Wednesday 19 June 1963 | NEMS, Whitechapel, Liverpool, England
On 19 June 1963, Derek Taylor — a Manchester-based journalist for the Daily Express — travelled to Liverpool with photographer John Knill to interview Brian Epstein at the NEMS offices on Whitechapel. It was a key encounter in Beatles history: the beginning of a relationship that would shape the group's public story for years to come.
Derek Taylor and The Beatles
Taylor had first seen The Beatles perform in Manchester on 30 May 1963 and had, by his own account, instantly fallen under their spell. The 19 June interview with Epstein was his first direct contact with the Beatles' inner circle. It would not be his last.
In the years that followed, Taylor:
- Ghost-wrote Epstein's autobiography A Cellarful Of Noise (1964)
- Collaborated with George Harrison on a newspaper column
- Became Epstein's personal assistant and the band's press officer during the 1964 US tour
- Was appointed press officer for Apple Corps in 1968
Taylor later became one of the most eloquent chroniclers of the Beatles era, publishing his memoir Fifty Years Adrift in 1984. His account of the 19 June 1963 interview is one of the finest pieces of writing about Epstein in existence.
The Interview: Taylor's Account
Taylor described the encounter in Fifty Years Adrift:
"I had made the interview arrangement through a helpful and pleasant young man called Barry Leonard – described in various Beatle publications since as 'a former medical student'. On arriving in Liverpool, we phoned to check that the appointment was still on and then went to a musical-instrument shop to borrow some guitars – 'symbols' for the photographs. Corny? We certainly were. It was a corny paper in a corny world. Even the word 'corny' was corny. We arrived at NEMS (North End Music Stores: then part of the Epstein family business, later a huge showbiz agency) at around 3pm and found Brian standing in the outer office above the shop in Whitechapel.
Though courteous, he was not too friendly. John, no less confident than I, had however a slight stammer; realising that we had run into a 'difficult subject', he stammered the more as he suggested bringing up 'the guitars – props for the photographs' from the car. Brian was not pleased. 'I am prepared to give an interview but I don't know about photographs.' After a lot of persuasion, the guitars were admitted; they were cheap-looking things, one of them scarlet and almost toy-sized. 'Not at all what I would like to see any of The Boys using,' he said. 'I certainly won't pose with them.' There was a moment of silence, which I broke with a sincere statement about The Beatles and Gerry in concert. I'd never seen anyone better, I said – not Bob Hope, not Danny Kaye, not even Hitler dancing at the Majestic in Birkenhead could have come anywhere near. Brian relaxed a little; he agreed that indeed they were marvellous, and then we got stuck into a routine interview with the usual feinting, jabbing and pauses.
I decided he would have to be brought a little closer, pulled in to our side. He seemed to have a cold; I mentioned this but he looked away, saying it wasn't important. Drawing on my intellect, I observed that it was never a pleasure to have to work when one had a cold, and this time his manner became fractionally warmer. I asked him where he was from. 'Liverpool. I'm from here,' he said, looking at me as if I were wandering in my mind. 'I know Liverpool,' I said. 'I was born here. I was just wondering whereabouts in Liverpool you live, what district?' 'Just let's leave it at Liverpool,' he said, surprisingly. I said I wouldn't print it but it would give me a better picture of him if I knew the, er, address. He blushed and said, finally, that it was Queens Drive. It was a small victory but an important one. If I couldn't get him to tell me where he lived, then I wasn't going to get anything out of him that really mattered.
The interview now improved at a rate of knots. We got our guitar shots and he told us a great deal; I reproduce the subsequent article as printed. After the interview, John and I celebrated our success with drink in the New Court in Victoria Street. We were very pleased with ourselves. 'That was good,' I said. 'I thought the guitars had done us in,' said John. And then we did have hysterics, laughing ourselves silly all the way back to Manchester. Tension over."
— Derek Taylor, Fifty Years Adrift (1984)
The Published Article
The interview appeared in the 20 June 1963 edition of the Daily Express, under the headline “Epstein, the brain behind The Beatles”. Taylor's article opened:
"FLANKED by the symbols and symptoms of his success sits Brian Epstein, 28, ex-public schoolboy, ex-drama student, ex-furniture store boss, who suddenly owns the top three places in the nation's disc charts.
