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Pete Best: •Pete Best was offered £15 ($45) if he went to Germany
with the Beatles. •Pete left school in 1960 to work full-time at the Casbah. •Pete's (Best) new kit was an expensive one from the Rushworth's Music Store (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 121). •Allan Williams stated that the audition for Pete Best was a sham. They didn't want to let him know how desperate they were for a drummer because they thought he would ask for more money(Goldsmith, M. The Beatles Come to America, p. 46). •Pete Best asked Neil Aspinall if a van for £15 (some say £80) could be purchased to drive to gigs (Harry). •Mona Best bought Pete a drum set from Blacklers Department Store. The drums were to help Pete start a band with Ken Brown who had just left The Quarry Men George was still employed at Blacklers at the time (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 89). •On the Ken Brown incident, Pete Best: At the end of the evening the princely sum of fifteen shillings was kept back by mum. There was a bit of disagreement as they wanted that split up amongst them. Which by the way would have bought them another beer or something. Mona: They were always like that where money was concerned.
Stuart Sutcliffe: •Stuart Sutcliffe received £65 for a painting in January of 1960. John helped convince him to buy a bass guitar. •Brian hated the discipline and army life so much that he didn't even bother to collect his pay(Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 64). •It also helped that Stuart was on the Student Union Committee by this time and would have been seen as someone who could give his group some work at the college dances (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 61). •The Beatles paid Stuart Sutcliffe's wages out of their own cut when Larry Parnes wouldn't pay him after seeing the audition (Williams). •Stuart Sutcliffe got a job as a garbage collector dumping trash into a truck for a "few bob" per week. •Millie Sutcliffe: [Stuart] didn't like it at all, but he needed the money, even though it was only five shillings they were getting at the time. •"Fifth Beatle" Sutcliffe's letters return home.
Reuters News. •He scraped together enough money to put a down payment on a new bass guitar and put himself very much in debt to acquire the new instrument. But that was of little importance to him and he was determined to make full use of it (Lennon, C. Twist, p. 28).
Alistair Taylor: •Brian asked Alistair Taylor to join him in setting up a separate company to manage Beatles and offered Taylor 2 1/2% of the company. Alistair said he'd prefer a larger salary because he didn't have the money to put up, thus it would not be fair to Brian. Taylor also paid his entrance fee to the Cavern Club when he was with Brian on their first visit to the club. •Alistair Taylor in an interview Alan Heath (King of the
Universe ELO Website): •Yesterday I sold my last piece of wood in the timber yard! Yes, I've found a new job, starting today. I was really fed up working at William Evans. They were a friendly enough crowd of people to work with, but the job itself just didn't suit me at all. Who wants to sell wood the rest of his life? (Taylor, A. p. 5). •The doctor recommended that the couple return to London and despite Lesley's (Alistair's wife) protestations, Alistair had no hesitation in agreeing. Needing a job, he used his contacts in the music trade and was offered a clerk's position at Pye Records which he accepted immediately (Gunby, G. Hello Goodbye, p. 6). •So I started looking through the Sits Vac column in the Liverpool Echo. I didn't really have anything in particular in mind, as long as it was interesting, legal, and paid a million pounds a year! Some days went by before anything eye-catching appeared, and then a few days ago I spotted an advertisement saying: "Young man wanted for position as Sales Assistant in the city centre record store...". This was more like it. You know how much I love music; I even spent my first wage packet on records. There can't be a jazz club in Liverpool that I haven't been in. I love selling things, too, and the thought of actually being paid to sell records was really tempting. Lesley liked the idea too. Being the wife of a dissatisfied woodman with a secret lust for show business can't have been easy (Taylor, A. p. 5). •In an interview for a Sales Assistant's job with Brian Epstein Brian said to Alistair, "I'm sorry but a Sales Assistant at NEMS doesn't earn very much. I don't think the job is for you, particularly with a new wife. Alistair began to say something when Brian continued, "I've been toying with the idea of appointing a personal assistant. It would mean running the store in my absence and taking a great deal of responsibility. Would you be interested?" Alistair stated that he could start the week after next (Gunby, G. Hello Goodbye, p. 1). •When Alistair called his wife to say that he'd been offered the Personal Assistant job for Brian she asked what his salary was going to be. He told her that he hadn't a clue (Gunby, G. Hello Goodbye, p. 1). •Brian could be generous. If he [Brian] worked late with Alistair he'd take him to dinner and send an apology to Leslie [his wife], along with a bouquet, but it was easier to stitch sawdust than to get a pay raise (Gunby, G. Hello Goodbye, p. 2). •Alistair agreed, in part, to go to the Cavern for the first time with Brian because he was getting a free lunch (Gunby, G. Hello Goodbye, p. 2).
