WASHINGTON — All those “last time” Beatles questions like “Who remembers their best band” and “Why were all their songs about women?” are bogus. That’s according to former Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who’s telling the story of his life and what really happened that night in 1963 when the Beatles first came to the United States.
Epstein says he’s not just talking out of the side of his mouth anymore — he’s telling all the truth. The story debunks some long-held but often-misplaced Beatles myths.
“I know some of these crazy things are my own truth and what I did and how I behaved,” Epstein said.
Epstein was in his mid-20s when he met John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
“They certainly didn’t have any idea of what they were getting into,” he said.
He says Lennon wanted to talk about Beatles coverage.
“He didn’t want to hear me talk about ‘the Beatles,'” Epstein recalled. “He wanted to hear about the music, he wanted to hear the stories. He didn’t want to hear me talk about myself.”
Epstein had never been to America and didn’t speak the language. He says the Beatles kids were excited about meeting a famous manager.
“The place that we were sitting in the audience was very big and it was two auditoriums and the Beatles showed up, they were all dressed in black, especially Paul and John, they had the Beatles bear claw and hand bracelets that they wore,” Epstein said.
He says they were nervous and excited.
“I think in a lot of ways, you could kind of smell the fear coming out of them. And I had this hunch at that moment, I was a manager — I knew that one day I was going to get hired,” Epstein said.
Epstein’s job was to show the band how to handle a career that would change their lives forever.
He says he got them out of their hotel room and gave them instructions on how to go to the Capitol Records in Los Angeles, where the band was set to record their first single.
It would prove to be a teaching moment.
“It was kind of like one of the things that could have been, you know, like a failure. But it also turned out to be the thing that was going to launch them into stardom,” Epstein said.
While Epstein doesn’t get to meet Lennon and McCartney until after the recording, he’s already sensing change.
“Everybody was sort of in a game of what was the next thing, what are we going to do next? It was kind of exciting, a bit nervous,” Epstein said.
Epstein’s memoir “Spellbound” was published Friday in the U.S.
He couldn’t have done it without his friends and family — his parents bought the band’s first tour rider, a necessary document for traveling with a group.
And Epstein learned to embrace change. It’s the reason why he settled into a good marriage and raised three kids.
“We had a lot of events, a lot of dances. You know, a lot of fun,” Epstein recalled.
Epstein spoke with Fox News’ Dana Perino on “The Daily Briefing.”
Watch the interview below: