Capitol Gains

February 1963 marked the Beatles breakthrough in Britain. However, by December, they were still no further forward than any other British act before them in conquering America. How the Beatles were really signed by Capitol Records in late 1963, after 12 months of derision and rejection from the label, has remained the subject of much speculation over the years. Once the band had hit the big time in the US in February 1964, the truth was quickly papered over by their manager, Brian Epstein, and Capitol executives. Now, for the first time, corporate and personal archives reveal the true story, and explain why Capitol believed that the British approach to the record industry was just as antiquated and flawed as its approach to other declining industries in the 1960s. The book explores why, as a consequence, Capitol decided they would need to re-mix many of the UK master tapes, create new US albums that were distinctly different in content, sleeve design and name to the UK versions. Departmental memos show how Brian Epstein quickly found himself between a rock and a hard place, struggling to keep the peace between Capitol, who he knew were providing the lions share of the Beatles wealth, and were usually right on commercial and creative decisions, and the Beatles themselves. This no holds barred account also explores how Capitols PR department struggled against the odds to extricate the Beatles from stories that threatened to damage their carefully cultivated image and harm record sales. It also probes corporate accounts to discover the extent to which Capitol made the Beatles rich, and how a number of decisions made by the band and their manager ultimately drove them to the brink of bankruptcy in 1969.