#book: debbie geller

[eppysboys]

do you have any recommendations of books about brian or beatles bios that talk about brian more in depth? sorry if this is not a good place to ask!

Hi anon!

The classic first stop would be In My Life: The Brian Epstein Story, by Debbie Geller, which is a biography mostly built up with quotes from loved ones and associates of Brian.

The Man Who Made The Beatles by Ray Coleman. Another biography, more gossipy, and obviously coming from someone somewhat close to The Beatles' circle.

A Cellarful of Noise by Brian Epstein (Derek Taylor) Honestly, it's just amusing to me more than anything. This man had no business releasing his autobiography right in the middle of beatlemania. It's a short read (obviously!). It's a little time capsule, at the very least, and there's some sweet moments/moments of insight.

The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story by by Vivek J. Tiwary (Author), Andrew C. Robinson (Illustrator) and Kyle Baker (Illustrator) - Graphic novel about Brian's life. Very dear to me. Vivek did a lot of research and interviews and poured a lot of heart into this work.

Standing In the Wings: The Beatles, Brian Epstein and Me by Joe Flannery - Another book very dear to me. Paints a really vivid picture of life for men like Joe and Brian in that era in Liverpool. Very underrated book.

Other books where Brian is significant:

As Time Goes By by Derek Taylor - A lush read.

Tune In by Mark Lewisohn - Obviously.

The Beatles - Hunter Davies - The later editions include Hunter's reflections on Brian, and the certain truths he had to leave out at the time and why.

What's It All About? by Cilla Black - Cilla was very dear to Brian, and vice versa.

I've probably forgotten a few, but that's a decent start, hope it helps!

[lovelyylorelaii]

requesting rules and information

hello all and welcome to my requesting rules and guidelines post! i wanted to put this information out there in a place that was easy to access and all up-to-date to make for a fun and safe space for everyone to enjoy!

as mentioned in my about me post, i am a uni student and so there may be periods of inactivity or when my requests are closed for longer than usual, but please do not be alarmed i will be returning and your posts will be answered. so with that in mind it would be very much apprciated if you could not spam my ask box with the same request over and over again, or chasing up a request; if it has been requested it will be on my list and i will get to it so long as it does not ask something of me which i have stated i will not be writing. HOWEVER if i am active and your request did not ask me to write anything i stated in my boundaries post that i would not write and it has been a while since you sent it in there is a chance that it may have gotten lost so it is okay if you send me a message or request it again!

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below are the characters and fandoms i write for, however, if there is someone not listed below you can request for them as chances are i will have heard of them but may not be the biggest fan of the show/movie/book but i will do my best and otherwise i will let you know! if a character below is crossed out then it just means i am taking a break from writing for thme for now, just to keep things interesting and so i am not always writing for the same person so, check back often as this may change!

⟡criminal minds

ෆ aaron hotchner

ෆ derek morgan

ෆ emily prentiss

ෆ jennifer 'jj' jareau

ෆ penelope garcia

ෆ spencer reid

⟡gilmore girls

ෆ dave rygalski

ෆ dean forester

ෆ jess mariano

ෆ lane kim

ෆ logan huntzberger

ෆ lorelai gilmore

ෆ louise grant

ෆ luke danes

ෆ madeline lynn

ෆ paris geller

ෆ rory gilmore

ෆ tristan dugray

⟡hunger games

ෆ coriolanus snow

ෆ finnick odair

ෆ gale hawthorne

ෆ haymitch abernathy

ෆ johanna mason

ෆ katniss everdeen

ෆ lucy gray baird

ෆ peeta mellark

ෆ sejuanus plinth

⟡marvel

ෆ bruce banner

ෆ druig

ෆ james 'bucky' barnes

ෆ loki

ෆ makkari

ෆ natasha romanoff

ෆ peter parker (tom holland/andrew garfield)

