The Beatles, page 119
“the most important record outlet”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“There was really no radio”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
A grainy picture of Gene Vincent: Mersey Beat, 7/6/61.
He split the cover price: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/4/97.
“He looked extremely smart”: Ibid., 8/2/97.
“I can’t understand it”: Ibid.
BEATLES SIGN RECORDING CONTRACT!: Mersey Beat, 7/20/61.
“This is actually in Liverpool?”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“Record Releases by Brian Epstein”: Mersey Beat, 8/3/61. “He became our record reviewer.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“What about these Beatles?”: Ibid.
Legend has it that Brian: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 43.
“The name ‘Beatle’ meant”: Ibid.
“He would have had to have been blind”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“Do you remember that record”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“The Beatles are at the Cavern”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
A letter from Stuart had indicated: Jürgen Vollmer, 8/82, AGA.
“I showed them all the places”: Ibid.
“We both detested pop”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“hovering around the counter”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Then, I’m sorry to have to tell you”: Ibid.
They knew who he was: Davies, Beatles, p. 125.
“And what brings Mr. Epstein”: Ibid.
“We just popped in”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“absolutely awful”/“remarkable”: Ibid.
“Do you think I should manage them?”: Ibid.
CHAPTER 15: A GIGANTIC LEAP OF FAITH
“delicious-sounding” names: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
here Names of Liverpool bands: Leigh, Let’s Go Down the Cavern, dedication page; and Mersey Beat, various issues, 7/6/61–2/13/64.
Slightly over three hundred… bands: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
Bands played what they wanted: Author interview with Howie Casey, 10/27/97.
Brian was “besotted”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“John, especially”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“with all the pride of a peacock”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“for a chat”: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 48.
“never know what made [him] say”: Ibid.
On December 3, 1961: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 35; Epstein, Cellarful, p. 49.
“rattled on the glass”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“This is me dad”: Davies, Beatles, p. 126; confirmed by Bob Wooler in author interview, 10/30/97.
“Apparently quite a number of people want it”: Davies, Beatles, p. 126.
“he was picking his words very carefully”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 127.
“Certainly there were several things”: Ibid.
“they were delighted that a proper businessman”: Hello!, 5/14/94.
Paul… “was more ambitious”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
wiles of “a Jewboy”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“The novelty” would eventually wear off: Davies, Beatles, p. 129.
“They were as unruly a bunch”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“thieves”: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 68.
“a right load of layabouts”: Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 28.
“I wouldn’t touch ’em”: Williams, “Liverpool Scene”; Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 35.
“there was an immediate bond”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
same compatible relationship with Andrew Lloyd Webber: Ibid.
“Presumably I looked as if I were… perfectly normal”: Ibid.
“a very unhappy man”: Ibid.
“Money was the deciding factor”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“he’d discovered a gold mine”: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“Harry was indignant”: Ibid.
“the Beatles would be bigger”: “He assured my parents and me that they would be bigger than Elvis Presley.” Clive Epstein in Coleman, Lennon, p. 158; also author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
if Queenie wasn’t any more optimistic: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
Besides, she knew how stubborn Brian was: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 67.
“Okay, you’re on”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 130.
276–77 “Right, then, Brian—manage us”: Norman, Shout!, p. 140.
Stuart wasn’t expected to return: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
Both Beatles had kept up a… correspondence: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/7/97.
“a restlessness about life”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 159.
“clearly distressed—bizarre”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“Stuart looked absolutely god-awful”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“there was no supporting evidence”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“Stuart fell over”: Rod Murray, 8/82, AGA.
A grant had come through: “[He] got a tremendous grant… from the German government on Paolozzi’s recommendation.” Millie Sutcliffe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 92.
“but not both”: Ibid.
but writing stories and poems: Astrid Kirchherr in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 91.
“good sense to keep away from”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“to smarten them up”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
Leather and jeans were fine for the Cavern: “He claimed that no one in the world of entertainment outside our present environment would tolerate our slovenly look.” Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 133.
Brian expected everyone to show up on time: Coleman, Lennon, p. 157.
“Brian believed that would be very good for us”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 96.
“Paul was Mr. Show Business”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/9/97.
“a nice old ballroom”: Author interview with Sam Leach, 10/6/97.
“Where are we going, boys?”: Anthology, vol. 1.
CHAPTER 16: THE ROAD TO LONDON
A graduate of the Merchant Taylors’ School: Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 31.
Barrow not only spoke the language: Liverpool Echo, 1959–61.
“a schoolboy”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
Each week, before placing the NEMS record order: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“I have this fabulous group”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“instantly impressive”: Ibid.
“bright lights”: Author interview with Richard Rowe Jr., 8/19/97.
Brian was “very taken” with Smith: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
After a rousing lunchtime session: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 137.
“Right,” Smith said without any ado: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“ill humor”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“very late” the next morning: Pete Best in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 31.
“He was frothing at the mouth”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 137.
He’d been out late at a party: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 52.
studios were “freezing cold”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“ill at ease”: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 52.
“[He] believed that the way to impress Mike Smith”: Norman, Shout!, p. 143.
“all these weird novelty things”: Letter, John Lennon to Tony Barrow, 12/63; also: Beatles Book Monthly, 1/83, p. 7.
“We thought hard about the material”: Pete Best in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 90.
“fairly silly repertoire”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 89.
their performance was flat: Decca audition tape, 1/1/62.
too many “pretty” numbers: “Decca didn’t want all that pretty-pretty kind of number.” Letter, John Lennon to Tony Barrow, 12/63; also: Beatles Book Monthly, 1/83, p. 7.
work had been “productive”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 139.
“Can’t see any problems”: Ibid.
Brian surprised them by ordering: Norman, Shout!, p. 144.
“What a great way to start 1962”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 139.
“best group in Liverpool”: Mersey Beat, 1/4/62.
“He was always on the phone to Polydor”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“It became hard, right off the bat”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
“Whatever you do… don’t tell Daddy”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“Nine times out of ten”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/3/97.
“Shut yer fucking yap!”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“rude photos”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“We always stayed out of their way”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 1/19/98.
Brian repeated his foremost goal: Letter from R. N. White to Brian Epstein, 12/7/61.
“Whilst we appreciate the talents”: Ibid., 12/14/61.
“amazing record collection”: “He sent to America for some of it but acquired the best stuff on the black market.” Author interview with Richard Rowe Jr., 8/19/97.
“No, Mike, it’s impossible”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 88.
“Liverpool could have been in Greenland”: Ibid.
“He had very substantial accounts”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
“thought it was awful”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
Philips also passed: Letter from E. J. Harvey to Brian Epstein, 2/11/62.
“It appears that we are cursed”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/8/97.
“The people at Decca didn’t like the boys’ sound”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 90.
“You couldn’t get in”: Ibid., p. 89.
“You have a good record business”: Ibid., p. 90.
“completely shattered”: Beatles Book Monthly, 11/82, p. 32.
“Now, who hasn’t [already] got a group”: Related by Kim Bennett, assistant to Sid Coleman, Beatles Book Monthly, 5/69, p. 8.
HMV and Columbia got the heavy hitters: Martin, All You Need, p. 83.
“It was the bastard child”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/2/97.
“a lot of traditional Scottish bands”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.
Martin would have “to do something” bold: Martin, All You Need, p. 84.
“between the cracks”: Ibid.
“We had gone from being known as a sad little company”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.
297–98 “so soft the engineers had… difficulty”: Ibid.
“not to be so clever”: Letter, John Lennon to Tony Barrow, Beatles Book Monthly, 1/83, p. 7.
“Right. Try Embassy”: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 58.
“Brian Epstein decided that everyone”: Leigh, Let’s Go Down the Cavern, p. 59.
He was “embarrassed”: Pete Best in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 26.
“Almost since he joined”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/1/97.
“If one of the others got more applause”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
A poster for The Outlaw: Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 26.
“He was the only Beatle I mentioned”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“That had always been Paul’s role”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“brilliant”/“they were going to conquer the world”: George Martin, Arena archives.
“had seen it all before”: Ibid.
“He… expressed surprise”: Martin, All You Need, p. 122.
“unswerving devotion”: George Martin, Arena archives.
“a big hype”: Martin, All You Need, p. 122.
“very mediocre”: Ibid.
“You know, I really can’t judge”: George Martin, Arena archives.
