Why We Love The Beatles: 40 of 100

In the very tough world in which

The Beatles first appeared, they needed every encourager they could get. The earliest was of course their fans, of whom all the lads – perhaps less so Paul – would eventually tire. An essential one without whom their true spirit, soul, versatility, spark and sheer innovation may never have seen the full light of day was of course George Martin. But there was an encourager who was needed to bridge the gap between fans and the recording world of Martin: Brian Epstein. What did Epstein bring? He appears have been the first to recognise –after his visit to The Cavern – that they would be ‘bigger than Elvis’. But he also realised a subtle thing: that the Beatles gave people a good feeling, a feeling of freedom, of possibility and would be a driver of social and cultural change that would make the 1960s its own unique decade. Epstein enjoyed that they created that feeling in himself and he certainly wanted it for others. He brought hustle; at a time when record companies simply did not ‘get’ the potential of bands such as The Beatles he hustled and hassled until he got what he knew they deserved. And then he took them around the world. And he brought formal band management. And despite much of the rumour mill after his death, he did that management remarkably well when he was the trend-setter and there was no template to copy. All The Beatles have all always said they would have signed up again with Brian. Yep. The fans let The Beatles know they were good. George Martin reckoned they were marketable. But Brian Epstein knew they were world class and would irrevocably change the social and cultural fabric of the 1960s. 

That’s another reason we love The Beatles.