•When Brian first signed the Beatles he handled them alone. He just collected money from performances and was lucky if the weeks' total was £100. A good week was considered £180, and this meant that Brian made a profit (Epstein).

•Brian made an appointment with a representative from Francis, Day, and Hunter Publishers, a subsidiary of EMI. The rep was 30 minutes late so Brian left and eventually went to Dick James for publishing. James
published seven #1 songs that year. (Coleman).

•Brian in '62 asked William Marshall to help publicize the Beatles. Marshall was eager about the financial arrangements and stated that it would cost £20 to start with. The meeting was aborted. Brian called the next day but Marshall was too busy with his work for the Daily Mirror. Marshall later regretted not accepting the offer.

•Brian initially went to Hill and Range to publish songs. George Martin advised him to go with an English company because the songs would not be a priority with Hill and range.

•Brian went to Alan Williams and claimed that he would never do charity gig again because of the treatment that the Beatles received onstage and backstage at a particular gig (Coleman).

•Sid Bernstein: We made the deal for $6,5000 for two shows after he (Brian) told me he was getting top dollar in England-equivalent to $2,000 a show. I topped that by saying $6,500 for two shows, meaning $3,250 per show.
He said, "Wait till I tell the guys at lunch". I said, "I'd like to bring them to Carnegie Hall". And he said, "Oh, my, wait till I tell the boys:. Then he told me, "If our group doesn't mean anything by the end of the year [1963], don't hold me to the deal".

•Paul White: There were famous memos going back and forth in which he [Dave Dexter, A&R for EMI in Hollywood] said, "This group is no good for our market". And replies from Epstein saying, "Then what is good for your market. Please give me an example?".

•It is reported that Brian ordered ten thousand copies of Love Me Do in order to land it on the British charts. Epstein denied purchasing the records but friends and associates say that it is almost certain he did (Lewisohn, Live).

•Brown, who worked with Brian at the time, reports that Brian Epstein ordered 10,000 copies of ‘Love Me Do’ (p. 88).

•Soon after assuming the title of Beatles’ manager, Brian ordered them gray lounge suits with velvet collars from a Liverpool tailor (Brown, p. 71).

•In March, April or May Brian brought copies of the Decca auditions to EMI's London store, HMV Records to have them put on records for distribution to other record companies. The person that is cutting the disks is so impressed that he contacts Syd Coleman, manager of Beechwood Music and Ardmore Music, with offices directly over the store. Epstein plays the tapes for Coleman, who in turn contacts George Martin of EMI's Parlophone label (Schultheiss 30).

•Schultheiss reports that George Martin has no intention of signing the Beatles to a contract until he learned,
through an EMI salesman, that Brian was going to cancel all his business with EMI unless a single was released (P. 32).

•When Brian took the Beatles audition tapes to be transferred to disc he went to an EMI-owned record shop to get them made. An engineer at the store told him to bring the tapes to EMI publishing company. A man at the publishing company recommended the band to George Martin. Brian set up an appointment with George Martin for the next day.

•Brown p. 79: Brian negotiated-or rather gracefully accepted- a substandard contract, even for an unknown group. Under the terms, Parlophone was indebted to record only four sides, or two double-sided singles, in a one-year period. The royalty rate was a laughable one penny for each single sold, both sides, and the increment would only be a farthing-an amount that only came to about a half a penny. It was just about the lowest possible offer a record company could make them, without being accused of usury. Considering how many times they had been turned down, Brian felt lucky at that.

•After his initial meeting with the Beatles Brian sought the advice of his family's solicitor, E. Rex Makin. The advice was all negative as Makin was skeptical about the idea (Lewisohn. Chronicle p. 36).

Credit/Debit Figures:

•Brian bought the Beatles mohair suits for £40 total early in their career.

•Alistair Taylor: Tomorrow he's going to take the Beatles over to a tailor in Berkenhead to have made-to-measure suits ordered. Also on the shopping list are haircuts, shirts, ties, shoes-the lot. Brian must have noticed the odd look that the boys passed between each other, because he asked, 'Do you have any objections to these plans?'. The answer was a great big 'no'; they're happy to go along with anything Brian wants, if it increases their chances of becoming stars. Besides, Brian said he'll pay for all of this! (Taylor, A. p. 17).