Mona Best: •The boys used to play every Saturday and Sunday and we
had a membership of over 2,000. As soon as •(1985) When asked how much membership was at the Casbah: Half a crown. And three pence for a bottle of Coke. In fact, a lot of club owners in town would say, "Hey, you're spoiling it for us, at least raise the price to nine!. •Membership at the Casbah was half a crown (12 1/2p) annually plus 1s at the door (Flippo, p. 32). •Allan Williams would help the Beatles and several other groups obtain work in the area. In return he would keep back enough expenses for his trouble (Lennon, Cynthia. Twist p. 39).
•Tommy Moore returned from the Scottish tour with £2. •Tommy was hired by the group while he was working on a forklift at the Garston Bottle Works.
•Ken Brown, former drummer with the group, last saw them in March of '63. He said that Neil Aspinall called to say that the boys had run out of money, and without help they'd have to sleep in a van. He was asked to lend them £20. Ken and his girlfriend went over to give them the money. It was repaid six weeks later (Giuliano). •Ken Brown (referring to the above incident): "Neil Aspinall said they'd blown all their money and Brian Epstein wouldn't let them have anymore...Now they had to go up to Sheffield for a gig and he said they would have to sleep rough in the back of the van if they couldn't raise some more money. Neil asked me to lend them £20 and I did. "We'll drop in and see you one night" said Paul as they drove off". •Ken Brown left the group in an argument over £3. He couldn't play at a performance and took money at the door instead. He stated, "We shared everything-our music and the three pounds a night we use to earn in those far off days of 1958" (Giuliano). •On the Ken Brown incident, Pete Best: At the end of the evening the princely sum of fifteen shillings was kept back by mum. There was a bit of disagreement as they wanted that split up amongst them. Which by the way would have bought them another beer or something.
•Teens in Britain in the early 60's were predicted to spend £1,000 million a year on records. Summer 60: In Liverpool the local council banned promoter Les Dodd from holding any more "beat" concerts. At the time Dodd was the only promoter giving the group steady work. The ban did not last long however (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 119). •Colonel Frederick Wagg resigned from the Labour Party and canceled his £12,000 donation to the party fund after hearing that The Beatles received their M.B.E.'s (Norman, p. 200). •Tony Barrow, who helped arrange the Decca test, was asked to be publicist for the Beatles in '62. •The Beatles dealt with Neil Aspinall for suits, boots, meals, and drinks. •In late 1963 the Beatles entered into a $100 bet proposed by Quincy Jones, the record producer. Jones, along with Brian and Paul, wagered that the Beatles would be a success in America. Ringo, George and John took the opposite stance (Goldsmith, M. The Beatles Come to America, p. 131). •Neil Aspinall bought an old Commer van for £80 and became the band's personal assistant in 1961 (Lewisohn. Chronicle p. 30). •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. •Brian Kelly: They were the first really noisy group on Merseyside-and amplifiers were insufficient to cope with their sound. I worked on the amplification for them-and received a great deal of business for Alpha Sound (Harry Encyclopedia, p. 175). •Jim Gretty (of Hessey's Music) said that the Beatles would often stop and play the instruments without buying anything but were never asked to leave because they were good customers. •Ted Taylor, of Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes taped the Beatles on New Year's Eve '62. He offered to sell the tapes to Brian in '63. Brian offered twenty pounds for the tapes (although the tapes could have technically belonged to EMI because of the recording contract) . Brian turned him down. Taylor gave the tapes to a recording engineer to see if he could clean up the sound. The tapes were forgotten about until '72 when Allan Williams tried unsuccessfully to sell them to George and Ringo (Flippo, p. 199). •Philip Norman: "Interestingly, Dick Rowe, who has the great stigma of turning down the Beatles, said that he heard later that Brian had offered to buy 3,000 copies of any record Decca decided to record of the Beatles. Dick said that given the economics of the business, if he had know of Brian's offer, he would have signed them regardless of how they sounded because 3,000 copies would have provided Decca with a healthy profit. •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). •Photographer Freeman received £75 for services on 'With the Beatles' cover photograph. EMI proposed a £25 offer. •Dorothy Rhone (Dot), Paul's girlfriend, worked in a chemist's shop while the Beatles were in Germany. •Many warehouses in the area of the Cavern had cellars that were rented for as little as10 shillings a week. Alan Sytner rented spaces underneath 8, 9, and 10 and started a jazz club (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 41). •Little Richard: "I was offered 50 percent of them [the Beatles], but I didn't take it". •Joseph Davey (Owner of a restaurant and individual who purchased the Cavern in the mid-sixties): "I used to give them tea and bread and butter free as they were earning so little". •Brian asked an accounting firm for services. Senior member Dr. Walter Stratch was in charge of locating residences for the four Beatles. He found John a flat in Kensington ('63). •Norman Newell (British Record Producer): Most producers and record people were afraid to turn anything down. Everybody who had turned the Beatles down suffered for it their whole lives. It's not a crime not to believe in something. Everybody hasn't got the same taste. •By 1959 Alan Sytner had sold the Cavern to Ray McFall, who continued to maintain it as a leading jazz venue, however, the days of jazz at the club were numbered. •Interview with Cavern DJ Bob Wooler: You worked as a clerk at British Railways. Did you intend to make that your career? No, I really wanted to be a songwriter. I was influenced by the great lyricists of the pre-rock period - Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer and the like - but I could never find a collaborator (Record Collector magazine, July 1998 (No 227). •Paul: "Frankly, one of the reasons they [the Quarrymen] all like Colin was because he happened to have the record, 'Searchin'' and again, that was mighty big currency back then. I mean, sometimes you made a whole career with somebody solely on the basis of owning a particular record!" •Interview with Cavern DJ Bob Wooler: How did you get involved
in running the Cavern? •Interview with Cavern DJ Bob Wooler: Johnny Hutch of the Big Three thrust a Reslo mic at me and said, "Make an announcement". I'd had a little wine and I said, "Remember all you cave-dwellers, the Cavern is the best of cellars". (Cavern owner) Ray McFall was at the other end of the club and heard me - and that's how I got the job of introducing the Cavern's lunchtime sessions (Record Collector magazine,July 1998 (No 227).
General Statements: •Courtesy of Julie at Millennium Sale's: The Museum Collection.
Original Beatles Memorabilia. Flight •In February of 1961 a red satin heart with the Beatles name inscribed on it was raffled off as a door prize at the Cavern (Goldsmith, M. The Beatles Come to America, p. 62). •Complete set of airport luggage stubs and excess baggage charges (19 pieces ). •The Cavern: The Sytner family sold The Cavern in the Fall of 1959 to their accountant, Ray McFall, for £2750. McFall hired Paddy Delany (Ex-soldier and City Parks Policeman) as a bouncer for the club (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 88). •October 1959: While the Casbah went from strength to strength, The Cavern was in financial trouble. The downturn in its fortunes started in late 1958 and by 12 months later the club was struggling to survive. A rival jazz club called The Mardi Gras Jazz Club had opened in a better area Liverpool and had started to attract the jazz devotees from The Cavern. The local skiffle bands were becoming less likely to play The Cavern due to owner Alan Sytner's policy of fining them for slipping rock numbers into their acts. With the crowds diminishing and the alienation of the new breed of cheap homegrown talent, the recently married Sytner moved to London and handed over the running of the club to his father. Dr. Sytner tried to attract people back by booking big name, and high cost, nationally recognized bands. The gamble failed and by mid-1959 the bands at The Cavern were playing to as few as 50 people. In stark contrast the Iron Door rock club located nearby was having to turn people away (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 87). •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. •The Casbah: Membership was 2 shilling 6 pence per year or 1 shilling at the door. Bands were paid £3 a night (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 85). •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. •In the summer of 1963 Vee Jay records was involved in financial disputes that would eventually lead the company to file for bankruptcy in 1966 (Goldsmith, M. The Beatles Come to America, p. 102). •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. •On November 25 '65 the Beatles shopped at Harrod's department store for two hours after the store closed to the public. •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. •2-PART CABLEGRAM SENT VIA ‘WESTERN UNION’ 27TH JUNE 1964. Cablegram sent by Pat Boone to Brian Epstein, 20 Manchester Square, London W1, relating to merchandising of Beatles Memorabilia and the 1964 Las Vegas concerts. Mention of a post-concert party, of which seems to tie up with Mark Lewisohn’s book ‘The Complete Beatles Chronicle’, page 169/170, as well as portrait sales and organisation of a USA national Beatles competition, ‘Beatles’ mispelt as ‘Beattles’. Cablegram has hand-written "50 tickets" penned by Brian Epstein.
