THIS WEEK’S MUSE
NEIL ASPINALL
It was early 1961 and Liverpool teenager Neil Aspinall was wondering what to do with his life. Some old school friends had asked him for some help with their band and he was trying to decide if it was worth his while getting involved. They were starting to get regular bookings—too many for them to continue to take public transport to each venue with their equipment—and they needed someone to drive them around. He had nothing better to do; he said yes and charged each of the band’s members 25p per show.
The band was The Beatles. Aspinall was an old friend, but more importantly he was ‘one of them’ – same age, class, outlook. Within a year they had released their first hit single and album. He became their key confidant, staying close to each of them and helping keep their feet on the ground as their fame and celebrity exploded. As well as driving them he became their minder, tour manager, roadie, personal assistant, occasional chef, technician, and accountant.
More than anyone at the time, Aspinall was at the heart of their small inner circle. He was there when they failed their audition—”Guitar groups are on the way out,”—at Decca Records in London. He was involved in the sacking of original drummer and close friend Pete Best. He managed their historic trip to the US and their Ed Sullivan Show appearances in 1964 – even standing in for the ill George Harrison at rehearsals.
As Beatlemania exploded, Aspinall was at their side, trusted more and more with business and financial decisions, working closely with manager Brian Epstein on tour and recording schedules. He was even an occasional muse for the band’s creative output, chipping in words and lyric and musical ideas when asked. He wasn’t a musician, but inevitably found his way onto records, providing minor musical contributions on the Sgt. Pepper’s…, Yellow Submarine, and Magical Mystery Tour albums.
When Epstein died, the band turned to Aspinall to help manage their affairs and to look after Apple Corp, their newly formed corporation and record company. He was reluctant to take over, but his loyalty to his school friends remained and he again stepped in to help, just as he’d done in 1961.
Aspinall became chief executive of Apple Corps in 1970 and for the next 37 years he effectively ran the Beatles empire. Through the band splitting, the lawsuits around new manager Allan Klein, the successful legal actions against Apple Macintosh, and the complicated legal wrangles around The Beatles’ EMI contracts, Aspinall managed it all. When their contractual conflicts were finally resolved in the 1990s, Aspinall oversaw the three Anthology album releases and the remastering of the Beatles’ catalog in 2008.
This soft-spoken Liverpudlian began as van driver and odd job man and became virtual guardian of all Beatles musical assets. And, although he’s not the only contender for the title of the ‘fifth Beatle,’ perhaps he deserves the accolade more than most.
HAPPENING
Six Wednesdays, beginning May 4, from 6–7:30pm
Conversational French
With Floriano Pavao
Enjoy learning and participating in everyday situational French
$130 – Member, $145 – Non-Member