Brian Epstein

Who was Brian Epstein?

Brian Samuel Epstein was an English music entrepreneur, best known for managing the Beatles until his death in 1967.

Epstein first discovered the Beatles in November 1961, during a lunchtime Cavern Club performance. He was instantly impressed, and saw great potential in the group. After being rejected by nearly all of the major recording companies in London, Epstein secured a meeting with George Martin, head of EMI's Parlophone label. In May 1962, Martin agreed to sign the Beatles, partly due to Epstein's conviction that the group would become internationally famous.

The Beatles' early success has been attributed to Epstein's management style, and the band trusted him without hesitation. In addition to handling the Beatles' business affairs, Epstein often stepped in to mediate personal disputes among the group. The Beatles' unquestioning loyalty to Epstein would later prove detrimental, as the band rarely read contracts before signing them. Shortly after the song "Please Please Me" rose to the top of the charts in 1963, Epstein advised the creation of Northern Songs, a publishing company that would control the copyrights of all Lennon-McCartney compositions recorded between 1963 and 1973. Music publisher Dick James and his partner Charles Silver owned 51% of the company, Lennon and McCartney each owned 20%, and Epstein owned 9%. By 1969, Lennon and McCartney had lost control of all publishing rights, which are now solely owned by Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Still, Epstein's death in 1967 marked the beginning of the group's downfall, and had a profound effect on the individual Beatles. In 1997, Paul McCartney said, "If anyone was the Fifth Beatle, it was Brian."