ෆ pietro maximoff

ෆ sam wilson

ෆ steve rogers

ෆ steven strange

ෆ thor

ෆ tony stark

ෆ wanda maximoff

ෆ yelena belova

⟡outerbanks

ෆ jj maybank

ෆ john b routledge

ෆ kiara carrera

ෆ pope hayward

ෆ rafe cameron

ෆ sarah cameron

⟡scream

ෆ billy loomis

ෆ ethan landry

ෆ kirby reed

ෆ samantha carpenter

ෆ sidney prescott

ෆ stu macher

ෆ tara carpenter

ෆ tatum riley

⟡shameless

ෆ carl gallagher

ෆ debbie gallagher

ෆ fiona gallagher

ෆ ian gallagher

ෆ kevin ball

ෆ lip gallagher

ෆ mandy milkovich

ෆ mickey milkovich

ෆ svetlana yevgenivna

ෆ veronica fisher

⟡stranger things

ෆ billy hargrove

ෆ dustin henderson

ෆ eddie munson

ෆ jane hopper/011/jane ives

ෆ jonathan byers

ෆ lucas sinclair

ෆ max mayfield

ෆ mike wheeler

ෆ nancy wheeler

ෆ robin buckley

ෆ steve harrington

ෆ will byers

⟡supernatural

ෆ adam milligan (michael!adam included)

ෆ bela talbot

ෆ castiel

ෆ charlie bradbury

ෆ crowley

ෆ dean winchester (moc!, michael!, demon! included)

ෆ gabriel

ෆ garth fitzgerald iv

ෆ jack klein

ෆ jody mills

ෆ john winchester

ෆ jo harvelle

ෆ lucifer

ෆ meg masters

ෆ rowena macleod

ෆ ruby

ෆ sam winchester (meg!, gadreel!, demon blood! included)

⟡teen wolf

ෆ alison argent

ෆ derek hale

ෆ isaac lahey

ෆ jackson whittemore

ෆ kira yukimura

ෆ lydia martin

ෆ malia tate/hale

ෆ peter hale

ෆ scott mcall

ෆ stiles stilinski

ෆ theo raeken

⟡the summer i turned pretty

ෆ belly conklin

ෆ cam cameron

ෆ conrad fisher

ෆ jeremiah fisher

ෆ steven conklin

ෆ taylor jewel

⟡vampire diaries

ෆ bonnie bennett

ෆ caroline forbes

ෆ damon salvatore

ෆ elena gilbert

ෆ elijah mikaelson

ෆ hayley marshall

ෆ katherine pierce

ෆ niklaus mikaelson

ෆ rebekah mikaelson

ෆ stefan salvatore

ෆ tyler lockwood

[amoralto]

Brian [Epstein] was very straightforward with me about being gay. We could talk about it quite openly, particularly once we got to know each other. He never hit on me at all. There was never any question of it. We lived so intimately together that there would have been one evening when he was sort of drunk and so on. It would have been in his character to do that. But we didn’t really talk about that. I remember sitting in his car one night talking about a girl that he’d once sort of loved at RADA and this was his lost love. His family hadn’t liked her. She’d not been up to par or something. Brian had a bit of sorrow about this. I don’t know what the strength of it was but we talked a long time about that and he seemed quite sad that it had not worked out. But that was the extent of that. From then on he was just kind of openly gay and none of us minded, really. We were quite naive. Sometimes on the road we would go to a late-night drinking club which was great because we’d worked long and wanted to relax. There were often all men there. I don’t think any of us went, ‘Oh, there’s all men here.’ It just sort of happened. I don’t think it was till years later we said, ‘Oh, that was probably a gay hangout.’ I don’t think we inquired too much of Brian. We knew he had certain friends and we knew who they were and what the relationship was but we didn’t really talk too much about it, I think it was probably better that way. He had his own life and we had ours. I didn’t tell him about every girl I went with. I think in many ways it was a plus because there’s a gay network in show business. There are a lot of people who are gay so that a lot of the TV producers we would find ourselves working with we'd later find out were gay. So now I can see that Brian was networking. I think it was only ever a plus. It was never negative.