•Mr. Leach paid 2 shillings at Hambleton Hall in Huyton to see the Beatles. It was his first time at one of their performances and was there to evaluate whether to book the band at the suggestion of Billy Malloy- member of the Rock Pack. (Leach p. 45). •Sam Leach: In presenting so many top groups, and for less
than five shillings (25p), I was turning the Liverpool scene on
its head. Promoters such as Brian Kelly and Wally Hill thought my
policy was reckless •So, launching my usual advertising blitz, I introduced lunchtime sessions (at the Iron Door), with no less than three groups playing each day. Entry was just a shilling (5p) for members. On that first Monday, I kept up the pressure by putting on six bands in the evening: The Beatles, ... (Leach p. 53). •I had the Beatles booked again for a lunchtime session at the Cass the next day, and as you would expect, Ray McFall and Bob Wooler were livid at my move on their afternoon trade. The tide had turned and Ray's response was all too predictable. The previous weekend, Ray had offered the lads three lunchtime sessions at the Cavern on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, which was a great financial lift for them. Although McFall wouldn't book them of a night, they were free four afternoons a week, he insisted he would ban them for life if they played for me again during the day. I'll repeat that. The Cavern threatened to ban The Beatles for life! Obviously this presented the lads with an impossible dilemma as they were about to start playing for me six times a week. And for twice the money! (Leach p. 54). •Sam Leach: Open-mouthed and worrying what mischief Terry had been up to, I collared George and asked him what had happened. "Somebody lobbed a load of stink bombs around the Cavern and Ray'shad to close down for the day. Rather than pay us for not playing, he said we could come here-just this once. I was amazed that anyone would notice the smell in that dungeon of a place (Leach p. 55). •Sam Leach: I had owed him the money for months, but he
only ever mentioned it when he thought there was a chance he might
get it back. He obviously thought tonight looked good ... It was
a big night for the fans. Even my keenest rival, Brian Kelly, was
forced to admit that 'the sod Leach gives good value'. Twelve groups
performing for twelve hours at a cost of only six shillings and
sixpence (32p) was proof of that •Sam Leach referring to an incident in 1961: "All the groups want to copy the fabulous Beatles". I never missed a chance to boost their confidence. "You're a corker", John said. "You should manage us". They knew full well that was my driving ambition. "As soon as I've got some cash behind me", I'll have a go, John. Just give me some time". John looked at my ruined shoes. 'I can see that Leachy', he said [in jest], but you're gonna have to smarten yourself up if you're going to manage us. Your shoes are bad enough, but your trousers are a disgrace'. (Leach. p. 70 and 79). •Sam Leach: I peeled three £5 notes from my back pocket and stuck them on Pete's bass drum. Pete grabbed them in a flash and stuffed them down his t-shirt. [After the show] Pete handed me the three £5 notes he stuffed down his t-shirt and I pulled another fiver from my pocket. 'And here's a bonus', I said happily. 'You're right Paul. You were something else tonight'. The extra cash meant more to Paul than the compliment. 'Great! Twenty quid is twice what we get anywhere else' (Leach. p. 77 and 79). •Sam Leach referring to a 1961 booking: Many of [the customers] looked as if they'd been on the back end of a night on the tiles, but all I was selling was hot dogs and coke! (Leach. p. 91). •Sam Leach: The bulge in my back pocket turned into a net profit of more than £300. And what a time I had earning it. At last I was building up the capital I needed to maximize the potential of Merseybeat. My initial plan was to finance Bill Harry's Rock paper Mersey Beat and once that was established, I would form my own record label, Troubadour Records. The Beatles had already agreed to record Twist and Shout...(Leach. p.92).
•Mal Evans, age 27, leaves his job at the post office and enters the Cavern Club for the first time (Schultheiss 27). •Peter Brown on Mal Evans: Oh yes, he was a lovely great bear of a man. He went from fixing phone transformer boxes to Shea Stadium-that's what Neil always said (Giuliano interview). •In early '63 Mal Evans is working as a bouncer at the Cavern. Three months later he is hired as road manager for the Beatles.
