When at a second meeting, on December 3, they begin discussing contract terms—Paul and Brian going back and forth about percentages; should it be ten, fifteen, or twenty?—it’s clear that Paul isn’t that keen on Brian. The most he’ll concede is that Brian has “a good flair” and, like Paul, “is very into the look onstage.”

As far as John is concerned, there’s nothing to think over. Brian is clearly smart. He’s wealthy and well read and has connections in London—all of which John likes.

But most important, Brian Epstein is a risk taker.

Where Paul is not.

One time, John said to Paul, “Look, imagine you’re like on a cliff top and you’re thinking about diving off. Dive! Try it!” and Paul replied, “Like bloody hell I’m gonna dive. You dive and give us a shout and tell me how it is, and then if it’s great I’ll dive.”

When John and Paul return to the table, they talk about the Cavern and the recordings they made with Tony Sheridan, including an original composition.

That takes Brian by surprise. “You write your own music?”

John nods and begins naming their Lennon-McCartney originals. “There’s ‘Like Dreamers Do,’ and ‘Hello Little Girl…’”

“And a rock-ballad called ‘Love of the Loved,’” Paul adds.

Brian pauses, as if thinking over how to weigh their songwriting abilities against their demonstrated value as live performers. He looks the band over, praising their “star quality,” before pronouncing, “You’re going to be bigger than Elvis, you know.”

John is astounded. Speechless. They all are. George will later say about this moment, “This is where Brian was good. He knew how to get it happening. We had felt cocky and certain but when Epstein said “You’re going to be bigger than Elvis you know,” we thought, ‘Well, how big do you have to be? I mean, I doubt that.’ That seemed outrageous, yet he did have the right attitude.”

That shot of confidence is exactly what John’s been looking for. They need someone like Brian to keep them in line. Truth is, he’ll later admit, “We were in a daydream till he came along. We’d no idea what we were doing, or where we’d agreed to be.”

John knows they can make it. The Beatles want to be the biggest.

And anyone can see that Brian has class, money, and connections in the music world.

Plus, he’s from Liverpool. He’s one of them.

“Right then, Brian,” John says, deciding. “Manage us.”

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Different strokes for different folks.

—“Everyday People”

On December 13, 1961, Brian Epstein invites Mike Smith, an A&R man at Decca, to the Cavern to see the Beatles play. Smith is impressed enough to schedule them to come to London on January 1, 1962.