Paul McCartney, c/o Debbie Geller, In My Life: The Brian Epstein Story. (2002)

[beautifclminds]

below the cut, you will find a list of my current muses. the bold names are primary characters. if there is an * next to it, it indicates an oc / a canon child with an older fc / or a canon character with a different fc. i’ll be making individual starters on a sidebblog for them over the next few days and then making a masterpost here. i also have a note next to each fandom name as to how far into the series i currently am up to.

the 100 (season 2)

abigail griffin

bellamy blake

clarke griffin

finn collins

jasper jordan

monty green

octavia blake

raven reyes

wells jaha

american horror story: coven

cordelia foxx

kyle spencer

madison montgomery

misty day

zoe benson

american horror story: hotel

billie dean howard

detective john lowe

donovan

iris

james patrick march

sally mckenna

american horror story: murder house

ben harmon

tate langdon

violet harmon

vivien harmon

the big bang theory (season 8)

amy farrah-fowler

*april hofstadter

bernadette rostenkowski-wolowitz

*halle wolowitz

*hayden wolowitz

howard wolowitz

leonard hofstadter

penny hofstadter

rajesh koothrappali

sheldon cooper

*stephen cooper

criminal minds (season 12)

aaron hotchner

*alexandra hotchner

*amelia hotchner

*annabelle lamontagne

*aria hotchner-reid

beth clemmons

*brooklyn reid-morgan

*carter hotchner

david rossi

derek morgan

*desiree morgan

emily prentiss

*erin morgan

*gabriella hotchner-morgan

*hadley reid

*haley brooks

*hank spencer morgan

*henry lamontagne

*jack hotchner

*jasmine hotchner-morgan

*michael lamontagne

*nathan hotchner

penelope garcia

*rylee rossi

*sarah morgan

savannah hayes-morgan

will lamontagne

divergent (book & movie canon)

al

caleb prior

christina

peter hayes

tobias eaton

tris prior 

will

er (season 8)

carol hathaway

doug ross

*emma greene

john carter

*kate ross

mark greene

*rachel greene

*tess ross

the flash (season 2)

barry allen

iris west

the fosters (season 2)

brandon foster

callie adams-foster

jesus adams-foster

lena adams-foster

mariana adams-foster

stef adams-foster

friends (entire series)

*ben geller

*emma geller-green

*erica bing

*jack bing

*josephine tribbiani

*penelope tribbiani

fuller house (entire series)

alexander katsopolis

dj tanner fuller

jackson fuller

*jerry gladstone

*joan gladstone

*lewis gladstone

max fuller

michelle tanner

nicholas katsopolis

*phyllis gladstone

ramona gibbler

stephanie tanner

girl meets world (entire series)

cory matthews

farkle minkus

*hannah hunter

katy hart hunter

lucas friar

maya hart hunter

riley matthews

shawn hunter

topanga matthews

glee (entire series)

*alayna schuester

*anthony duval

blaine anderson

*christopher schuester

cooper anderson

*daniel schuester

*danielle sterling-duval

dave karofsky

*destinie anderson

emma pillsbury schuester

*evan schuester

*frannie fabray

*hannah clarington

hunter clarington

*isabelle schuester

jeff sterling

*jessica sterling

kurt hummel

marley rose

nick duval

rachel berry

sam evans

*samantha schuester

santana lopez

*savannah smythe

sebastian smythe

will schuester

harry potter (book & movie canon)