•The day after the suits arrived, Brian took the Beatles out to have their haircut at Horne Brothers in a style that Brian demanded (Taylor, A. p. 19).

•Because Brian controlled such a big outlet for records it is believed that Decca and EMI did not totally dismiss Brian and his low sound quality tape of the Beatles (Coleman).

•Brian went to Hessy's Music to pay the Beatles' £200 bill.

•Brian took a trip with Billy Kramer to promote Kramer and the Beatles in the U.S. He spent £2000, including an expensive hotel in an attempt to impress American agents and press (Epstein).

•When the Beatles went to London to audition for Decca on New Years day ’62, they stayed at Woburn Place for 27 shillings, which included breakfast (Brown, p. 72).

•The Beatles were scheduled to play for seven weeks in Germany starting in April 62. Brian billed this as a European Tour and even paid for the band to fly to Germany (Brown, p. 75).

•The Beatles first venue where Brian took a commission was Feb 1 '62 at the Thistle Cafe. £18 was his 10% for gas, oil, and miscellaneous expenses. This 10% rate was reduced for this special occasion. Brian convinced the people who leased the hall to call it "The Beatle Club". The Beatles would never play the club again, however (Lewisohn. Chronicle p. 64).

•When Brian first started doing business in London he rented a two-room office. He then took up lease on a large suite of rooms on Argyle Street.

•Wednesday. March 7 '62. Rehearse and record their debut BBC radio appearance. The Beatles each had a bag with a £40 grey, brush-tweed lounge suit, with pencil-thin lapels and matching tie all bought from bespoke tailor Beno Dorn in Grange Road West in Birkenhead, for which they were measured and paid £3 deposit on Jan 29 '62 (Lewisohn. Chronicle. p. 52).

•Brian in '66: So Ringo became a Beatle and started to grow his hair. They had £40 suits from Beno Dorn in Birkenhead. I chose them with them. They only pay £30 now (Giuliano. Lost Int. p. 362).

General Statements:

•Courtesy of Julie at Millennium Sale's: The Museum Collection. Original Beatles Memorabilia. Flight booklets with several pages of printed and hand – written information (15 pieces). These include booklets for John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Neil Aspinall, Mal Evans, Alf Bicknell, and Brian Epstein. They contain names, dates, official stamp marks, flight class, flight numbers, and baggage allowances. They also show the order of the flight itinerary for the tour and details of the times of departure/arrival at the various airports.

•Cost of flights for complete tour ( 7 pieces ) These show the breakdown of each flight cost and destination, including for example, London, Paris, Lyon, Rome, and Madrid,

•Complete set of airport luggage stubs and excess baggage charges (19 pieces ).

•At one point, probably 63-64, the stage of the Cavern was sawn up and the pieces sold for five shillings each.

•Rory Storm performed at the Cavern in '66 hours before bailiffs came to close it down.

•In India: The Beatles would hang a "Do Not Disturb: Meditating" sign on their door in India on occasion in order to drink wine and play poker.

•While visiting Elvis the Colonel reportedly revealed a table with green felt, gambling chips, and several decks of wrapped playing cards. "Brian perked up and quickly straightened his bow tie. Having a particular penchant for gaming of all sorts, especially of the high-stakes variety...(Lipack, p. 57).

•The Beatles' motorcade stopped for 19-cent hamburgers and chicken wings on their way to their show at
Empire Stadium.

•Print runs of the monthly Beatles Book reach 350,000 in August 64.

•Norman Smith, their recording balance engineer, gets a pair of gold cuff-links inscribed Two D-Bs Smith,
which is Paul McCartney's nickname for Mr. Smith. The present is from the Beatles.

•The Beatles Fan Club membership in Britain was over 65,000 as of September 64.

•Before the August 66 Shea Stadium Concert the Beatles are presented with a cake by the management. When John learns that there is going to be no woman popping out of the cake he reportedly said: "We don't want any of your f***ing cake" (Schultheiss 167).

