For the Benefit of Mr. Epstein
Fab Five: The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein will be depicted in the upcoming film ?A Life in the Day.? Image by Getty Images
No disrespect to Beatles’ producer George Martin, but Paul McCartney made one thing clear in a 1997 BBC interview. “If anyone was the fifth Beatle,” McCartney said, “it was Brian [Epstein].”
Epstein, who died in 1967, will be given his proper due in “A Life in the Day,” a new film that depicts the early days of the Beatles and their Jewish manager. There is currently no release date for the film.
In September 1961, Epstein was introduced to the band during a trip to a cramped basement venue in Liverpool, England, known as the Cavern club. It was there that Epstein discovered a charismatic group of young men wearing leather jackets and jeans and playing loud 1950s rock music.
By December of that same year, Epstein was managing the Beatles. He would soon be responsible for the band’s early trademark look of mop-head haircuts and matching black suits. Epstein also would have a hand in helping the band get its first record contract with the British label Parlophone.
The announcement of “A Life in the Day” film coincided with an important week for Beatles fans. On September 9, the band’s entire catalog was re-released after being re-mastered in both stereo and mono mixes. And the video game “The Beatles: Rock Band,” which was the backdrop during McCartney’s performances during his 2009 summer tour, made its debut.
The lyric from the song, “A Day in the Life,” on which the film’s title plays, represents a fitting tribute to Epstein, who died of a drug overdose. The song’s opening, “I read the news today oh, boy, about a lucky man who made the grade,” rings true for a man who had a hand in changing the entire course of popular music.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
