And the delicious twist: getting turned down by Decca might have been the best thing that ever happened to them. Because if Decca had signed them that day, we might never have gotten the Beatles as we know them. No George Martin<\/strong>. Possibly no Ringo Starr<\/strong>. And perhaps no revolution in popular music.<\/p> So how did four future legends end up playing what would become the most famous failed audition of all time? Buckle up. This is a story about ambition, bad luck, worse timing, and the kind of persistence that changes the world. ✨ <\/p> This is Part 1. Part 2 comes tomorrow.<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Let\u2019s rewind to late 1961. The Beatles had been together for years, playing dingy clubs in Liverpool and rowdy bars in Hamburg, Germany. They\u2019d built a devoted local following, but outside of Merseyside, they were still nobodies. They needed two things desperately: a proper manager and a recording contract. In November 1961, they got the first one when Brian Epstein<\/strong> walked into their lives.<\/p> Epstein was an unlikely savior. He managed his family\u2019s record store, NEMS (North End Music Stores), one of the biggest in Northern England, but he\u2019d never managed a band before. He had no real show-business connections. But he instantly realized something more valuable: unshakeable belief that the Beatles were going to be huge.<\/strong> And he did had some leverage in the music biz\u2014as the manager of a major record retailer, the labels needed to keep him happy.<\/p> First, Epstein made securing a recording contract his number-one priority. And he threw himself into it with the fervor of a man possessed. He started making trips to London, knocking on every door he could find. And getting rejected. A lot.<\/p> Columbia said no. His Master\u2019s Voice (HMV) said no. Pye, Philips, and Oriole all passed. It must have been maddening. Here was Epstein, convinced he was managing the next big thing, and nobody in London would give him the time of day.<\/p> But then, in early December 1961, he got a foot in the door at Decca, one of the two biggest labels in the United Kingdom (the other being EMI). And Decca actually agreed to send someone up to Liverpool to see the band perform live.<\/p> Enter Mike Smith,<\/strong> a Decca A&R assistant. On December 13, 1961, Smith made the trip north to watch the Beatles perform at the Cavern Club, the cramped, sweaty basement venue where they\u2019d become local legends. Smith was impressed\u2014not necessarily by the music itself, but by the audience reaction.<\/strong> The kids were going ape for the Beatles. That was enough to convince him they were worth a studio test.<\/p> So Smith offered them an audition. New Year\u2019s Day, 1962. 11 am. Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London.<\/p> The Beatles were thrilled. Epstein was confident. This was it\u2014their big break was finally coming.<\/p> They had no idea what they were walking into. 🚗💨<\/p> New Year\u2019s Eve, 1961. While most of Britain was preparing to ring in 1962 with champagne and celebrations, four young musicians were climbing into a battered van for a nightmare journey to London.<\/p> Neil Aspinall<\/strong>\u2014their driver and roadie (and future head of Apple Corps, but that\u2019s another story)\u2014was behind the wheel. John Lennon<\/strong>, Paul McCartney<\/strong>, George Harrison<\/strong>, and drummer Pete Best<\/strong> piled in with all their gear. Epstein, ever the gentleman, chose to travel separately by train. Much more civilized. 🚂<\/p> The trip from Liverpool to London should have taken four, maybe five hours. But this was New Year\u2019s Eve. In a snowstorm. And Neil got lost.<\/p> The journey took ten hours.<\/strong><\/p> Imagine being crammed in a freezing van, navigating through a blizzard, knowing you have the most important audition of your life the next morning. The Beatles finally rolled into London around 10 pm and checked into the Royal Hotel in Russell Square (Woburn Place). Despite the \u201croyal\u201d name, it was far from palatial\u2014just a basic hotel for a band that was still scraping by.<\/p> New Year\u2019s Eve in London. Naturally, the Beatles decided to explore. They asked their way to Soho and ended up in a pub near Trafalgar Square, where they drank in the New Year with strangers. John Lennon later remembered arriving \u201cjust in time to see the drunks jumping in the Trafalgar Square fountain.\u201d 🍺<\/p> Not exactly the ideal preparation for an audition that could make or break their careers. But hey\u2014they were young, excited, and in the big city. How could they resist?<\/p> As Pete Best recalled in a 2012 interview with the BBC:<\/p> Brian Epstein read the riot act to us before we went down\u2014you know, \u2018be good little boys, you mustn’t be out after ten o’clock, you know.