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9.55pm
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17 December 2012
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mccartneyalarm said
Would Brian have agreed to include Yoko and her recordings with John’s?
Had the situation occurred there is no doubt that John’s releases would have been as he wanted them. As I said above, John was always clear with Brian that the music was none of his concern.
Perhaps the more interesting question in this regard is whether John would have got together with Yoko had Brian not died when he did. I sometimes wonder how much of John’s problems over the year following Brian’s death were the result of the loss of someone else who was so close to him, and how differently things might have played out for John had Brian lived. I don’t doubt the divorce with Cynthia was on the way, but whether the co-dependency he formed with Yoko would have happened is altogether more intriguing.
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The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
9.57pm
8 August 2013
Offline Brian treated everyone with respect and would have done so with Yoko. There would have been a mutual respect between the two. However, I don’t think they would have been best friends. I have nothing against Yoko, I think she has been treated incredibly unfairly over the years and there is a lot more to her than people realise. However, she could be quite controlling over John when she wanted to be and I do think she was a wedge between John and Paul. She obviously somewhat resented their bond and closeness and told Philip Norman that she believed John had a sexual attraction to Paul! Paul probably felt the same about Yoko, jealous that she had taken his best friend away. Sorry, I’m straying off topic!
It’s all so incredibly sad as we’ll just never know what would have happened. But my gut instinct is that things wouldn’t have ended as messily had Brian lived.
10.23pm
21 November 2012
Offline RIP Brian!
It’s certainly interesting to think about what would’ve been different, hadn’t he died. Magical Mystery Tour (the film, don’t know about the album) probably wouldn’t have happened for example.
I don’t know about them breaking up though. I think it would’ve happened anyway. Maybe not then, maybe a few years later, but they would’ve split up eventually.
10.53pm
8 August 2013
Offline Linde said
RIP Brian!It’s certainly interesting to think about what would’ve been different, hadn’t he died. Magical Mystery Tour (the film, don’t know about the album) probably wouldn’t have happened for example.
I don’t know about them breaking up though. I think it would’ve happened anyway. Maybe not then, maybe a few years later, but they would’ve split up eventually.
Very true points. I don’t think Brian would have let the Magical Mystery Tour film happen the way it did. Paul has said that he sort of took over with that, they were in total shock and didn’t really know what to do and the haphazard nature of the film shows that. Brian would have got in a proper director and who knows how it would have turned out!
I agree they would have split eventually. They were all going in such different directions both musically and in their personal lives. It might have ended more amicably though. Or who knows, it might even have been worse!
11.05pm
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1 May 2011
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MMT would have happened but not as haphazard, unorganised, and disjointed as it was. Brian was the organiser and would have known who to contact to get the right people in instead of the Paul opening an artists phonebook and getting anyone who looked the part.
As for the split, yes eventually it would have happened but, as said above, not as acrimonious and unpleasant as it was. Apple wouldn’t have been such a mess for a start, which caused so many problems.
The biggest tribute given to Brian was that he was one of them (the Beatles), I think it was John who said that. Not many people got inside their inner group, Brian was one, and despite everything he was a very good friend of theirs. His death left a huge gap which was never filled.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
1.22am
8 November 2012
Offline I hadn’t thought of the Yoko-Brian what-if, that’s a good one. While I think Brian would have been respectful to Yoko, I think he also would have been protective of the rest of the boys and would have clashed with her and John about her sitting in the studio sessions. I wonder how he would have approached that. “Diplomatically,” of course, but what compromise could he have reached when John was digging in his heels?
parlance
5.13pm
3 May 2012
Offline I’m sure he wouldn’t have approved of Yoko constantly being in the studio, but I don’t really know what he could’ve done. It’s not like John could be told what to do or bossed about in any way, though I think if anyone could, then it was Brian. I’m not sure that Brian would’ve challenged him too much, though, especially not if he threatened to walk out and leave the group.
Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.