Bill Harry: •Bill Harry: "Most of the promoters at the time were con men who didn't pay the bands their money". •Bill Harry took twelve copies of Mersey Beat to NEMS. The copies sold within a day, and the store subsequently continued to sell the paper. •Sam Leach: One of the new faces in the Jac was a young art student named Bill Harry, who began to hang around with us. Bill was a brilliant cartoonist and charged ten shillings for the most amazing caricatures (Leach p. 42). •Sam Leach: My initial plan was to finance Bill Harry's Rock paper Mersey Beat and once that was established, I would form my own record label, Troubadour Records. (Leach. p.92). •Les Chadwick, Photographer for Mersey Beat. A deal was worked out with Bill Connell (0wner of the photography studio where Mr. Chadwick was employed) where, in exchange for advertisements, photo credits and a recommendation that the local groups should hire Mr. Connell's studio for publicity shots, Bill Harry would be able to commission Mr. Chadwick to take photographs for Mersey Beat (Harry. Encyclopedia, p. 85).
•Ric Dixon, a booking agent, booked the Beatles at the Oasis in '62. Dixon had lost money on the Beatles' first Oasis date. This time 1200 people were in a 500 seat club with 4,000 in line (Coleman).
•At one point Allan Williams banned the Beatles form playing or patronizing the Blue Angel. Epstein later arranged for the ban to end. •Allan: The Beatles were there with another group, Faron and the Flamingoes. You know that trick when you're all in a taxi and the last one out pays? They did something like that. They all ran out but Paul had left his leather trousers behind in the cafe. I don't want you to think he'd run out with no trousers-they were his stage trousers. So Faron picked them up and said, "I'm going to keep these because I paid for the food". Paul wasn't worried because it was the last time he was going to use those trousers. •In November '60 Allan wrote to Bruno K. about the fact that no commissions were being deposited in William's bank account (Schultheiss 17). •Stu wrote to Allan Williams stating that since they spoke to Peter Eckhorn themselves, they were not obligated to pay him his 10% management fee. The only contract Williams owned was lost in a fire, and he was not legally able to make them pay (Brown, p. 53). •In April '61 Allan writes a letter to the Beatles after Stu Sutcliffe informs him that the Beatles are not going to pay him his 10% commission (Schultheiss 21). •Mr. Williams returns and prepares to leave the premises to post handbills. By now the Abbey Road album has spun down to the last cuts: "Boy, you're gonna carry that weight a long time." I asked Mr. Williams the only question of our interview: "Don't you regret giving up the Beatles, a billion-dollar industry?" "You a** hole," he says. "I did the right thing. The Beatles killed Brian Epstein, didn't they?" "It was the millions that killed him, not the Beatles," Phil says. (The Man Who Gave Away the Beatles. Gare Joyce. The Globe and Mail, Liverpool. September 5, 1992 ). •Allan arranged for Derry and the Seniors to play for Bruno Koschmider (Kaiserkeller) for 30DM (£2.50) per man per day.
Walter Shenson: (Interview by Gary James) •NYR: Mr. Shenson as producer of both "A Hard Day's
Night" and "Help," what did that entail? WS: •NYR: How did United Artists come to select you as the producer? WS: They asked me if I would do a modest budget comedy starring The Beatles. Since they were not a producing company , merely financing and distributing, they left all the creative details up to me. So, I employed Richard Lester to direct the film, 'cause I had known him and worked with him before. •NYR: How much money has that movie made? •NYR: I thought "A Hard Day's Night" had taken
in $40 million? •NYR: How much has "Help" grossed? •NYR: At one point, United Artists was prepared to offer The Beatles 25 per cent of the profits from "A Hard Day's Night..." WS: Twenty-five per cent of the profits of the production.
•NYR: So, you didn't think any less of him as a manager? |
•Paul:
"Stu Sutcliffe was a friend of John Lennon's- they were at
art school together-and Stu had won a painting competition. The
prize was 75 quid [about $150].We said to him, 'That's exactly the
price of a Hofner bass!' He said, 'It's supposed to be for painting
materials,' but we managed to persuade him over a cappuccino"
(Bass Player Magazine 8/95).