Brian Epstein & the Beatles - what he did and what he hid

Brian Epstein & the Beatles - what he did and what he hid

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold June 9, 2026 Duration: 29:47

Philip Norman has written books about the Beatles – and John, Paul and George - and now turns the spotlight on the man who launched them and the extreme personal and professional obstacles in the dramatic path of his short life, the man who built a shield around them but couldn't protect himself. We talk to him here about ‘Mr Moonlight: Brian Epstein and the Making of the Beatles’ with particular attention to …

 

… how he changed Britain’s image and was mortified to get no recognition for it

 

… the Beatle whose demands he was always fastest to execute

 

… the level of homophobia and anti-Semitism he had to absorb

 

… his reckless pursuits in the days when homosexuality could mean life imprisonment

 

… contract killers, blackmail, rigged roulette wheels and why the Krays said “it wasn’t us” when they heard he’d died

 

… the way he fashioned his own myth and airbrushed others who’d helped the Beatles succeed

 

… why McCartney’s 21st birthday party could have ended the band

 

… his genius (and fraudulence) as a salesman  

 

 … the double catastrophe of Brian’s US merchandising deal

 

… John, Aunt Mimi and “a story about the British class system”

 

… and the chaperone on George and Pattie’s first date.

 

Order copies of ‘Mr Moonlight’ here: https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Mr-Moonlight/Philip-Norman/9781398542266

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear


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There’s a particular kind of conversation about music that happens between friends who’ve spent a lifetime immersed in it-not as distant critics, but as participants in the culture. That’s the atmosphere you’ll find in Word In Your Ear, a podcast from Mark Ellen, David Hepworth, and Alex Gold. With a collective eighty years of writing and broadcasting for titles like Smash Hits and Mojo, and shows from "The Old Grey Whistle Test" to VH-1, they don’t just recount history; they unpack the stories behind it with the ease of a shared laugh. This podcast grew naturally from their work on the late, great magazine The Word, where they began recording over thirteen years ago, building a dedicated following who found something genuinely special in the mix. Each episode weaves together music, commentary, history, and interviews, moving seamlessly from deep-dive analysis of a seminal album to a frank chat with a surprising guest, all delivered with the warmth and wit of a late-night chat. It feels less like a formal show and more like you’ve been invited to pull up a chair in a room where the anecdotes are plentiful and the expertise is worn lightly. The result is a consistently engaging listen that treats music not as a museum piece but as a living, breathing part of our lives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

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