\u2019 And there we were in the middle of Trafalgar Square, drunk as skunks, you know, the advent of New Year’s Day.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote> January 1, 1962. The Beatles show up at Decca Studios at 165 Broadhurst Gardens in West Hampstead, ready to play their hearts out. The studio itself had history\u2014this was Studio 2, the same room where Lonnie Donegan had recorded \u201cRock Island Line\u201d in 1954, the song that had inspired virtually every British musician of the era, including the Beatles themselves. If they\u2019d known that detail, it might have given them courage. Or made them even more nervous. 🎙️<\/p> They arrived at 10 am, an hour early. Eager. Prepared. Ready to rock.<\/p> Mike Smith was not.<\/strong><\/p> Smith rolled in late, looking rough. He\u2019d spent New Year\u2019s Eve partying hard\u2014and it showed. The poor guy was nursing a brutal hangover. Worse, he was still recovering from injuries he\u2019d sustained in a car crash three days before Christmas. Cuts and bruises covered his face.<\/p> The Beatles were not amused. They\u2019d driven ten hours through a blizzard, spent the night in a mediocre hotel, and now the guy who was supposed to be evaluating them couldn\u2019t even show up on time? Not a great start. 😤<\/p> But it gets worse.<\/p> Smith took one look at the Beatles\u2019 equipment and declared it \u201csubstandard.\u201d He insisted they use Decca\u2019s in-house amplifiers instead of their own gear. If you know anything about musicians, you know this is a nightmare. Your equipment is your sound. It\u2019s what you\u2019re comfortable with. Being forced to use unfamiliar amps is like asking a chef to cook in someone else\u2019s kitchen with someone else\u2019s knives.<\/p> The Beatles were already nervous. This just cranked the anxiety up to eleven.<\/p> For the set list, Epstein had carefully selected fifteen songs designed to showcase the Beatles\u2019 versatility. The audition included three Lennon-McCartney originals\u2014a bold move for 1962, when most bands stuck to covering hits by other artists or \u201cprofessional\u201d songwriters:<\/p> \u201cLike Dreamers Do\u201d<\/strong> (Paul on vocals) – a hopeful, romantic number Paul had written The rest were covers, ranging from rock and roll standards to, well, some eclectic yet head-scratching choices:<\/p> \u201cMoney (That\u2019s What I Want)\u201d<\/strong> – they\u2019d later record this for With The Beatles<\/em><\/p><\/li> \u201cTill There Was You\u201d<\/strong> – the Broadway ballad from The Music Man<\/em><\/p><\/li> \u201cB\u00e9same Mucho\u201d<\/strong> – a Spanish bolero standard<\/p><\/li> \u201cThe Sheik of Araby\u201d<\/strong> – a 1920s jazz standard<\/p><\/li> Plus songs by the Coasters, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry<\/strong>, and more<\/p><\/li><\/ul> Paul sang seven songs. John sang four. George sang four. (Reportedly, George, the junior partner, delivered the best vocal performance of the day, despite the nerves.)<\/p> Here\u2019s where things get controversial. Years later, Lennon second-guessed Epstein for playing it too safe with the song choices. He felt they should have stuck to tunes from their live sets\u2014the raw, energetic rock and roll numbers like \u201cLong Tall Sally\u201d that made audiences go crazy. Instead, they were singing \u201cB\u00e9same Mucho\u201d and \u201cThe Sheik of Araby\u201d\u2014songs that showcased their range, but were a bit corny and didn\u2019t showcase much power.<\/p> Years later, Lennon emphasized the point, telling author Bob Spitz for his book The Beatles:<\/em><\/p> \u201cWe should have rocked like mad in there and shown what we\u2019re like when we\u2019re roused.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote> Whether that mattered remains debatable. Epstein was trying to prove the Beatles were more than just another rock band. He wanted to show they could handle different styles, different eras, different moods. And he wanted to prove they could write their own material\u2014still a rarity in 1962 pop music. 📝<\/p> McCartney, looking back years later, was diplomatic:<\/p> \u201cListening to the tapes, I can understand why we failed the Decca audition. We weren\u2019t that good, though there were some quite interesting and original things.\u201d (<\/em>From The Beatles Anthology.)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote> Here\u2019s how recording sessions typically worked at Decca: You came in, you recorded two to five songs, and then they hustled you out the door. Quick evaluation. Next.<\/p> The Beatles recorded fifteen songs.<\/strong><\/p> The session stretched from late morning into the afternoon, with a break for lunch. According to Mark Lewisohn\u2019s reporting in The Complete Beatles Chronicle<\/em>, it\u2019s unlikely the Beatles were given the opportunity to do more than one take of any song. Everything was recorded live on two-track tape. No overdubs. No second chances. Just play it, move on.