“Brian’s investment in the band”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“Brian was too captivated”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
By February, he was taking amphetamines: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“Brian didn’t want to go to gigs”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
“with his hair combed forward”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“We’d heard Brian was queer”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 88.
“They always knew he was a queen”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
“I see that new Dirk Bogarde film”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Within forty-eight hours”: Ian Sharp, 8/84, AGA.
CHAPTER 17: DO THE RIGHT THING
“The Beatles were home in Hamburg”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
An omen presented itself: “I had German measles so I went a day later than the other guys…. ” George Harrison in Anthology, p. 69.
“Where’s Stu?”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 150.
“Oh, what’s the matter?”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 162.
“a bomb going off in his head”: “Millie told me it was like a bomb…. ” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/7/97.
“he was going blind”: “Millie told me that she’d got a letter from Stuart, who said he was afraid he was going blind.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
Other times, she struggled to hold him down: Norman, Shout!, p. 149.
According to one account, he’d blacked out: Ibid.
On April 10: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 56.
“He has to go to the hospital”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 162.
No one that close in age had died: “Not many of our contemporaries had died.” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 69.
“a real shock”: Ibid.
“looked up to Stu”: “I depended on him to tell me the truth.” John Lennon, 1967 interview, in Anthology, p. 69.
Even Astrid insisted that they go on: “[S]he did, indeed, go to the Star Club when the Beatles opened there on 13 April.” Coleman, Lennon, p. 163.
The rest of the bill featured: Beatles Book Monthly, 1/83, p. 19.
“without [his] approval you did not work”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“spoke English with a typical German… accent”: Ted “Kingsize” Taylor, 9/2/85, AGA.
“ruthless” pit bull: Ibid.
“an immense, cavernous rock ’n roll cathedral”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“twistin’ base”: “News from Germany,” Mersey Beat, 5/3/62.
The Beatles took one look: “The Star-Club was great.” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 69; “a big place and fantastic.” George Harrison in ibid.
“the first real theatrical setting”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“There was a fucking curtain”: Ibid.
“The beatings he gave to people”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
the missing three fingers: “When you shook hands with him, he only had a finger and thumb on his right hand. The rest had been cut off.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
He doted on them: “He always spoke English very grammatically.” Ibid.
“Horst made sure we were protected”: Author interview with Tony Crane, 10/7/97.
“gave [them] immunity”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
“Manfred’s Home for Itinerant Scousers”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“roughly 850 to 1,000 people”: Don Arden in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 93.
“a step up”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 163.
Only one of his songs, “You Better Move On”: Whitburn, Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits.
“We wanted to [sound] like Arthur Alexander”: Liner notes, The Ultimate Arthur Alexander, Razor & Tie RE 2014.
“He opened the barn door”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 2/29/00.
John Lennon managed to fuel his rage: “During that trip in Hamburg, John was certainly often wild.” Gerry Marsden in Coleman, Lennon, p. 164.
He’d begun blowing off steam: Horst Fascher in Coleman, Lennon, p. 163.
“foamed at the mouth”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
“all people [were] basically shit”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“And all of us just stood there”: Gerry Marsden in Coleman, Lennon, p. 169.
“a trend [for musicians] to bounce around”: Ibid.
“Hey, remember the war?”: Ibid.
“a little bit mad”: Ibid., p. 164.
“out of my fucking mind”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in Anthology, p. 78.
“let loose like maniacs”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/2/97.
a “shabby little… bedsit”: Hello!, 5/7/94.
“Imagine having her there all the time”: Letter to Cynthia Lennon, 4/62.
“The pressure was really getting to him”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
CONGRATULATIONS BOYS: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 56.
HAVE SECURED CONTRACT: Ibid., p. 55 (picture).
None of the Beatles had been forewarned: “It was only Brian telling us we were going to make it and George.” John Lennon, 1972 interview, in Anthology, p. 68.
By way of celebration: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 159.
Unable to make ends meet: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 61.
“they played tick with hatchets”: Author interview with Dave Foreshaw, 10/3/97.
“money had run out”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 70.
“period got later and later”: “Cynthia Lennon: In Her Own Words,” Hello!, 5/21/94.
“The horror of it”: “Cynthia Lennon: In Her Own Words,” Hello!, 5/14/94.
