Brian Epstein - The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were first noticed by Epstein in issues of Mersey Beat, and on numerous posters around Liverpool, before he asked the editor of Mersey Beat, Bill Harry, who they were. Harry had previously convinced Epstein to sell the magazine at NEMS, with The Beatles being featured on the front page of its second issue. The Beatles had recorded the "My Bonnie" single with Tony Sheridan in Germany, and some months after its release Epstein asked Alistair Taylor about it in NEMS. Epstein's version of the story was that a customer, Raymond Jones, walked into the NEMS shop and asked him for the "My Bonnie" single, which made Epstein curious about the group. Taylor later claimed that he had used the name of Jones (a regular customer), to order the single and paid the deposit himself, knowing that Epstein would notice it, and order further copies. Harry and McCartney later repudiated Epstein's story, as Harry had been talking to Epstein about The Beatles for a long time—being the group he promoted the most in Mersey Beat—with McCartney saying, "Brian knew perfectly well who The Beatles were; they were on the front page of the second issue of Mersey Beat". On 3 August 1961, Epstein started a regular music column in the Mersey Beat, called "Stop the World—And Listen To Everything In It: Brian Epstein of NEMS".

The Beatles were due to perform a lunchtime concert in the Cavern Club on 9 November 1961. According to the club's owner, Sytner, Epstein had visited the club quite a few times previously on Saturday nights, once asking Sytner to book a group for his twenty-first birthday party. Epstein asked Harry to arrange for Epstein and his assistant Taylor to watch The Beatles perform, with Epstein and Taylor being allowed into the club without queuing. They bypassed the line of fans at the door and heard a welcome message announced over the club's public-address system by Bob Wooler, the resident DJ: "We have someone rather famous in the audience today. Mr. Brian Epstein, the owner of NEMS..."

Epstein later talked about the performance:

"I was immediately struck by their music, their beat, and their sense of humour on stage – and, even afterwards, when I met them, I was struck again by their personal charm. And it was there that, really, it all started".

After the performance, Epstein and Taylor went into the dressing room (which he later called "as big as a broom cupboard"), to talk to the group. The Beatles, all regular NEMS customers, immediately recognised Epstein, but before he could congratulate them on their performance, George Harrison said, "And what brings Mr. Epstein here?" Epstein replied with, "We just popped in to say hello. I enjoyed your performance". He introduced Taylor, who merely nodded a greeting, and then said, "Well done, then, goodbye", and left. Epstein and Taylor went to Peacock's restaurant in Hackins Hey for lunch, and during the meal Epstein asked Taylor what he thought about the group. Taylor replied that he honestly thought they were "absolutely awful", but there was something "remarkable" about them. Epstein waited a long time before saying anything further, just sitting there smiling slightly, but eventually exclaiming, "I think they're tremendous!" Later, when Epstein was paying the bill, he grabbed Taylor's arm and said, "Do you think I should manage them?"

The Beatles played at The Cavern over the next three weeks, and Epstein was always there to watch them. He contacted Allan Williams (their previous promoter/manager), to confirm that Williams no longer had any ties to them, but Williams advised him "not to touch them with a barge pole", because of a Hamburg concert percentage the group had refused to pay.