Sunday 27 August 1967 | People, The Beatles
| Date | Sunday 27 August 1967 |
| Location | Chapel Street, Belgravia, London |
| Cause of death | Accidental ‘incautious self-overdoses’ of Carbrital (inquest verdict) |
| Age | 32 |
| The Beatles’ location | Bangor, north Wales (with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) |
| Body found by | Joanne Newfield (personal assistant), Antonio (butler), Dr John Galway |
Late on the night of Sunday 27 August 1967, Brian Epstein — manager of The Beatles, founder of NEMS Enterprises, and the man who had guided the group from the Cavern Club to global fame — was found dead at his home in Chapel Street, Belgravia, London. He was 32 years old.
The Beatles were in Bangor, north Wales, attending a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, when the news reached them. It was a bank holiday weekend, and the world they had known was about to change irrevocably.
The weekend: Kingsley Hill
Epstein had invited his assistant Peter Brown and the chief executive of NEMS, Geoffrey Ellis, to spend the bank holiday weekend at Kingsley Hill, his house in Warbleton, East Sussex. He had also invited his personal assistant Joanne Newfield and the Scottish singer Lulu, but both women had prior engagements and declined.
Epstein left his London home in good spirits on the afternoon of Friday 25 August and was joined later in Sussex by Brown and Ellis. But a young man with whom Epstein had hoped to become better acquainted did not show up. Disappointed at the prospect of spending the long weekend with two friends he saw frequently, and having drunk a considerable amount at dinner, Epstein chose to drive back to London in his Bentley convertible.
Shortly after his departure, a London taxi arrived at Kingsley Hill containing four people Epstein had invited. Although surprised that the host had left, they stayed the night, partying with Brown and Ellis.
Saturday 26 August: the telephone call
After lunch on Saturday, Brown spoke to Epstein by telephone:
“He called late in the afternoon and was speaking in a woozy voice. He apologized for not coming back and maybe letting us worry. I suspect that when he went back to London he did go out, cruised the West End for a bit and then went home. I urged him to come back to the country. But there was no way he could drive back because he sounded pretty awful, and I suggested him coming on the train.”
— Peter Brown, The Brian Epstein Story, Deborah Geller
Epstein’s Spanish butler, Antonio, and his wife Maria, had seen their employer when he returned late on the Friday night, but heard nothing from him on the Saturday. By Sunday they had become worried. Unable to contact Brown and Ellis, Antonio spoke to Joanne Newfield, who decided to go to Chapel Street to check.
Sunday 27 August: the discovery
“Since it was Sunday, there was no one around and it was a very quick trip across town. I got to Chapel Street, let myself in, found Antonio and went up to Brian’s door and knocked on it. There were double doors leading into a dressing room and then there was a single door leading into a bedroom… I knocked on the door and I called out his name. I called, ‘Answer the door. Are you there?’”
— Joanne Newfield, The Brian Epstein Story, Deborah Geller
Newfield called Dr John Galway, Epstein’s doctor, who came to the house. She also called Alistair Taylor, Epstein’s personal assistant. Antonio and Dr Galway broke down the bedroom doors.
“Antonio and John Galway were in and I followed them. Maria was staying behind. The curtains were drawn and John Galway was directly ahead of me. I could just see part of Brian in the bed and I was just totally stunned. I knew that something really bad had happened. Then I think John Galway told me, ‘Just wait outside.’ I stood in the doorway. A few minutes later John Galway came out. I’ve never seen a doctor so white. We were all white and we knew that Brian had died.”
— Joanne Newfield, The Brian Epstein Story, Deborah Geller
Dr Galway informed Peter Brown, who was still waiting on the open telephone line, that Epstein had died. Brown called David Jacobs, a lawyer and friend to Epstein who lived in Brighton, and then he and Ellis left for London.
The aftermath at Chapel Street
Epstein’s personal assistant Alistair Taylor arrived at the house. Those who had found the body were in shock, and went to the study for a brandy. They delayed calling the police, wanting first to ensure there were no illegal substances in the house.