(Passover - I. Curtis)
7.09pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline For me Brian would have tolerated and been polite but not too impressed with Yoko and her presence in the studio. He would also have probably tried to have a nice polite word with John about what he was doing, tho it probably wouldn’t have went down very well and ended up with his addition to the list of those John and Yoko thought were against their being together.
However this is all based on a time variation and who knows what would have happened if Brian hadn’t died, maybe John would have remained in his Tudor mansion boredom. Change something as huge as a death in life and so much else alters immediately.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
5.35pm
9 July 2013
Offline One thing’s for sure…Brian would have been very jealous of John’s relationship with Yoko. I’m pretty sure he’d have been very jealous of John’s relationship with Stu Sutcliffe as well.
"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."
7.32pm
1 December 2009
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I don’t know how you can be so sure about those things! Did Brian ever evince any jealousy of Cynthia?
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
8.07pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline Well, Brian was known to have been dismayed by John’s marriage to Cynthia. Even if we take that as a business thing, the timing of the Spanish holiday – whatever may or may not have happened on it – was very strange, taking John away from Cynthia and his new son twenty days after Julian’s birth, during the first schedule break when John could have spent some proper time with them.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
9.37pm
9 July 2013
Offline Brian really wanted to be close to John (and I’m not speaking sexually here, even though that, too, may have been the case). The fact that John was so very close to Stu and felt about Stu the way Brian wished John would feel about him; and the fact that John was so extremely close to Yoko would have caused some jealousy on Brian’s part. Perhaps the better word would be “envious.”
"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."
1.50pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline A Wogblog article reports on the upcoming Blue Plaque in memory of Brian Epstein which “will be unveiled at 12 noon on Sunday 29th June, at Sutherland House, 5/6 Argyll Street, London W1 next door to the London Palladium”.
[Originally posted in the News thread but carried over to here and edited very slightly]
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
2.06pm
28 May 2014
Offline We miss you Brian! You made the Beatles successful enough to get excellent gigs! 
By hook or by crook, I'll be last in this book.
4.03pm
8 November 2012
Offline A Facebook post on the tributes announced at the celebration lunch for Brian Epstein’s blue plaque unveiling below. According to a comment, Vivek Tiwary also sent a tribute.
Will x-post once I can reach the news thread.
Tributes to Brian Epstein read out at the celebration lunch yesterday
PAUL McCARTNEY:
I know Brian would have been very proud to think that he had earned a Blue Plaque in the West End of London. He played a very important role in guiding the career of us Beatles and more than that he was a lovely man whose friendship we all valued and who I will always remember with great fondness. Congratulations, Brian. Love from Paul McCartney .
RINGO STARR:
He started like we did. He didn’t know the game, neither did we, really. We knew how to play, and he tidied us up and moved us on. He ran a record shop in his father’s furniture company, heard about us, or heard about them, I wasn’t even with them then; he went down to the Cavern and decided to be a manager. And he was very good. Love and peace. Ringo
GEORGE MARTIN:
Brian Epstein and I were very good friends from the word go, and we liked each other a lot. We sort of ran The Beatles together but he left the music to me and gave me enormous encouragement. The Beatles were number one in Brian’s life, as they were in mine. He was a charming man who we lost far too soon, but will always be remembered with affection and gratitude.
PATTIE BOYD:
I had the deep honour and great fun of getting to know Brian well in those halcyon years from 1964 to 1967 when we all seemed to cram a year of living into every week. The very essence of Brian was that he was an incredibly sweet man who cared deeply about The Beatles and everyone in his orbit. He was not motivated by money but by a desire to make the dreams of his artists and pals come true. How rare and special that was.
BILLY J. KRAMER:
Brian’s enthusiasm and unwavering belief in The Beatles, myself and his other artists made it impossible for the world to not sit up and take notice. Over the years, I felt that his huge contribution to the music industry had been totally overlooked, but, finally, ceremonies such as this, along with his recent long-overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, give Brian Epstein the recognition he deserves. Here it is 50 years later and The Beatles are still the biggest phenomenon that the world has every known, and I attribute a great deal of that to Brian. I was very proud to have him as my manager, mentor and friend.