*albus severus potter

*astoria greengrass

*dominique weasley

*elianna malfoy

*fred weasley II 

ginny weasley 

harry potter

hermione granger

*hugo weasley

*james sirius potter

*lily luna potter

*louis weasley

*lucy weasley

*molly weasley II

nymphadora tonks

*rebecca potter

remus lupin

ron weasley

*rose weasley

*roxanne weasley

*sabrina snape

*scorpio malfoy

severus snape

sirius black

*teddy lupin

*trinity lupin

*victoire weasley

how to get away with murder (season 2)

asher millstone

connor walsh

laurel castillo

michaela pratt

oliver hampton

rebecca sutter

wes gibbins

the hunger games (book & movie canon)

annie cresta

finnick odair

gale hawthorne

haymitch abernathy

*lucilla abernathy

peeta mellark

primrose everdeen

*rowan odair

*rye mellark

*willow mellark

ncis (season 5)

abby sciuto

anthony dinozzo

*brianna gibbs

caitlin todd

emily fornell

leroy jethro gibbs

*tali david-dinozzo

timothy mcgee

tobias fornell

ziva david

pretty little liars (entire series)

alison dilaurentis

aria montgomery

caleb rivers

emily fields

ezra fitz

hanna marin

mona vanderwaal

spencer hastings

toby cavanaugh

scandal

fitz grant

jake ballard

*kennedy grant

mellie grant

olivia pope

the secret life of the american teenager (entire series)

adrian lee

amy juergens

ashley juergens

ben boykewich

grace bowman

lauren treacy

madison cooperstein

ricky underwood

shameless (season 7)

debbie gallagher

fiona gallagher

ian gallagher

lip gallagher

switched at birth (entire series)

bay kennish

daphne vasquez

emmett bledsoe

toby kennish

travis barnes

twilight (movie & book canon)

alice cullen

angela weber

edward cullen

emmett cullen

eric yorkie

esme cullen

bella swan cullen

jacob black

jasper hale

jessica stanley

mike newton

renesmee cullen

rosalie hale

tyler crowley

the walking dead (up to date / tv show only)

beth greene

*bianca grimes

carl grimes

daryl dixon

*judith grimes

lori grimes

*mackenzie jo anderson

negan

rick grimes

shane walsh

simon

[mrepstein]

Q - During your research for the book was there anything you came across that you had never learned about the band before?

ROB SHEFFIELD - Something I came to appreciate more and more is what a turning point the death of Brian Epstein was. It wasn’t a thing where The Beatles gradually got disenchanted with being The Beatles. It turned very abruptly the weekend Brian Epstein died. Within a couple months of that, John was basically a different person.  

In a great biography [of Epstein] by Debbie Geller called In My Life, another British pop manager at the time by the name of Simon Napier-Bell tells a story Brian told him that on the last American tour Brian finally fulfilled a fantasy he always had, which is that he slipped off into the audience and stood in the back in the dark where nobody could see him and he just screamed like one of the girls. That was always his deepest fantasy, to just for a moment be part of the audience and be one of the fans. There’s just something so beautiful about that to me.

- Rob Sheffield (author, Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World) interviewed by Mike Hilleary for Flood Magazine, April 2017 [x]

[mariannerpetit]

Day 7: Starting out week 2 at 74%! I'm so excited and grateful. THANK YOU. I've decided that everyone who has contributed (or will contribute) to reach 100% will have their names included on the back jacket of the book! (Also: here is a Shockheaded Peter Jumping Jack!)

And thank you, backers: Robert Archambault, Marjorie Murray, Anna Greenspan, Irene Connelly, Mike Hitch, Gabe Barcia-Colombo, Brian Dochney, Edi Sedarbaum and Howard Cruse, Eric Rosenthal, Katrin Siebler, Barbara Aubrey, Ralph Brinton, Pamela Herbster, Natasha Dzurny, Frank Branham, Peter Holm, Zach, Kathleen Laziza, Klara Palotai, Andoni Treku Zulaika, Melani Mowinski, Gabriella Etmektsoglou, Faith and Mike Williams, Sarah Hadley, Evan Gsell, Corrie Allegro, Esther Clements, Adi Marom, Damon, the Davis Family, Ivan Nahem, Lena, Charlene McBride, BALTA, Susan Geller Ettenheim, Dana Snyder, Faith Florer, Melinda Belleville, Debbie Fong, Andrius Nemickas, Ben Green

[eppysboys]

Near the end of his life he told me, 'If you're going to go to an affair with a boy make sure he's very good-looking, because it's far worse to be accused of bad taste than being gay.' I've never forgotten that.

