‘My Bonnie’: the song that attracted Brian Epstein to The Beatles
With or without the direction of manager Brian Epstein, The Beatles would probably have still been a huge success. Had he not discovered their talents, someone else surely would have at some point, as they were tapping into a sound and style that felt so unique and groundbreaking at the time when they first emerged. No other group was on their level when it came to their songwriting ability, and the way they fused pop with the rock and roll influences that were coming out of the US at the time felt fresh and exciting in the early 1960s.
Most people consider their first single to be the 1962 hit ‘Love Me Do’ with ‘P.S. I Love You’ as the B-side, and while it was the first single they released while signed to Parlophone with their classic lineup of John, Paul, George and Ringo, they had actually released a single in Germany the year before. Their cover of the traditional Scottish folk song ‘My Bonnie’ was credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers and was released with the Hamburg-based artist on lead vocals.
Also in the band’s lineup at the time were original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best, with future drummer Ringo Starr not in the picture at the time. Only given a limited release in Germany through Polydor, the ‘Beat Brothers’ and accompanying vocalist were picked up by producer Bert Kaempfert, but news of the song quickly travelled back home to Liverpool where record-store owner Epstein caught wind of the track through fans requesting that the single was imported to the UK.
When the requests for The Beatles’ version of ‘My Bonnie’ came flooding in, Epstein initially thought people were mistaken, believing it to be a Tony Sheridan song, but he quickly realised that they were, in fact, the backing band on the track. Noticing that he was not only flogging large quantities of the single in his store, he and assistant Alistair Taylor chose to go and see what the fuss was all about when The Beatles returned home to perform at the now-famous Cavern Club in Liverpool.
Recalling hearing the news that Epstein would be coming to their hometown show, Paul McCartney said, “Brian heard that we were playing 200 yards away. So he came to the Cavern and the news got to us: ‘Brian Epstein is in the audience – he might be a manager or a promoter. He is a grown-up, anyway.’ It was us and grown-ups then.”
While he wasn’t a manager or promoter at the time (he was a grown-up, however), Epstein was blown away by the band’s performance and immediately saw their potential. “I was immediately struck by their music, their beat, and their sense of humor on stage,” he recalled. “And even afterwards when I met them I was struck again by their personal charm.”
Despite having never dipped his toe into artist management before, he knew that he wanted to approach them, and shortly after the show, The Beatles found themselves signing a five-year management contract with the enterprising Epstein. ‘My Bonnie’ got an official release under The Beatles’ name in the UK in January 1962, and as Epstein himself says, “It was there that really it all started.”
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