Who is the worlds most famous band manager? You may wonder, a few names spring to mind, Col. Tom Parker, Malcolm Mclaren, Sharon Osboune, Alan Klein, each have their own stories and controversies. The big one though has to be….Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles. When the band signed with Epstein on 1st October 1962 Brian secured a recording contract and subsequently a no.1 hit, though they could write hit after hit without him, he was instrumental in setting up The Beatles and the rest is history.
The Beatles weren’t the only band to be managed by Brian, he had Cilla Black and The Merseybeats as well. So when we were invited by Billy Kinsley (founding member of The Merseybeats) to come along on a recording session dedicated to raising funding for a statue to be erected in the Beatles managers name we jumped at the chance. In our opinion a memorial statue of Brian Epstein in Liverpool is well overdue.
The recording session took place at Part Street Studio on err..Parr Street. The task at hand was to sing to a song written especially for Brian Epstein by Bob Pitt. It was a privilege to be given and we were and are very grateful for the opportunity. We turned up early morning and went to grab a quick cuppa before being called into the studio. As the track was being prepped we were introduced to a few familiar faces.
The prolific nature of the session meant a few local celebrities had been invited to come along and join in on the recording. It was great to meet the people behind music you’ve listened to and also those that you have seen on the television especially on such a momentous occasion such as this. It was a great laugh as well, scouse humour and funny stories. Thanks to Unit 8 photography for this shot.
The BBC were there and briefly covered the story on BBC Northwest Tonight. If you look carefully at the back on the right hand side you will see us as we sing our hearts out with our 2 seconds of fame
On a more serious note though it was a great pleasure to meet Merseybeat Geoff Nugent frontman and and guitarist of The Undertakers, a happy wonderful bloke who we chatted to. He had told us of his recent tours and how in Germany he has a mass allegiance of fans (he recommended we visit Germany) he told us “they love scousers there”. Sadly we heard the news a week later that he had passed away and Merseyside had lost one of the true greats. We were so, so sad and shocked to hear about Geoff who tragically died of a heart attack. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. We were so lucky to have crossed paths with Geoff and we thank you for your inspiration, stories, laughs and smiles you shared with us, RIP Geoff.
The recording session involved singing backing vocals on a track called “Thank you” everyone present gathered round with headphones on and sang the backing needed for the song. We also put the clapping on the track as Billy Kinsley directed the group. It was a great day and we look forward to the launch evening. Thank you Billy Kinsley for inviting us along and also to the very talented Bob Pitt for writing a fantastic song and his beautiful wife Cath who has a magical nature of making everyone feel so welcome.
We will post updates on the launch night and also when the single becomes available. If you wish to find out more information or donate towards the “Statue for Eppy” memorial, you can do so here.