Neil Aspinall - The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles played at the opening of The Casbah Coffee Club on 29 August 1959, which was in the cellar of Mona Best's house. Aspinall later rented a room in the house and became very good friends with then-Beatle Pete Best. The Beatles had previously used public transport to get to local gigs, but by February 1961, they were playing two or three concerts per night at different locations and needed someone to drive them. Best asked Aspinall to be a part-time road manager for the band, so Aspinall bought an "old, grey and maroon Commer van" for 80 pounds, and charged each of the group five shillings per concert. Harrison later said: "Our early van became the centre of attention every time it pulled up. It was brush-painted red and grey, and from head to foot was covered in graffiti - girls' names, and things like 'I love you, John'. It looked interesting, but the moment anybody saw it they would feel free to write all over it.” The Beatles returned from their second trip to Hamburg in July 1962, and Aspinall left his job to become their permanent road manager, as he was earning more money driving them around than he was earning by being an accountant.

The Beatles were driven down to London by Aspinall on New Year's Eve in 1961, for the now-famous Decca audition, but Aspinall lost his way, and the trip took ten hours. They arrived at 10 o'clock at night, and John Lennon said that they arrived "just in time to see the drunks jumping in the Trafalgar Square fountain." In 1963, he was joined by Mal Evans, who also helped set up The Beatles' equipment (and acted as a bodyguard) which freed Aspinall to concentrate on other duties, like arranging appointments or buying things for them, such as suits, boots, meals, or drinks. When Best was sacked by The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, Aspinall was waiting downstairs in Epstein's NEMS record shop, and was the first one to talk to the by then ex-Beatle in The Grapes pub, across from The Cavern. Aspinall was furious and said that he would stop working for the band as well, but Best strongly advised him not to. Aspinall decided to stay, but ended his relationship with Best's mother (an affair that had led to the birth of baby Vincent "Roag" Best). Aspinall asked McCartney and Lennon at the next concert why they had fired Best and was told, "It’s got nothing to do with you. You’re only the driver."

Aspinall worked closely with Epstein, who provided weekly notes for Aspinall to give to the group's stage act, their concert appearances, and the fees they would receive. The Beatles had to travel in Aspinall's van along with their equipment, but British roads in the early 1960s were notoriously pot-holed and slow to navigate. Ringo Starr remembered that the travelling never seemed to stop during the early tours of Britain in Aspinall's van, as they would be driven up and down Great Britain with one of the group in the passenger seat, but with the other three on a hard bench seat in the back.