Nat Weiss about Brian Epstein

[eppysboys]

i read one of your posts and it said that brian had a boyfriend named micheal or michel i don’t really remember, do we know anything else about him?

Literally all we know is what Lonnie Trimble said about him in the Debbie Geller book, unfortunately.

"People couldn’t get really close to Brian, because he didn’t let them. He was a lonely man who wanted friendship but he could never find it. He had two affairs that I knew of, one was an actor called Michael and it was absolutely wonderful, and then he had Diz. Nobody but them seemed to care for him. Still, each time after they had a nice week, I’d come in and find the house empty: lover boy has gone. But he had friendships with DJs and things like that, all the people that knew what was going to be number one in the hit parade before it actually was published."

I'm assuming, if Michael came before Diz, that Brian would have been with Michael in 1964? I don't know. Sorry, anon!

[eppysboys]

Hi, your blog it's wonderful, thanks for all the information you give!!

I would like you recommend a few books from The beatles to start. I'm interesting to read their story from others people perspective (and also their stories/relation with the boys) but I'm afraid to lost me with the names, relationships, dates and everything haha. Oh and if it's online it would be great, I live in a small town that doesn't speak english and it's a little difficult to find some things like this if is not the big city

Oh thank you so much, anon! That’s so kind!

I’d recommend looking through archive.org and other online libraries you can access, though I assume there are going to be some books in the following list that you’ll probably have to pay to read. I must admit I’m definitely not the biography affiniando that other people in this fandom are! @monkberries would have a more clear recollection and review of each book, but I think these are decent recommendations for a start. Obviously anyone can add their own in the replies, or tell me I’m a coconut for including a certain book. I’m approaching these recommendations from a beginner’s perspective, so I’ll keep away from books that are more aimed at people who know The Beatles and their history inside out. So for now, in no partiuclar order:

The Beatles: The Authorised Biography by Hunter Davies - The Beatles in their own words for the most part, and the people in their lives. It’s a very good read, super interesting, and almost underappreciated given how much gold is in it! It’s probably the best starting point.

Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years by Mark Lewisohn - A worthy read, lots of quotes from the people that knew them. 

Many Years From Now by Barry Miles - Authorised Paul McCartney biography. 

Here There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles by Geoff Emerick: First hand account from someone who was there in the studio with the boys.

John Lennon: In My Life by Pete Shotton - A book by John’s childhood mate about his experiece alongside John and The Beatles. Would be on archive.org.

John by Cynthia Lennon - Book by John’s first wife about her experience, foreword by their son Julian. Fairly easy to find online/in libraries.

Cellarful of Noise by Brian Epstein - Written by the Beatles’ manager (ghost-written by Derek Taylor). It’s a rather sanitised telling of the story, given it was released in ‘64, still worthy of a read! For a more indepth telling of Brian’s story, and The Beatles’ story in turn, check out Debbie Geller’s biography on Brian.

As Time Goes By by Derek Taylor - Press officer for The Beatles, part of their circle. Not a typical biography format.

[eppysboys]

Did Brian have any "girlfriends"? I think for that time it would have been dangerous for him to not be attached to a woman especially with all the rumours anyway.

Hi anon!

You’re definitely right about the dangers of being a ‘gay bachelor’, as it were. Brian did occasionally have a woman accompany him to an event or so, often employees. There was a period where he considered marrying Alma Cogan - most likely because it was a perfect match on paper and would have pleased the world + his parents. 

