When They Were Boys (40 page)

Sam Leach, with his wide grin and never-say-die attitude, came into the picture with a transfusion of optimism, but the truth was, as he confirms, that he was really a promoter, not a manager.

And then along came Brian Epstein. The date, in December 1961, is etched in Leach's memory.

O
N THE WAY BACK FROM
A
LDERSHOT, A
S
UNDAY
, D
ECEMBER 10, 1961, THEY MADE THEIR DECISION TO GO WITH
B
RIAN
E
PSTEIN AS MANAGER
. I
WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT DATE BECAUSE THE ADVERTISING DIDN'T GO IN THE PAPER FOR THE FIRST NIGHT AND THEY ONLY GOT EIGHTEEN PEOPLE TO COME TO THE VENUE
. O
N THE WAY BACK, THAT IS WHEN THEY DECIDED TO GO WITH
E
PSTEIN
. T
HEY HAD CONVENIENTLY FORGOTTEN THAT THE WEEK BEFORE THEY HAD OVER FOUR THOUSAND AT THE
T
OWER
T
HEATER IN
N
EW
B
RIGHTON, ON A
F
RIDAY NIGHT
. A
NYHOW, THEY DECIDED TO GO WITH
E
PPY
. H
E ALSO HAD THE MONEY, THE POLISH, AND THE CONNECTIONS
. A
ND HIS ACCENT WOULD HAVE GOTTEN HIM INTO DOORS, WHERE
I
MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN THROWN OUT
. A
CTUALLY, THEY CAME TO TELL ME ABOUT
B
RIAN AFTER THEY GOT BACK FROM
A
LDERSHOT IN
L
ONDON, AND THEY LOOKED VERY NERVOUS
. T
HEY SAID
, “W
E HAVE A MAN THAT WANTS TO MANAGE US AND HE IS A MILLIONAIRE, LOTS OF MONEY
.” I
SAID
, “N
O
, I
AM GOING TO MANAGE YOU
.” T
HEY SAID
, “H
E'S GOT MONEY
. W
E'LL STILL INVOLVE YOU, BUT JUST GO AND HAVE A LOOK AT HIM AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
.” I
WENT TO TALK TO HIM
,
SUMMED HIM UP IN FIVE MINUTES, SAW THAT HE WAS GENUINE, THOUGHT HE HAD MONEY, AND REALIZED MAYBE
I
COULD DO BUSINESS WITH HIM
. M
AYBE HE WOULD BACK MY RECORD LABEL
. I
HAD THE INDEPENDENT
T
ROUBADOUR RECORD LABEL AND RECORDED
G
ERRY AND THE
P
ACEMAKERS
' “Y
OU'LL
N
EVER
W
ALK
A
LONE
.” T
HAT WAS
G
ERRY'S BEST SONG
. W
HEN
I
WAS WALKING BACK
, I
DECIDED
I
WOULD TELL THEM HE WAS NO GOOD FOR THEM
. B
UT WHEN
I
SAW THEM LOOKING SO TRUSTING
, I
COULDN'T TELL LIES, AND
I
SAID
, “Y
OU WILL MAKE IT WITH THIS GUY
. H
E'LL BE GOOD FOR YOU
. Y
OU'LL BE FAMOUS
. G
O WITH HIM AND IT WILL WORK FOR YOU
.” T
HIS IS WHAT
I
SAID TO THEM
. P
OLISH, MONEY, ACCENT—ALL OF IT WAS A VERY ATTRACTIVE PACKAGE
.

If Leach had recommended against Brian, would the boys have listened? The bigger question is whether John, Paul, George, and Pete asked Leach to “check out” Epstein merely as a courtesy.

As Epstein began to remake their image, Leach continued promoting events.

