by Bob Spitz
Best told one interviewer: “My mother took a phone call from Paul McCartney. He said that they had an offer to go to Germany and needed a drummer.” Leigh, Let’s Go Down the Cavern, p. 37.
“I’d always liked them”: Davies, Beatles, p. 70.
“He was absent too much”: Author interview with Helen Anderson, 11/4/97.
“feared the worst”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 116.
Over Jim’s objections: “My dad’s catch phrase was always get a job first… a serious job.” Mike McCartney in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 38.
“I didn’t want to go back”: Davies, Beatles, p. 72.
“buy… lots of things”: M. McCartney, Thank U Very Much (unnumbered).
Paul invited Allan Williams: “To stamp the seal of approval on things, Paul brought Alan [sic] Williams to the house.” Ibid.
“a respectable and kind person”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“Allan didn’t entirely tell… the whole truth”: Ibid.
They’d arrived at dusk: Williams, “Liverpool Scene,” p. 84.
“mile of sin”: Insight Guides: Germany, p. 290.
“It was an ‘anything goes’ kind of place”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 2/29/00.
“was depressing”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 45.
By contract, the Beatles: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 24 (photo).
“You can’t imagine the work”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
“were… far too deadpan”: Williams, “Liverpool Scene,” p. 93.
“the sexiest music of all”: Riley, Tell Me Why, p. 59.
“C’mon, boys… make a show”: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 23, and reported variously in almost every book written about the Beatles, including Miles, Coleman, Davies, Best & Harry, and Anthology.
“powerhouse music”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 47.
“After a few weeks”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
“possible to pass the whole night”: Jürgen Vollmer, 12/84, AGA.
“Eating wasn’t part of the equation”: Author interview with Howie Casey, 10/27/97.
“baptism by fire”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/4/97.
“filthy, dirty, and disgusting”: Author interview with Howie Casey, 10/27/97.
“the black holes of Calcutta”: Pete Best in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 50.
“It was freezing cold”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
“We used to work the hell out of it”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 59.
Rosa Hoffman: “Mutti’s real name was Rosa Hoffman. She was born on April 21, 1900, and died March 15, 1988.” Letter, Erich Weber to Bill Harry, 6/21/97.
“We thought they were a pretty scruffy bunch”: Author interview with Howie Casey, 10/27/97.
“Crank it up, Pete”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 50.
the “most absurd request”: Author interview with John Frankland, 10/6/97.
“Mr. Showmanship”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“crumby”: “Rory Storm and the Hurricanes came out here the other week, and they are crumby.” Letter, George Harrison to Arthur Kelly (undated).
“und the Beatles”: poster, belonging to Johnny Byrne; also John Lowe in Gottfridsson, From Cavern to Star-Club, p. 54 (photo).
By all accounts, they were paid more: Clayson, Straight Man, p. 38.
“blow these guys off the stage”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 53.
Vi Caldwell… kept Paul in cigarettes: Author interview with Iris Caldwell Fenton, 9/10/97.
“the prettiest girl”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“Every night was another… jam”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
216–17 “It was such an incredible number”: Ibid.
“I pay five men!”: Ibid.
“There was a stunned”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 78.
“the guy tried to climb up”: Author interview with Gibson Kemp, 8/12/97.
“like winning the lottery”: Author interview with John Frankland, 10/6/97.
“he fixed [them] up”: Author interview with Howie Casey, 10/27/97.
“German customers would say”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 78.
mobsters “would come in late at night”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 66.
“they were so exhausted”: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 23.
“Once you had a few beers”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
“gobbled them down”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 66.
“eating Prellie sandwiches”: Letter, George Harrison to Arthur Kelly (undated).
“was dodgy… you could get a little too wired”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 67.
“We tried any number of crazy things”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
“like a waterbed”: Ibid.
“high-class call girls”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 74.
“Nobody really looked at the stage”: Jürgen Vollmer, 12/84, AGA.
“rockers”: “The rockers were exactly like the Beatles—rough.” Ibid.
Eventually, during a break: Norman, Shout!, p. 97.
In fact, Stuart had spotted all three: “They wandered into the club about a week ago and seated themselves at a table near the band, where I soon became aware of them.” Letter, Stuart Sutcliffe to Susan Williams, 10/60.
“typical bohemians”: Ibid.
The three, it turned out: “Stuart, we knew immediately, was one of us.” Jürgen Vollmer, 12/84, AGA.
“The minute she walked into a room”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
Neither outwardly personable: “Astrid was always… unsocial, she was always a loner.” Jürgen Vollmer, 8/84, AGA.
“She had a tremendous feel”: Author interview with Gibson Kemp, 8/12/97.
