionate that they were the best in the world. He predicted
that from Day One to me and to anyone else who would listen. So he had
that unique vision of what he saw coming... He steered them very, very
well. His technique was excellent.
"Nothing could come close to what he gave them - which was absolute
love - and that's irreplaceable. And they needed that in those days.
They needed a man with wisdom and a little bit of money. He also had
grace and charm, which impressed a lot of people worldwide.
"I think there is no doubt that had they not had a manager of Brian
Epstein's determination - I don't think that they would have emerged
from Liverpool. Without Brian Epstein we wouldn't have seen the Beatles.
That's my strong view."
Ringo appeared on CNN's Larry
King Live to promote his new album Vertical Man on June 17,1998. Here's what he had to say
about Brian as the Beatles' manager:
Ringo Starr
"He was very good. He started like we did. He didn't know the
game, neither did we, really. We knew how to play, and he tidied us
up and moved us on.
"He ran a record division in his father's furniture company, heard
about us, or heard about them, I wasn't even with them then,
went down to the Cavern, and said, hmm, maybe I'll manage them. He
didn't know how to manage to save his life, but he decided to be a
manager, so who knew?"
Beatles News
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George
Martin talks about what Brian meant to the Beatles