GERRY MARSDEN: (Gerry & The Pacemakers)
I liked Brian very dearly and appreciated the good things he’d taught me about how to deal with people, he was a great help to me in growing up. A year after his death, three of his acts had achieved precisely what he said they would: The Beatles were bigger than Elvis, Cilla was on her way to becoming a very successful TV personality, and I had made it to the West End for a musical (Charlie Girl). He was a great man who crammed a lot into a short life, and made a lot of people very happy.
YOKO ONO:
At the point that Brian started managing The Beatles, in January 1962, John, Paul and George had been together for five years – yet had not become known outside Liverpool and Hamburg. Brian believed in them passionately and committed himself to fulfilling the dream that John had that The Beatles could become bigger than Elvis. Which seemed impossible at the time. But Brian’s tireless efforts on their behalf helped make that dream come true. John never forgot the love that Brian had for The Beatles and his crucial role in that wonderful voyage
ANDREW LOOG OLDHAM:
The Beatles changed our lives. Brian Epstein changed theirs. He made it all possible. Brian told them who they could be and helped them become it. He persevered against all odds and got his lads a recording contract and that act changed all our lives for the better. If Brian had loved himself as much as he loved The Beatles, he may have still been with us today. But we do still have all that they did together. And that’s a gift that will never stop giving.
CILLA BLACK:
Brian was a wonderful person and a wonderful manager who did so much for me and all his acts, nothing was ever too much trouble for him. He always took special care of me as the only female artist on the roster and made sure that everything was right, and for that I’ll be eternally grateful. He’ll always have a special place in my heart and I’m so pleased for him today. Thank you Brian, love Cilla.
TONY BRAMWELL: (NEMS promotion executive)
To put it bluntly, without Brian the Mersey Beat phenomenon would not have escaped Liverpool. He was the one who could see further than across the Mersey and by his own energy and determination mastered The Beatles’ career and moved the whole thing into an international industry.
GEOFFREY ELLIS: (Managing Director of Epstein’s company NEMS)
The whole world of popular music owes a great deal to Brian Epstein, with his innovative and personal approach to the many aspects of management, which ensured the success of not only those under his direct guidance but of artists managed by others.
TONY BARROW: (Beatles publicist)
Brian was always amazingly faithful to the stars he chose to promote, and the style and scope of management he offered has remained a shining example to the rest of the industry.
parlance
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Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline Reading thru the above makes me realise just how important Brian was. At times it can get to thinking that it was John, Paul, George and Ringo who did it all but without Brian (and George Martin) there would have been nothing close to how influential the Beatles became and how much of an effect that had on not only the acts managed to Brian but everything that came after. The Beatles knocked the walls down but they needed Brian to get them there.
Missing from this thread is the video montage tribute from the Anthology series (the tv clip was the regular version of YGTHYLA, the dvd and video has the outtake)
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Into the Sky with Diamonds, Ahhh Girl, Starr Shine?, parlance, Zig"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
11.39pm
5 February 2014
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Billboard.com article on Brian’s Blue Plaque.
Two articles of interest.
First one dates from March. It’s a Bloomberg interview with Peter Brown.
Even earlier, an article from NBR on how the Beatles are still making money.
I found these after seeing the announcement on Epstein’s Blue Plaque and feel they’re relevant due to Brian’s management and the legacy he left behind.
1.51am
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline Examiner report on the unveiling of the Blue Plaque.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
2.25pm
8 November 2012
Offline10.43pm
Reviewers
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1 May 2011
Offline @Ahhh Girl came across this Liverpool Echo article on Brian and asked me to post it on the forum as she couldn’t get on.
The following people thank meanmistermustard for this post:
parlance"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
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