Which other acts did Brian Epstein manage?
The Beatles are four things and four things only: John, Paul, George, and Ringo. But there is that erroneous fifth member that seems to crop up over and over, and Brian Epstein was always the one to beat.
Of course, in the same way as anyone with any form of association with the Fabs – no matter how major or minor – Epstein’s lasting legacy as a human on Earth had everything to do with the band and his impact solely on them, because it was completely seismic. But even though his prolific influence was undeniable, albeit tragically short, The Beatles were only really ever part of the story.
As much as Epstein was the absolute prime definition of a blagger, having no managerial experience prior to catching The Beatles under his thumb and getting them to sign on the dotted line of a contract, the experience of the band going from zeroes to heroes almost overnight would have indisputably turned a few heads in the industry, and also made the rookie Epstein one to watch.
Subsequently, as you can imagine, many artists also flocked to be managed by Epstein after they saw what his magic formula did to the Fab Four. Naturally, largely based within the Liverpool scene, he soon picked up a rather illustrious roster in the form of Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, Tommy Quickly, and The Big Three. Although none obviously quite met the same parallel of worldwide manic stardom of The Beatles, each was still as pivotal to that specific scene as the last – and Epstein was quite firmly steering the ship.
What was Brian Epstein like as a manager?
When you consider just how unfathomably seismic The Beatles became under Epstein’s watchful eye, it was frankly quite hilarious to hear their initial reasons why they ultimately chose him to lead the pack. Was it because of his professionalism, his vision for the band, or his aptitude for spotting potential stars? Well, yes, it was some of those things. But it was mainly to do with the fact that he dressed cool.
Swapping casual clothes for smart suits and shoes, Epstein’s wardrobe was what largely caught the eye of the then-wannabe rockers, with all the Beatles being swept off their feet in their naive bliss of their early twenties. But evidently, the man packed a hell of a lot more punch than solely being built on the foundations of an aesthetic, because without him, the manic joyride that ensued would have never come to life.
Epstein’s tactics as a manager would have been no different with The Beatles than what they would have been with anyone else, and in this sense, that was the precise key in making him the gargantuan force he became within the music industry. The memory of his relative lack of experience soon faded into obscurity as soon as people realised he was the real deal, but that was only because The Beatles took the leap to sign his contract first. None of them – Epstein included – could have known what would happen next.
