Brian Epstein is the manager who led The Beatles through Beatlemania, but he wasn’t the first person to work with the band. Before Epstein, there was Allan Williams, who helped The Beatles secure a residency in Hamburg. They weren’t his first choice to send to Germany, though. John Lennon and one-time bassist Stuart Sutcliffe had to work hard to convince Williams, who didn’t think the band was all that good.
The Beatles’ 1st manager wasn’t impressed with the band
In 1960, Williams, a booking agent and manager, began searching for a band to perform a residency at the Indra Club in Hamburg, Germany. Williams had booked The Beatles for a number of concerts, but he didn’t think they had what it took to play in Hamburg.
“Allan was having plenty of trouble finding a band and that’s how the Beatles got involved,” Mersey Beat creator Bill Harry said, per the book The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz. “They were really in no condition to perform but they courted Allan, and Stuart came on strong.”
Williams had actually described The Beatles as “sort of a crappy group.” Lucky for them, though, he felt he owed them. He connected Lennon and Sutcliffe with reporters writing stories about student life. The article described their “filthy” clothes and “decaying” apartment. As a result of the story, Sutcliffe’s apartment evicted him.
A furious Lennon and Sutcliffe wanted more consideration from Williams to make up for this. Though he “wasn’t altogether happy about their stagecraft,” he agreed to send them to Hamburg if they could find a permanent drummer. They quickly hired Pete Best and traveled abroad for the life-changing experience.
The Beatles’ manager eventually gave up the band
Williams’ time managing The Beatles was brief. The band negotiated a second trip to Hamburg in 1961 without Williams’ help. As a result, they refused to pay Williams’ commission, and he threatened legal action. While he didn’t follow through on the threat, he did part ways with The Beatles, something he quickly grew to regret.
“I still lose sleep over it 50 years later,” he told the Daily Record in 2011. “No one could have guessed The Beatles would become so famous. At that time, there were 300 groups in Liverpool who were as good or better than The Beatles. And I didn’t even get my £9. I rememberwatching them doing a performance before the Queen about a year later and throwing a cushion at the TV.”
The Beatles began working with Brian Epstein
After parting with Williams, The Beatles began working with Brian Epstein. He sold records in his family’s store, and after several requests to stock The Beatles’ music, he decided to look into the band. Though he had no management experience, he offered to work with the band, and they agreed.
“I had money, a car, a record shop,” he said in The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. “I think that helped. But they also liked me. I liked them because of this quality they had, a sort of presence. They were incredibly likable.”
Under Epstein’s guidance, The Beatles rose to incredible heights. He remained with the band until his death in 1967.