<\/p> In retrospect, the fact that Decca let them record fifteen songs and extended the session into the afternoon suggests they were seriously considering signing them. Standard procedure would have been to record three songs and show them the door. But Decca invested time and tape. If they\u2019d said yes, they might have released some of these recordings as the Beatles\u2019 first singles.<\/p> Despite the nerves and the unfamiliar equipment, the Beatles thought it went reasonably well. When it was over, Mike Smith told Pete Best the tapes were \u201cterrific.\u201d Epstein was confident enough to take the boys out for a celebratory dinner that night. He even let them order wine. 🍷<\/p> They headed back to Liverpool believing they\u2019d crushed it. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the contract to arrive.<\/p> Mike Smith told them he\u2019d be in touch in \u201ca few weeks.\u201d Don\u2019t call us, we\u2019ll call you.<\/p> The Beatles went back to their regular schedule\u2014playing gigs around Liverpool, performing at the Cavern, continuing their relentless routine. Meanwhile, Epstein waited by the phone.<\/p> Days passed. Then weeks.<\/p> It turned out that on the same day the Beatles auditioned, Decca had also auditioned another band: Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, a group from Dagenham in East London.<\/p> Now the decision fell to Dick Rowe,<\/strong> Decca\u2019s head of A&R for singles. Rowe was a veteran of the industry\u2014he\u2019d discovered Billy Fury, he\u2019d worked with some of the biggest names in British pop. He\u2019d later become known as \u201cthe man with the golden ear\u201d for signing the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Moody Blues, the Zombies, <\/strong>and a string of more successful acts.<\/p> But in early February 1962, Dick Rowe had a choice to make: the Beatles or Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.<\/strong><\/p> According to Rowe\u2019s own account (as reported by The Beatles Bible<\/em> and other sources), he left the decision to Mike Smith:<\/p> \u201cI told Mike he\u2019d have to decide between them. It was up to him\u2014The Beatles or Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. He said, \u2018They\u2019re both good, but one\u2019s a local group, the other comes from Liverpool.\u2019 We decided it was better to take the local group. We could work with them more easily and stay closer in touch, as they came from Dagenham.\u201d<\/strong> 🎸<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote> Yep. The deciding factor wasn\u2019t the music. It was geography and gas money.<\/strong><\/p> Decca chose convenience over genius. And in early February 1962, they officially rejected the Beatles.<\/p> Now here\u2019s where the story gets muddy\u2014and legendary.<\/p> In Epstein\u2019s 1964 memoir A Cellarful of Noise<\/em> (ghostwritten by Derek Taylor<\/strong>), he claimed that Dick Rowe delivered the rejection with these now-immortal words:<\/p> \u201cGuitar groups are on their way out, Mr. Epstein.\u201d<\/strong><\/p> And: \u201cThe Beatles have no future in show business.\u201d<\/strong><\/p> And, just to twist the knife: \u201cYou have a good record business down there, Mr. Epstein. Why don\u2019t you go back to that?\u201d<\/p> But, as people who make horrible decisions sometimes do, Dick Rowe denied this narrative for the rest of his life <\/strong>(although George Harrison later confirmed his exact words in a 1995 interview for Beatles Anthology<\/em>.) <\/p> Until he died in 1986, Rowe insisted he\u2019d never said it. He argued that Epstein was either embellishing to make the story more dramatic for his book, or he was simply so pissed about the rejection that he misremembered it.<\/p> Who\u2019s telling the truth? Perhaps we\u2019ll probably never know. But consider this: Decca did <\/strong>sign Brian Poole and the Tremeloes\u2014who were also a \u201cguitar group.\u201d So if Rowe really believed guitar groups were finished, why would he sign another one? 🤔<\/p> The most likely explanation? The \u201cguitar groups are on the way out\u201d line was either a polite brush-off\u2014the 1960s equivalent of \u201cit\u2019s not you, it\u2019s me\u201d\u2014or it was invented later to spice up the story. Because let\u2019s face it: \u201cWe chose the other band because they lived closer\u201d doesn\u2019t have quite the same ring to it.<\/p> On February 6, 1962, Epstein had a lunch meeting with Dick Rowe and Decca\u2019s head of marketing. When they told him the Beatles had been rejected, Epstein, at the end of his rope, reportedly exclaimed: \u201cYou must be out of your tiny little minds!\u201d<\/strong><\/p> But he didn\u2019t stop there. Brian Epstein wasn\u2019t finished.<\/p> He continued making trips to London for more meetings with Decca. He even made an extraordinary promise: he would personally buy 3,000 copies of any Beatles single Decca released.