Back in the early days he seemed to have the occasional date with women. In Debbie Geller’s book, Vera Brown talks about her time with Brian. This would have been in 1961/2, I think? So very early Beatles days. Be mindful that some of Vera’s comments about Brian’s sexuality are...very typical of someone from her generation.  -

Vera Brown: We’d been to the Knotty Ash Club for my sister’s engagement. The Beatles had played there, as did Rory [Storm] and a few other groups. Afterwards, as usual, we all went back to the house and Brian came along.

If you saw the Beatles in my mother’s they were just a scruffy bunch of boys. And who’d look at them? I wouldn’t bother with them but then Brian stood out and Brian looked like the real thing. He was handsome. He was tall. He was immaculate. That’s why I let Brian get behind the bar with me and help me serve the drinks. He was the best of the bunch.

So we were just behind the bar when Elvis came on, 'Heartbreak Hotel’. He loved it, I loved it, and we started dancing. There wasn’t much room. You know, you could go two steps forward, three steps back and that was it. So we sort of got a bit close and everyone was laughing at us, saying, like, 'What’s going on?’ But if you moved sideways you fell over the crates. There were crates of beer in there and everybody’s coats. We ended up on top of the coats or on top of the crates if we just moved the wrong way. And we got pretty close but I wasn’t surprised by the way he was acting towards me.

We were dancing and kissing at the same time. He was probably one of the sexiest fellas I had ever met. People say, 'Oh well, Brian was gay.’ but he wasn’t very gay with me. He was just like any other man and more. He was very easy-going and casual and funny. He’d make you laugh and he could dance. You know he could move. He said to me, 'I’ve seen you in different places and I thought you were stuck up.’ And I said, 'Well, I thought you were stuck up because I remember being in your shop and you were like the big boss.’

I think he was pretty fresh. In a house where people are looking at you it’s not like a club with all the lights out and people tend to be aware of others but Brian wasn’t that bothered. He was interested and he showed it. Maybe he’d had a bit too much to drink. I don’t know. But I can’t say that because I met Brian afterwards and he was still interested.

The next day he called round to the house. I wasn’t there so he talked to my mother about poetry. I don’t know how they got talking about poems but Brian came the following day with a book of poems for my mother with a little letter. He also gave her a letter thanking her for having the party because everyone had made such a terrible mess of the house. It was full of eggs and rubbish and bottles everywhere and he apologized for the actions of everybody else at the party.

Well, my mother just thought he was the most wonderful person in the world. At last a gentleman has come through this door and not Teddy boys and hooligans and all the rest of it. In the first letter he said he’d enjoyed meeting her, loved coming to the house, felt so welcome and would she mind if he came around again to see me. I said to my mum, 'Well, that’s impossible. How can I see him? You know I can’t go out with Brian.’ She said, 'You will have to’.

My mother was in love with Brian: 'He’s beautiful. He’s wonderful.’ So she sort of arranged it. I didn’t want him to come and pick me up at the house because I didn’t want people to see us going out. I arranged to meet him in a little cafe in Bold Street. We had a coffee and a chat and then I can’t really remember where we went. We went somewhere for a drink around Bold Street where there were all these little dives at the time. But I had to be back for nine o'clock. Another time I met him in the Tower and we had a little chat. We met in the back office and had a talk.

I liked Brian as a man and I think Brian liked me. But then he suggested if we were to go out we’d have to go to Southport or Manchester - anywhere out of Liverpool because he didn’t want to walk into my husband in Liverpool. We were separated at the time but it was a little bit awkward, you know.

It’s hard for me to believe Brian was gay. I think if I had been free and if I’d seen more of Brian I think we could have got serious. I think he was all man. I just can’t accept that he was gay.

In the shop Brian seemed like a man, like your dad shouting at you and superior. He had an attitude of superiority. But later on I discovered he was just like any other man. I thought he was a very passionate, loving person. He was like two different people. So if there’s a third person involved - this gay person - I just say he’s one hell of a man to be able to please everybody. You know, he was just unique. That’s all I can say.