•While in the U.S. the Beatles requested Lark cigarettes from England. The office boy from NEMS went out to buy a couple of thousand Larks. Alistair Taylor arranged for them to be shipped by TWA to the Beatles. The delivery was completed. As a side note: Lark cigarettes from England are blended and packed in Switzerland while the American version is not (Taylor, A. p. 58).

•Alistair Taylor: At once I got on to Pan-Am. It costs an unbelievable amount to hold an airliner on the tarmac at the Heathrow, but they agreed to a few minutes wait and Air Traffic Control reluctantly consented. But there could be no long delay. Brian must arrive at Hawarden soon. {Brian eventually did arrive for the plane to the U.S.} (Taylor, A. p. 73).

•Letter to ‘Brian Epstein, Nems Enterprises Ltd., Sutherland House, 5/6 Argyle St., London W1 England’, dated July 20th 1964. Hand-stamped showing when it was received at ‘NEMS’ (28th July 1964). Interesting letter referring to a two day chartered yacht cruise in Florida. The letter was sent and signed by Norman Weiss, an executive of the prestigious American agency General Artists Corporation.

•Brian Epstein gave this alarm clock to Pete Best as a Christmas gift in 1961. It comes with Brian Epstein’s
personal card penned in his own handwriting with the words – ‘Pete my little bit to get you all in on time, merry xmas’, a message giving some indication of Pete’s tendency towards lateness, allegedly one of the traits which led to his departure in August ’62. It is believed Pete used this clock in ‘Hamburg’ in 1962. Pete has confirmed with us directly, that only four of these clocks were bought by Epstein, for each member of the Beatles, that being at the time John, Paul, George & Pete. The whereabouts of the other three is not known or even if they still exist (firststopcollecting.com).

•But there was something about Epstein and his group that nagged away at Barrow, so after Epstein had left his office he made a couple of internal telephone calls around Decca. One of these was to the Sales Division which, as Barrow expected, in turn contacted the A&R department and explained that an important client was touting a group. It would be tactful, they suggested, if Decca gave them a try-out (Lewisohn. Chronicle p. 37).

•Brian's parents "initially refused to support him in NEMS Enterprises unless his brother, Clive, became a partner to look after the business side of things (Harry. Encyclopedia, p. 120).

Bookings:

•Brian made an arrangement with promoter Sam Leach whereby Brian would tell other promoters that the Beatles were receiving £80 per performance, which Leach would confirm. The fact is that the fee was only £40, but the stated fee of £80 would help Brian to negotiate from a better position with other promoters. (Coleman).

•Brian originally wanted to co-promote the Tower gigs with Leach. Leach agreed to 50-50, but Brian wanted Clive Epstein to receive 33%. This is where the negotiations broke down, and the terms mentioned above were agreed upon.

•Brian's first booking would have profited Nems £1 after posters, gas, expenses, and the Beatles' cut.

•Brian speaking to Alistair Taylor after making his offer to the Beatles as their manager: "I don't know the first thing about what a manager does. What are the legal aspects? What about the money? What about promotion?" (Gunby, G. Hello Goodbye, p. 4).

•Tito Burns asks Brian about gigs in a letter (Oct. '62). Brian says Jan/Feb are open for £250 week. Burns responded after Please, Please Me was going up the charts (Coleman).

•In March '62 Brian wants to increase monies from performances. He asks Larry Parnes for £50 night. Parnes rejects and offers £25. Brian responds that Parnes can promote all NEMS artists for a five year period up to 20 weeks a year if Parnes agrees to £45 night on a 13 week tour. Parnes rejected this offer on the grounds that the band would resent the tour if they made it big. There was no deal in the end, but the two still socialized (Coleman).

•An accountant came in to advise Brian early on in the Beatle's career and Brian went from asking £250 to thousands within a few months (Coleman).

•Peter Stringfellow called Brian to book the Beatles at the Black Cat as 'Please, Please Me' is going up the charts. Brian asks for £50, which was rather high. The Beatles had enough work at the time, but then the price went to £85. There was no contract at the time of the show, but Brian honored the verbal agreement.

•Aintree Institute. The promoter pays them in change (£15). Brian walks out and demands a check or notes. He didn't get either.

•After Please, Please Me Brian asked Larry Parnes to arrange a series of concerts for £75. Mr. Parnes want to pay £30 per night. Brian says that if he pays the £75 he can have the option to do shows with the Beatles and NEMS acts for the next five years. Parnes says £32, and Brian said £35. Neither would budge.