I
CONTINUED TO DO SO UNTIL
A
UGUST 1962
. W
E MADE A LOT OF SHOWS TOGETHER AND
I
GOT THEM A LOT OF MONEY
. T
HE
T
OWER
B
ALLROOM WAS A BIG VENUE—HUGE
. B
RIAN APPROACHED ME TO GO IN ON A PERCENTAGE OF PROMOTING GIGS
. H
E CAME UP WITH
L
ITTLE
R
ICHARD
, J
ERRY
L
EE
L
EWIS, AND
B
EATLES AS THE NUMBER-TWO BAND
. H
E WANTED TO GO IN WITH ME
. I
SAID FIFTY-FIFTY AND HE SAID
, “C
AN'T DO THAT, BUT
I'
LL DO HALF
.” T
HEN IT WAS DOWN TO 12.5 PERCENT, AND THAT WAS THE END OF THAT
. I
HAD TOO MANY MOUTHS TO FEED TO ENTER THAT MEASLY CONTRACT
. A
S
J
OHN LATER WROTE
, “L
IFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS
.” E
PSTEIN HAD NO INTENTIONS OF ANYONE BUT HIMSELF TAKING THE CREDIT
.

Leach carried on and promoted other groups during the years, never taking his eyes off the Beatles. He had hits and plenty of misses.

I
TURNED DOWN
H
ERMAN'S
H
ERMITS, THE
H
OLLIES
. O
NCE
I
WAS WORKED OUT
[
BY
E
PSTEIN
],
EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE BUSINESS SEEMED HOLLOW TO ME
. T
HERE WAS NO MORE IN ME FOR THAT
. M
Y WIFE WANTED ME TO COME
OUT OF THE BUSINESS AND LOOK AFTER THE FAMILY
. W
E HAD THREE KIDS IN THE FIRST FOUR YEARS
. I
DID END UP COMING OUT AND HAVE NO REGRETS AT ALL
. S
O AFTER THAT
I
LEFT AND WENT INTO A STATE AGENCY FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND THAT DIDN'T WORK OUT TOO WELL
. T
HEN
I
WENT INTO DRY PROOFING AND HAD ABOUT TWENTY, THIRTY PEOPLE WORKING FOR ME AND THAT WORKED WELL UNTIL ABOUT 1990, WHEN THE BUSINESS FAILED
. T
HEN
I
MORE OR LESS RETIRED, DECIDED TO WRITE MY BOOK
. M
Y WIFE DIDN'T WANT ME TO, AND WE DRIFTED APART, AND ENDED UP GETTING DIVORCED, BUT WE ARE STILL GOOD FRIENDS
.

It is historical irony that his huge success, “Operation Big Beat,” a big show at the Tower Ballroom, came the night after Brian Epstein walked into the Cavern to see the Beatles up close. And inevitably, that visit would be a bad omen for the future of Leach and the boys.

“Operation Big Beat was Sam's greatest success,” recalls former Beatle Pete Best. “It was thorough, and as promised, big, with so many bands.”

Best has warm feelings toward Leach and Allan Williams, two men who have carried on a competitive battle of words since the early sixties: “Sam is a wonderful man, but he made some mistakes along the way. Allan is mercurial. People here either love him or hate him.”

Like his mother, who “wanted to bring live music to the kids of Liverpool,” Pete respected Leach's desire to create new ideas, such as Operation Big Beat.

Like some from the arena of Liverpool music in the sixties, Leach, the Prince of Mathew Street, is hard not to like. He has a wonderful glow about him, proud of his place in history. He is hardly sad, irritable, or bitter about what happened, but very happy to share his story about one of the people left behind who made giant steps possible for the fledgling Beatles.

In the end, the gig at the Tower Ballroom was a key turning point, and Leach made it happen.

Has Leach ever gotten the credit he deserves?

There was a time when Paul McCartney called the period during 1961 and part of 1962 “the Sam Leach era.” Leach's accomplishments have been noted by select authors, but not all. There are times when the omissions of
history may be more important than the inclusions. An example: Some authors have practically written May Pang out of John Lennon's life story. She was, through her eighteen-month relationship with him, a powerful force in John Lennon's life. The same incredulous historical revision has happened to Sam Leach. There are those biographers who have not even mentioned him, and others who give his historic bookings and love for the group a brief mention, if that.

Few people report John Lennon's uncharacteristic tears when the Beatles and Leach parted ways, after Brian Epstein maneuvered him out of their lives. John had said, “Sam Leach was the pulse of Merseybeat. What he did, the rest copied.”