<\/strong> He was so confident in the Beatles that he was willing to guarantee sales out of his own pocket. 💰<\/p> Dick Rowe didn\u2019t learn about this promise until much later. When he finally heard about it, he admitted: <\/p> \u201cI was never told about that at the time. The way economics were in the record business then, if we\u2019d been sure of selling 3,000 copies, we\u2019d have been forced to record them, whatever sort of group they were.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote> Decca also made a final offer: they\u2019d let Epstein fund a recording session himself\u2014costing about \u00a3100\u2014with producer Tony Meehan (the former drummer for the Shadows). But after a meeting with the proposed producer went poorly, Epstein declined.<\/p> At this point, Epstein had two things: crushing disappointment and a reel-to-reel tape containing fifteen professionally recorded Beatles songs. He left that meeting determined to use those recordings to find another label.<\/p> And that\u2019s when fate intervened. 🍀<\/p> Epstein took his tape to HMV on Oxford Street in London\u2014the flagship record store owned by EMI. On the first floor, they had a Personal Recording Department where customers could pay to have recordings transferred to 78 rpm acetate discs. Epstein figured he could use acetates to pitch the Beatles to other labels (much easier than lugging around a reel-to-reel tape machine.)<\/p> Enter Jim Foy,<\/strong> the disc-cutter working at HMV that day.<\/p> As Foy was cutting the acetates, he listened and he liked what he heard. When Epstein mentioned that three of the songs were original Lennon-McCartney compositions, Foy perked up even more. He asked Epstein if he\u2019d like to meet Sid Colman<\/strong>, the general manager of Ardmore & Beechwood\u2014a music publishing company that happened to be an EMI subsidiary, located right upstairs on the top floor of the HMV building.<\/p> Epstein went upstairs. Colman listened to the recordings and expressed interest in publishing the original Beatles compositions. But Epstein made it clear: he wasn\u2019t looking for a publishing deal. He wanted a recording contract.<\/strong><\/p> Colman made Epstein an offer: he\u2019d broker a meeting with George Martin,<\/strong> the A&R manager at Parlophone (an EMI subsidiary label), in exchange for a promise. If the Beatles did sign with EMI, Ardmore & Beechwood would get the publishing rights to their songs.<\/p> Epstein agreed. Just like that, a chance encounter with a disc-cutter who happened to like what he heard led to the connection that would change everything. 🎵<\/p> On February 13, 1962, Brian Epstein walked into EMI\u2019s head office on Manchester Square in London for a meeting with Martin, who was an interesting choice to evaluate the Beatles. He was the head of Parlophone,<\/strong> EMI\u2019s comedy and novelty label. Martin had produced records for Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, and Beyond the Fringe. He wasn\u2019t exactly a rock and roll guy. But he was willing to listen.<\/p> Martin later described that first meeting in his memoir. Epstein played him acetates of \u201cHello Little Girl\u201d and \u201cTill There Was You.\u201d And Martin was… underwhelmed. Here\u2019s how he remembered it:<\/p> \u201cTo start with, he gave me a big \u2018hype\u2019 about this marvellous group who were doing such great things in Liverpool. He told me how everybody up there thought they were the bee\u2019s knees. He even expressed surprise that I hadn\u2019t heard of them\u2014which, in the circumstances, was pretty bold \u2026 Then he played me his disc, and I first heard the sound of the Beatles. The recording, to put it kindly, was by no means a knockout.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote> The meeting ended with no firm commitment from Martin. Epstein left feeling cautiously optimistic, but Martin hadn\u2019t actually agreed to anything.<\/p> So what changed?<\/p> Nobody knows exactly what tipped the scales. Some accounts suggest Martin was impressed by Epstein\u2019s conviction\u2014the man\u2019s unshakeable belief that the Beatles would be huge. And as Martin later recounted, he was impressed by the personalities of the Beatles much more than their music. The bottom line was that Martin was struck with the confidence the Beatles had in their own songwriting,<\/strong> particularly the inclusion of three original compositions on the Decca tape. Again, that was rare in 1962.<\/p> Whatever the reason, on May 9, Martin told Epstein the news he\u2019d been chasing for six months: the Beatles had a record deal. 🎉<\/p> The paper was dated June 4, 1962,<\/strong> signed by Epstein and later by EMI\u2019s Thomas Humphrey Tilling. The terms were… not exactly generous:<\/p> The Beatles would receive a penny (1d) for each record sold, split four ways.