Perhaps The Beatles’ talent would have ensured their success no matter who else helped them on their journey. But would they have reached the levels that they did without the assistance of certain key individuals? Brian Epstein ranks high on that list of crucial supporters.
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The Beatles’ manager passed away suddenly in 1967. In many ways, his death marked a turning point for the group. It separated them from their halcyon early days. And it left them to deal with the somewhat more tumultuous latter stages of their time together.
Building The Beatles Brand
When Brian Epstein met The Beatles, he wasn’t yet in artist management. He was working in his father’s music store, where he focused on selling records. Just as he needed The Beatles to build a more rewarding career for himself, the Fab Four needed him to reach audiences that might have been otherwise unattainable for them.
In the early years of the group, Epstein did a lot. He arranged all of their tours and their personal appearances. He outfitted the four men in suits, which helped establish an image that made them more palatable to the mainstream. And he did the band’s dirty work. It was Epstein who fired Pete Best so that Ringo Starr could be hired as drummer.
Epstein’s personal life included a lot of heartbreak that was somewhat hidden away by his polished appearance at the head of a musical empire, which is essentially what he built once he started managing several other hitmaking clients. A closeted gay man, Epstein began to use drugs with frequency as the 60s progressed.
Lessening Impact
Epstein’s role with The Beatles changed dramatically in 1966, when the band decided to stop touring, a choice that the manager disliked. The four men no longer wanted to put up with the chaos that went along with their concerts. They also wanted to concentrate on making more inventive music in the studio. This change lessened the importance of Epstein in their day-to-day lives.
In August 1967, Epstein, not long after visiting a Beatles’ session for their new project Magical Mystery Tour, planned a weekend getaway to Sussex. But shortly after arriving, he left and returned to London. It’s been speculated that he was upset that a male companion he was hoping would show up hadn’t arrived.
His friends tried to get him to return, calling him and noting that he sounded less than 100 percent on the phone. On August 27, 1967, a friend came to his London home and couldn’t get him to answer when she called at his bedroom door. A doctor arrived. When they broke down the door, Epstein was found dead. The cause of death was determined to be an overdose of sleeping pills.
The Beatles Respond
The Beatles received the news while in Wales, where they were having their first extensive meeting with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi about his meditation techniques. They spoke to the press in a daze before returning to London themselves.
Just four days later, a meeting was held to plan their course in the absence of Epstein. (Epstein’s brother, Clive, was temporarily named their manager, but his was more of a titular role than an active one.) At that meeting, Paul McCartney took charge and laid out plans for how the band should tackle the Magical Mystery Tour film.
In other words, The Beatles were now essentially controlling their own affairs. While they would continue to make wonderful music, the strain of trying to be businessmen eventually helped contribute to their breakup. Brian Epstein’s death removed the Fab Four from any type of management restrictions, and, in many ways, hastened their eventual dissolution.
Photo by Dixie Dean/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
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