And that is true. The concert dates, and the amount of tickets sold, prove that in the early, pulsating rise of Mersey Beat, fans of the music would start buying up tickets whenever Leach's name was connected to a concert.

And the biggest omission of all?

The most thorough accounting ever of the Beatles, biased but important nevertheless, was
The Beatles Anthology
, in print and on video. In its accounting of the Liverpool years, there is not one mention of Sam Leach.

The anthology was produced and edited by the organization representing the surviving Beatles.

Sam Leach, often copied, was always loyal, creative, and hopeful. Like others left behind, the Prince of Mathew Street is often forgotten as the enemies of history prevail—foggy memories and omission making the real truth elusive.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE POLL

“. . . when I discovered that there were around forty votes for Rory Storm written in green ink in the
same
handwriting, I decided to disqualify them
.
This made the Beatles number one.”

—Bill Harry

“And by the way, Larry, forget about the counting method. The guys were the most favorite in Merseyside.”

—Tony Bramwell

L
ESS THAN TWO MONTHS AFTER
S
AM
L
EACH'S
T
OWER
B
ALLROOM SUCCESS
,
Bill Harry unleashed a crafty piece of journalism, backed by a public opinion survey that struck a raw nerve on the music scene. Was it a “scientific” survey?

There was a buzz on the streets—
Mersey Beat
was becoming “Mersey Beatles,” or so they said. It was true that the Beatles were featured heavily in Harry's popular new newspaper, but a look at most of the editions will show that Bill and girlfriend Virginia Sowry spread the wealth with significant coverage of all the big Merseyside groups, especially Gerry and the Pacemakers, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes.

The survey, though, became a catalyst.

When the January 4, 1962, edition of
Mersey Beat
hit the newsstands, its cover featured the headline “Beatles Top Poll!” and the tagline “Full Results Inside.” The cover story listed the boys as the number-one Merseyside band in a poll of readers, and the Beatles were elated. They thought, for sure, that the people at Decca would view it as another affirmation of their coming success.

In the meantime, with a heavy schedule at the Cavern, the Tower, and other assorted venues, the boys became even hotter after the
Mersey Beat
poll, which Harry carefully conducted.

“The survey was indeed a significant moment, signaling a local supremacy, but not necessarily a predictor of their rise to the top,” recalls Harry, who then describes the methodology. “We had a coupon inside each issue. When the completed coupons were filled in and sent to our office, Virginia and I counted them.”

But hold on. It's not that simple. Bill Harry says good-natured trickery was afoot. “Rory Storm and the Hurricanes [with drummer Ringo Starr], had the most votes. With my Beatles bias, I decided to go over the coupons again, and when I discovered that there were around forty votes for Rory Storm written in green ink in the
same
handwriting, I decided to disqualify them. This made the Beatles number one and Rory dropped to number four.”

There was more to it than that. Harry and Sowry launched their own investigation, of sorts.

“The news agent at the corner of Castle Street contacted me to tell me that someone had bought his entire stock of
Mersey Beats
and his description matched Joe Flannery, at that time manager of band leader Lee Curtis. Curtis is Flannery's brother. I realized that groups and their managers must have bought copies, and it later emerged that Paul McCartney admitted to doing the same. It was simply a case of keeping it honest, and fair.”

So how did the Beatles finish at number one?

“Considering the amount of votes we received and our knowledge of who was really popular, due to the fact that Virginia and I were out virtually seven nights a week going to various venues, I reckon that the poll results were the accurate mirror of the popularity of local bands.”

Was there a “margin of error,” as we now see in surveys? No. But Harry and Sowry were comfortable that the Beatles were really number one, even though Bill's confessed “Beatles bias” made it into the mix.

Young Tony Bramwell, who couldn't wait for each
Mersey Beat
copy, has distinct memories of the January 4 cover.

Soon to join Team Epstein, the future big-time promotion man understood the meaning of the story. “Let's face it; the guys had been struggling,” Bramwell says. “Even with their local successes, there wasn't yet an image of ‘owning' the territory, so to speak. This was a really big deal for me and my
mates to see them on the front cover of
Mersey Beat
. And by the way, Larry, forget about the counting method. The guys
were
the most favorite in Merseyside.”