Man Behind The Beatles — Brian Epstein

This is the reason why Beatlemania was ready to serve to the world; into the musical Liverpool cauldron, where the basic Beatle ingredients of excitement, sound, movement, freshness—cooked over the bubbling waters of the Mersey river—it was Brian Epstein stirring the brew, adding from time to time the dash of professional seasoning. Drawing on his own theatrical education, Epstein, the Beatle manager, was able to take the admittedly scruffy quartet, and act as both an objective mirror and business guide. How Epstein and The Beatles joined forces is another chapter in this living legend. Epstein, at the youthful age of 27, had rejected the temptations of a career in theater to enter the family business in Liverpool. Despite an almost life-long yearning for theater and a formal education which included study at the royal academy of dramatic art in London, he decided to employ his creative talents and boundless energy in the business world, where the chances of financial security were considerably greater than theater. Although his personal tastes were somewhat sophisticated, Brian Epstein found the business of selling pop music records so financially rewarding that he decided he'd better immerse himself in the pop music world; which, strangely enough, was focusing its beams on Liverpool, and the Mersey Beat, successor to both the European skiffle and American rock, were popular. So down the cobblestone streets of Liverpool's storied beat generation section went Epstein, with dress and manner genteel. He reportedly projected a feeling of confusion the first time he was confronted by The Beatles. But on subsequent trips, his demeanor changed. And when Brian Epstein finally made a personal decision to manage The Beatles, it was a decision which would affect the musical history of the world...