•Brian was booking the Beatles’ performances himself and including NEMS acts as the opening act for the
Beatles. This way he was making money as the promoter, booking agent, and agent for both bands
(Brown, p. 102).

•Alistair Taylor: 'Every detail' includes me. Each week, the Beatles, Neil Aspinall, their equipment manager,
and I are to be given a statement of next week's schedule, including dates and times of appearances, venues, number of sets to be played and length of each, pay rates and so on and so on. They'll each receive a statement of their earnings, along with the cash. I know who's going to be doing most of this organizing! (Taylor, A. p. 17).

•"It is Brian who negotiates the fee, and it's Brian's hard-headed dealing which is gradually pulling bigger
appearance money for the boys. It is Brian who pays all their expenses while taking nothing for himself--not
out of charity, he insists, but because he sees the Beatles being a success for years to come. If they ask him
when he'll want his share, he just replies that he'll worry about that when the Beatles are nationally successful
(Taylor, A. p. 20).

Business Propositions:

•Dick James said that Brian would go into his office and state that the Beatles had just been offered £200 for one night. James told him to ask for double that amount. When Brian came back and said that the increased figure had been agreed upon, James told him to go back and ask for double that again.

•Freda Kelly, the local fan club president, asked for 5s to answer the fan letters. Brian offered to hire her and said that he'd pay the bills if he would get the subscription money.

•Bernard Delfont offered £150,000 for Brian's companies (Delfont was big in the entertainment industry). John's thoughts on the idea: "F*** off".

•Decca suggested that Brian go to an A&R man and pay £ 100 for the experience of that person and studio time. Brian claimed to have been annoyed at the idea of having to pay for a group "who would one day conquer the entire record world". The idea was abandoned (Epstein).

•Brian was told by Decca to pay £100 for studio rent and an A & R man to supervise. Brian declined this
proposal.

•Some members of the press offered to form a publicity link to get Brian's acts into the papers for a fee of £100. Brian turned them down (Epstein).

•Brian went to HMV record shop with reel-to-reel tapes from Decca audition. The fee was £1 10s to transfer to acetate records. This contact with HMV led Brian, eventually, to George Martin.

•Brian approached Paul's brother and asked him if he'd like be a pop singer and join the organization NEMS.

•Brian went to the US in early '63 to promote the Beatles but comes away with no results (Schultheiss 44).

•Lew Grade, Leslie Grade, and Bernard Delfont, had considerable power and influence in the British entertainment field in the early 60’s. Lew owned ATV, the largest producer of independent TV shows in Britain, including personally producing ‘Sunday Night at the Palladium’. Leslie headed the largest show business agency in the country. Owned several theaters and booked acts for the Royal Command Performance.

•Little Richard: When they came off Brian Epstein said to me, "Richard, I'll give you fifty percent of the Beatles". I couldn't accept because I never thought they could make it. "Brian said, "Take the masters [of Beatle songs]
back to America and give them to the record company for me". I didn't do that, but I did call up some people for them (Giuliano. Lost Int. p. 362).

•Leslie Grade’s agency had offered to sign the Beatles to the Grade agency for representation and booking. The agency wanted 10% from the income of live bookings. This would reduce Brian Epstein’s share to 15%. Brian never shared this information with the group (Brown, p. 101).

•Alistair T in an interview Alan Heath (King of the Universe ELO Website):
'Young Man Wanted As A Shop Assistant In A Record Store'. So I wrote and got a letter back saying would I like to go for an interview. And I had about a two hour interview with Brian. Typical Brian, the funny thing is, looking back on it now that I did not know what I was letting myself in for at the time. Brian said "I can't afford to pay you as an assistant but I am thinking of getting a PA would you like that?" I think it was £10 a week which was phenomenal, so I said "Yes"...

•Brian: "Well, you can have a job as Sales Assistant, but it doesn't pay very much. On the other hand, I've been thinking about a Personal Assistant to help me with the general running of the business. Would you consider being my personal assistant and helping out on the counter selling records whenever it's necessary (Taylor, A. p. 6).