“I had never met anybody like them”: Letter, Stuart Sutcliffe to Susan Williams, 10/60.
“My impression was that Stuart”: Jürgen Vollmer, 12/84, AGA.
“exis”: “ ‘Exis,’ that’s what I called them.” Davies, Beatles, p. 83.
“totally and immediately fascinated”: Jürgen Vollmer, 8/82, AGA.
“It was like a merry-go-round”: Astrid Kirchherr in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 48.
der Dom: Norman, Shout!, p. 97.
“Cocteau phase”: Jürgen Vollmer, 8/82, AGA.
He proved more than capable: “What They Played,” Lewisohn, Chronicle, pp. 361–65.
“a very charming image”: Jürgen Vollmer, 8/82, AGA.
“I was always practical”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 65.
“weak link”: Ibid.
“I have definitely decided to pack in”: Letter, Stuart Sutcliffe to Susan Williams, 10/60.
“He was always kidding”: Jürgen Vollmer, 8/82, AGA.
“But he just seemed to take it”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
occupied by a peep show: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 23.
Sheridan’s repertoire: Author interview with Johnny Frankland, 10/6/97.
“He would play solos”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
“He’d get guitar diarrhea”: Author interview with Gibson Kemp, 8/12/97.
“In the end”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
“We suddenly realized”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 82.
along with a clause that forbade: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
Eckhorn recognized: “They came to me…. I liked them and offered them a contract.” Davies, Beatles, p. 87.
He terminated the Beatles’ contract: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 24.
The band was required to make an announcement: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 70.
“So I had to leave”: Davies, Beatles, p. 87.
“This gave us just enough light”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 82.
“attempting to burn down”: Ibid., p. 83.
“felt ashamed�
��: Davies, Beatles, p. 89.
CHAPTER 13: A REVELATION TO BEHOLD
A week before Christmas: “Oddly, it was George and I who made the first moves, running around town in search of venues to play.” Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 81.
“disgruntled and very angry”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 52.
Williams was in no mood: “There’s nothing I can do for you at the moment,” he told them. “I’m up to my eyes in trouble.” Williams, “Liverpool Scene,” p. 113.
“job for life”/“drinking heavily”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“She was always there”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 81.
“She gave them the kind of work”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
The Seniors had played there: Davies, Beatles, p. 91.
“a revelation to behold”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/4/97.
“and had the nerve to play”: John Cochrane in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 19.
“We’d been pussyfooting”: Pat Clusky in ibid.
“were utterly, utterly devastated”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
He had written before Christmas: Ibid.
“He didn’t seem keen”: Letter, Stuart Sutcliffe to Pauline Sutcliffe, 12/24/60.
“anybody would be taking her son”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“picking on him”: Davies, Beatles, p. 98.
“Come home sooner”: Letter, George Harrison to Stuart Sutcliffe, 12/16/60.
Without a bass: Gottfridsson, From Cavern to Star-Club, p. 64.
“put Liverpool on the map”: Ray McFall in Leigh, Let’s Go Down the Cavern, p. 26.
“doing the jazzy-type stuff”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
An ersatz ventilation pipe: Leigh, Let’s Go Down to the Cavern, p. 24.
“The Cavern was a shithole”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“At first, it was difficult to breathe”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“It was as if they’d gone”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“Lovely lovely lovely… Cyn”: Hello!, 5/7/94.
“John was a flirt”: Ibid.
For months, Peter Eckhorn: Miles, Paul McCartney, pp. 74–75.
Pete Best worked the same: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 89.
Impervious to his parents’ dismay: “They were going to be together and that was that, whether we liked it or not.” Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
In January he had been beaten: Millie Sutcliffe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, pp. 60–61; Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 92.
John also broke: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 92; Aspinall, Rave, 1966; also “John dived to Stuart’s defense and got his finger broken in the process.” Hello!, 5/7/94.
“We’d listen to both sides”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 99.
they “clubbed together”: “NEMS had fantastic listening booths. They’d take a stack of records in there and if someone really loved one…” Author interview with Gibson Kemp, 8/12/97.
“If someone got out of line”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 8/4/97.
“He liked us backing him”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 106.
powsas: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 57.
“Here’s something to keep”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 95.
“in letters from Germany”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“It was loose”: Author interview with Beryl Williams, 11/2/97.
“[It] struck me as being”: Williams, “Liverpool Scene,” p. 123.
Stuart’s follow-up letter: Ibid.
“he wasn’t disappointed”: Author interview with Beryl Williams, 11/2/97.
“It was loud”: Jürgen Vollmer, 8/82, AGA.
“In my art school”: Astrid Kirchherr in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 67.
Out of ignorance: “This was going too far, we all thought…. ” Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 94; Davies, Beatles, p. 103.