“Within literally very few minutes of the police being informed, there’s a ring on the doorbell and it’s a reporter I knew. He just looked at me and said, ‘What are you doing here? I hear Brian’s ill.’ And I said, ‘No, he’s fine. He’s gone out.’… I was concerned that, before this news broke, somehow we had to get hold of Queenie [Epstein’s mother], and we couldn’t find her.”
— Alistair Taylor, The Brian Epstein Story, Deborah Geller
Joanne Newfield was struck by the demeanour of Brown and Ellis when they arrived:
“Peter and I were good friends, and I was really wanting him to get back. I remember the first thing I asked was why did Brian come back from Kingsley Hill? Neither of them answered. They just started to go up the stairs. And I remember thinking that they seemed weird and I knew there was something wrong. They appeared distant when I expected them to be grief-stricken. I expected that Peter would give me a hug, but he didn’t. He was just cool and I’m not sure that it was shock. I’ve asked myself many times what happened in Kingsley Hill. It’s just one of the question marks I have about Brian’s death.”
— Joanne Newfield, The Brian Epstein Story, Deborah Geller
The inquest verdict
An inquest found the cause of death to be accidental, resulting from ‘incautious self-overdoses’ of Carbrital, a barbiturate sleeping drug. Paul McCartney later gave his own assessment:
“I don’t think there was anything sinister in his death… I think what happened was that Brian was going down to his house in the country. It was a Friday night, and there were going to be friends there… Brian went down with one of his friends, but no one had showed up – so he thought: ‘Ugh – it’s Friday night! I’ve got time to get back to London if I rush.’… Then he drove back up to London and went to the clubs, but they were all closing and there was not a lot of action. So he had a few bevvies, then to console himself had a sleeping pill or two before bed… And then I think he woke up in the middle of the night and thought: My God, I can’t sleep. I haven’t had a pill.’ Then he had a few more pills, and I think that could have killed him. My feeling was that it was an accident.”
— Paul McCartney, The Beatles Anthology
The Beatles in Bangor
When the news reached The Beatles in Bangor, they were in the middle of a meditation retreat with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was John Lennon’s wife Cynthia who first heard the news on a radio in a nearby shop. The group were devastated. They had been with Epstein since the very beginning — since he had first seen them play at the Cavern Club on 9 November 1961 and decided, against all conventional wisdom, to become their manager.
Epstein had negotiated their EMI contract, secured their first television appearances, overseen their transformation from a Liverpool beat group into a global phenomenon, and guided them through the extraordinary years of 1963 to 1966. Without him, the question of what came next was one none of them had yet had to face.
The Maharishi counselled the group not to grieve, telling them that Epstein’s spirit had moved on to a higher plane. John Lennon later said that the meditation retreat had given him the strength to cope with the news. Paul McCartney spoke to the press outside the retreat, visibly shaken.
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Key Facts
| Date of death | Sunday 27 August 1967 |
| Location | Chapel Street, Belgravia, London |
| Age | 32 |
| Cause of death (inquest) | Accidental ‘incautious self-overdoses’ of Carbrital |
| Body found by | Joanne Newfield, Antonio, Dr John Galway |
| The Beatles’ location | Bangor, north Wales (Maharishi retreat) |
| First saw The Beatles | Cavern Club, Liverpool, 9 November 1961 |
| Weekend location | Kingsley Hill, Warbleton, East Sussex (departed Friday 25 Aug) |
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Brian Epstein die?
Brian Epstein died on 27 August 1967 at his home in Chapel Street, London. An inquest returned a verdict of accidental death, caused by incautious self-overdoses of Carbrital, a barbiturate sleeping drug. Paul McCartney and others who knew him believed it was an accident rather than a deliberate act — that Epstein had taken sleeping pills, woken in the night, forgotten he had already taken them, and taken more.
Where were The Beatles when Brian Epstein died?
The Beatles were in Bangor, north Wales, attending a meditation retreat with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, when they learned of Brian Epstein’s death on 27 August 1967. It was a bank holiday weekend. John Lennon’s wife Cynthia first heard the news on a radio in a nearby shop.
Who found Brian Epstein’s body?
Brian Epstein’s body was found by his personal assistant Joanne Newfield, his Spanish butler Antonio, and Dr John Galway, who broke down the bedroom doors at the Chapel Street house on the afternoon of Sunday 27 August 1967.
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