Epstein's is the cool, clear brain behind the extraordinary flight to stardom of The Beatles, of Gerry and the Pacemakers, and of Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.
These three vocal and instrumental groups have been signed up by Epstein since October, 1961. All like Epstein are from Liverpool.
This week Gerry, with 'I Like It', Kramer with 'Do You Want To Know A Secret?' and The Beatles, with 'From Me To You', are 1, 2, 3 in the hit parade.
Never before have three groups – as distinct from solo performers – topped the charts. And when did any one provincial city ever figure so indestructibly in any branch of entertainment?
The success of the Liverpool Sound – that curiously tough nasal, vital impact of beat and voice – has been a feature of the pop music scene for some months."
— Derek Taylor, Daily Express, 20 June 1963
The article captured a remarkable moment: Epstein's three NEMS acts — The Beatles (From Me To You), Gerry and the Pacemakers (I Like It), and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas (Do You Want To Know A Secret?) — held the top three positions in the UK singles chart simultaneously. It had never happened before with three groups (as distinct from solo artists).
Brian Epstein in June 1963
Brian Epstein (1934–1967) had first seen The Beatles at the Cavern Club on 9 November 1961 and had become their manager in January 1962. By June 1963 he was 28 years old and at the peak of his powers as a manager — his three acts dominating the charts, his instinct for talent vindicated, his vision of what The Beatles could become beginning to be realised on a national scale.
The Queens Drive address that Taylor prised out of him was in the Childwall area of Liverpool — a prosperous, largely Jewish neighbourhood where the Epstein family had long been established. Epstein's reticence about revealing it was characteristic: he was a private man, guarded about his personal life, and acutely conscious of the social codes of the world he had grown up in.
Epstein died on 27 August 1967 of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. He was 32. The Beatles never found a manager to replace him.
Key Facts: 19 June 1963
| Date | Wednesday 19 June 1963 |
| Location | NEMS, Whitechapel, Liverpool (approx. 3pm) |
| Interviewer | Derek Taylor, Daily Express |
| Photographer | John Knill |
| Published | 20 June 1963, Daily Express |
| Headline | “Epstein, the brain behind The Beatles” |
| Chart context | Beatles (1), Gerry and the Pacemakers (2), Billy J. Kramer (3) — first time three groups held the top three simultaneously |
| Taylor's first Beatles sighting | 30 May 1963, Manchester |
| Taylor's subsequent roles | Ghost-writer of A Cellarful Of Noise; press officer, 1964 US tour; Apple Corps press officer, 1968 |
Whitechapel, Liverpool — where the NEMS offices were located above the record shop, and where Derek Taylor interviewed Brian Epstein on 19 June 1963.
The Beatles: 1963
The year everything changed. Officially licensed Beatles merch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Derek Taylor?
Derek Taylor was a journalist who became one of the most important figures in the Beatles' story. After interviewing Brian Epstein for the Daily Express in June 1963, he ghost-wrote Epstein's autobiography A Cellarful Of Noise, served as press officer during the 1964 US tour, and became Apple Corps press officer in 1968. He later wrote the memoir Fifty Years Adrift (1984).
What was A Cellarful Of Noise?
A Cellarful Of Noise was Brian Epstein's autobiography, published in 1964. It was ghost-written by Derek Taylor, who had first met Epstein during the 19 June 1963 Daily Express interview. The title was a reference to the Cavern Club.
What was significant about the UK charts in June 1963?
In June 1963, Brian Epstein's three NEMS acts held the top three positions in the UK singles chart simultaneously: The Beatles with From Me To You at number one, Gerry and the Pacemakers with I Like It at number two, and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas with Do You Want To Know A Secret? at number three. It was the first time three groups (as distinct from solo artists) had achieved this.
When did Brian Epstein die?
Brian Epstein died on 27 August 1967 of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. He was 32 years old. The Beatles never found a manager to replace him.
→ 19 June in Beatles History
→ June in Beatles History
→ John Lennon: Beatles History, Solo Career, Songs & Legacy
→ Paul McCartney: Beatles History, Solo Career, Songs & Legacy
→ George Harrison: Beatles History, Solo Career, Songs & Legacy
→ Ringo Starr: Beatles History, Solo Career, Songs & Legacy
→ The Beatles Knowledge Hub
Shop: Beatles T-shirts | Beatles merch by era | Wall art & posters | Mugs & drinkware
0 comments