“The pills and booze”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 55.
“he seemed more grown-up”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
John took Cynthia: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 54.
“She sounded as though she could”: Ibid., p. 55.
Astrid and John… held hands: “We would hold hands occasionally, but he would find it hard even to do that.” Astrid Kirchherr in Coleman, Lennon, p. 129.
Paul and Dot bunked: “We had our own bedroom. I don’t remember seeing much of Rosa.” Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“with such a wallop”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 103.
“They beat the shit out of each other”: Author interview with confidential source.
“It was the beginning of the end”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 103.
“he was only lending it”: Paul McCartney in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 70.
a gold band: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“like lepers”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
Tommy Kent: Gottfridsson, From Cavern to Star-Club, p. 68.
“He said we were the best”: Liverpool Echo, 2/20/96.
Kaempfert’s response was polite: “He certainly showed little excitement at what we were doing.” Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 104.
The Beatles were stunned: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 108.
It was a sticky piece: “It was presented as: ‘That is the deal you’re going to get.’ ” Ibid.
“What the hell”: Ibid.
along with George’s instrumental: Pete Best in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 71.
“represented something new”: “They were a new invention in those days.” Karl Hinze in Gottfridsson, From Cavern to Star-Club, p. 83.
CHAPTER 14: MR. X
the 500 Limited bus: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Look at this. I’ve just received it”: Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 73.
“Mein Herz ist bei dir nur”: Polydor, no. NH 24673; English release date: BBC, Arena archives.
“Up until then”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Let me play it tonight”: Ibid.
“Go and tell him to get fucking well stuffed”: Ibid.
“There was only one record store”: Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 73.
In a datebook he carried: Personal diary of Brian Epstein, 1949; courtesy of Bryan Barrett.
“lived for Beethoven, Mozart”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
a collection of the Brandenburg Concertos: “My mother gave them to me when I was nineteen, for my birthday.” Desert Island Discs, 11/30/64.
“The closest Brian ever got”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
He was born on September 19, 1934: Stella Epstein Cantor, Arena archives.
“She knew what it meant to be a lady”: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“Tell me, Auntie”: Stella Epstein Cantor, Arena archives.
“Queenie treated him as an equal”: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“one of those out-of-sorts boys”: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 25.
“problem child”: “When my mother, distressed and weeping, pleaded with the head-master that I should be given another term, he replied, ‘Madam, we have no room for your problem child.’ ” From Brian Epstein’s handwritten journal, 1957.
“It was at this school”: Ibid.
“benevolent academies”: “They solved [my school problem]… by sending me to one of those benevolent academies where failures are welcomed…. ” Epstein, Cellarful, p. 29.
“I tried very hard”: Brian Epstein’s datebook, 1949.
A portfolio of eight drawings: Brian Epstein, portfolio, courtesy of Bryan Barrett.
Harry… “went up the pole”: Stella Epste
in Cantor, Arena archives.
it “was impossible”/“it would be stupid”: Brian Epstein’s handwritten journal, 1957, p. 6.
“In a rage of temper”: Ibid.
“reported for duty”: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 31.
“a keen interest in display work”: “I worked well and had some new ideas.” Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 6.
The window sets he redressed: “I placed chairs in the windows with their backs to the window shoppers.” Epstein, Cellarful, p. 33.
Isaac was neither amused: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“latent homosexuality”: “It is possible even then I may have been able to settle down after all that had happened, remaining, as I did, unaware of my latent homosexuality.” Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 6.
“Within the first few weeks”: Ibid.
“confused”: “My mind was confused and my nervous system weakened.” Ibid., p. 7.
About the same time, he was robbed: Ibid., pp. 7–8.
In his autobiography, Brian invents: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 36.
“on medical grounds”: Ibid., p. 37.
“homosexual life and its various rendezvous”: Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 8.
“My life became a succession”: Ibid.
At twenty-one, he was appointed: Ibid., p. 9.
Without any warning, he packed: Ibid., p. 8.
“I confessed everything”: Ibid., p. 9.
Incredible as it may seem, Brian impressed: Norman, Shout!, p. 131.
Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney: Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 7.
His own class boasted: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 40.
“the narcissism… and the detachment”: Ibid.
“a second male lead”: Norman, Shout!, p. 131.
Loneliness was partly to blame: “Living alone in London I felt acute frustration and loneliness.” Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 5.
On the evening of April 17: Ibid., p. 11.
“mind went in great fear”: Ibid.
“[And] after a few minutes”: Ibid., p. 14.
Miraculously, a family solicitor: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
This time, he got involved with: Ibid.
“They arranged for a drop”: Ibid.
“he was oblivious”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“My girlfriend and I”: Author interview with Mike Rice, 7/27/98.