[eppysboys]

Is it true that Paul said that Brian was the fifth Beatle?

Yes he did, it’s from the Debbie Geller book about Brian’s life: “If anyone was the fifth Beatle, it was Brian.”

Probably worth noting the ‘if anyone’ ... basically he’s saying no one was the fifth beatle but if he had to choose he’d consider Brian the one person that was important and close enough to the four headed monster to be considered a part of them. 

[eppysboys]

whats the story of brian in the crowd you speak of

In Debbie Geller’s book about Brian, Simon Napier-Bell says during a concert in 1966 (I think?) he allowed himself to join the crowd and scream along with the fans, because he wanted to experience that too, and express all the love he had for them.

“He told me that just once he allowed himself to go andstand at the back with all the girls in a concert in America. I think it was one of the stadiums where there were probably 25 000, 30 000 people, and he went into the crowd of girls and he just screamed like one of the girls, which he said is what he’d always wanted to do from the first minute he’d ever seen them.He had spent his whole life being restrained and wearing suits andsuddenly he just screamed and became the mad fan he wanted to be.”Simon Napier-Bell 

[eppysboys]

Did anyone else besides Pete Shotton claim that John and Brian had a sexual encounter in Spain?

Off the top of my head, there have been people that have entertained the idea that it might have happened, but Pete was the most absolute about it in his book. I’m obviously considering the people that knew both men and had known them reasonably well. 

There is also Lonnie Trimble, who was Brian’s housekeeper who he was fairly close to/friendly with. There is this quote from him in Debbie Geller’s biography about Brian…

“I said, ‘Diz (Brian’s on and off boyfriend) is in California now. Leave him there out of harm’s way.’ It was during that same discussion that he told me that he and John Lennon had been lovers. Now that’s too much for me to take on. We’d never talked about his personal life before, so I left the room.”

This discussion would have taken place sometime around 1965. 

So…  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There you go, anon

[amoralto]

When I was doing John Lennon’s house sometimes I’d spend all day down there and occasionally John would say, ‘How’s Ep doing? I heard there was a party there last night and he didn’t invite me.’ Then I’d come back to London in the evening and Brian would ring me to say, ‘What happened down there today? Did John talk about me?’ I would say, ‘Well, matter of fact, no, he didn’t mention you.’ ‘Oh, that’s very odd.’ He seemed to be rather jealous of the fact that I was down there. Brian got his house halfway through before John’s was finished actually, and said, ‘You can't work on both houses, you know,’ and I said, ‘Well, I can,’ which I did.

Ken Partridge (interior designer), c/o Debbie Geller, In My Life: The Brian Epstein Story. (2002)

[amoralto]

I think the image of Brian was that of a very soft, sensitive person, which was not the case. He was a very strong-willed person. I remember when John Lennon refused to do an interview during a tour because the people out there were fascists or something like that. Brian went nose to nose with him. He took his tie and said, ‘John, you’re soft,’ and stared him down. And you could see it, John backed away. Brian had full control and they respected his thinking. Brian, in a way, saw them like his children. He understood them. When one of them complained, he would say, ‘I know he loves me and I love him.’ He used to go on about their relative talents and things like that. He had great insights into their personalities. He once gave me a precis of the Beatles in Cleveland. George was always concerned about publishing and things like that. Paul was concerned about the Beatles’ image, the fan clubs, the opposite of a counterculture approach. John and Brian related perfectly because they saw eye to eye. Ringo was the least talented but was not uptight about it. Brian was the total manager of the Beatles. He kept a circle around the Beatles. Nobody got to the Beatles without having to go through Brian and he controlled every facet of their professional career. No press conference was run without Brian having it under his control. No statements were made, no deals were made without Brian being in complete control. It was a one-man operation.

Nat Weiss, c/o Debbie Geller, In My Life: The Brian Epstein Story. (2002)