<\/strong> That meant each member earned one farthing per copy. For singles sold outside the UK, the rate was even worse: half a penny, split four ways.<\/p> But Epstein didn\u2019t care about the money. He\u2019d gotten what he wanted: a recording contract with a major label. He could negotiate better terms later. (And he did\u2014in January 1967, the Beatles signed a new nine-year contract with much better royalty rates.)<\/p> The first recording session was scheduled for June 6, 1962, at Abbey Road.<\/p> Immediately after the May 9 meeting, Epstein hurried to the post office on nearby Circus Road and sent two telegrams. One went to the Beatles, who were in Hamburg performing at the Star-Club:<\/p> \u201cCongratulations Boys. EMI request recording session. Please rehearse new material.\u201d<\/strong><\/p> George Harrison, who woke up first that day, read the telegram and shared the news with the others. After six months of rejection, disappointment, and waiting, they\u2019d finally done it. 💪<\/p> But there was one more twist.<\/p> The June 6 session went reasonably well, but afterward, Martin expressed a concern to Epstein: <\/strong>he didn\u2019t think Pete Best was good enough. This wasn\u2019t personal\u2014it was standard practice in the industry to use experienced session drummers for recordings rather than the band\u2019s regular drummer. Martin wanted to bring in someone more polished for the actual records.<\/p> So Epstein had a problem. The Beatles had been playing with Pete Best for two years, he was part of the group. But now Martin was suggesting a change. And Epstein knew that if he wanted the Beatles to succeed with EMI, he needed to keep Martin happy.<\/p> There was another drummer the Beatles knew: Ringo Starr,<\/strong> who\u2019d been playing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, then the top band in Liverpool. Ringo had filled in for Pete a few times when Best was ill, and he\u2019d played on some Hamburg recordings with the Beatles. They liked him. He was experienced. And, it turned out, he was available.<\/p> Finally, on August 16, 1962\u2014more than two months after that first EMI session\u2014Epstein called Pete Best and Neil Aspinall to his office on Whitechapel Street and delivered the news: Pete was out. Ringo was in.<\/strong><\/p> Brutal. Pete Best had driven through a blizzard for the Decca audition. He\u2019d played on those recordings that eventually got them the EMI deal. He\u2019d been there through the Hamburg days, the Cavern performances, the grinding years of building an audience. He was popular with fans. And now, right on the cusp of success, he was being axed. 💔<\/p> Here\u2019s the strange silver lining to the Decca rejection: if the Beatles had signed with Decca in January 1962, they might never have ended up with Ringo.<\/strong> The drummer change only happened because George Martin raised concerns after that EMI audition. A different label, a different producer, and the Beatles might have stayed a four-piece with Pete Best on drums. Would they have become the Beatles we know? We\u2019ll never know. But it\u2019s hard to imagine \u201cA Hard Day\u2019s Night,\u201d \u201cA Ticket to Ride\u201d or \u201cAbbey Road\u201d and so much more without Ringo\u2019s distinctive drumming.<\/p> But by September 1962, the lineup was set: John, Paul, George, and Ringo. And on October 5, 1962, they released their first single on Parlophone: \u201cLove Me Do.\u201d<\/strong> It reached number 17 on the charts.<\/p> Three months later, in January 1963, they released \u201cPlease Please Me.\u201d<\/strong> It hit number one.<\/p> And the rest, as they say, is history. 🌟<\/p> SOURCES & REFERENCES:<\/strong><\/p> The Complete Beatles Chronicle<\/em> by Mark Lewisohn<\/p><\/li> A Cellarful of Noise<\/em> by Brian Epstein (ghostwritten by Derek Taylor), 1964<\/p><\/li> Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years<\/em> by Mark Lewisohn<\/p><\/li> The Beatles Bible (beatlesbible.com) – comprehensive Beatles history resource<\/p><\/li> Beatles Anthology documentary (1995) and accompanying album<\/p><\/li> Multiple interviews and accounts from George Martin, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Pete Best, and Dick Rowe published over the decades<\/p><\/li><\/ul> How Getting Rejected by Decca Records Became the Luckiest Break in Music History<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amazonpipp_noncename":"","amazon-product-isactive":"","amazon-product-single-asin":"","amazon-product-content-location":"","amazon-product-content-hook-override":"","amazon-product-excerpt-hook-override":"","amazon-product-singular-only":"","amazon-product-amazon-desc":"","amazon-product-show-gallery":"","amazon-product-show-features":"","amazon-product-newwindow":"","amazon-product-show-list-price":"","amazon-product-show-used-price":"","amazon-product-show-saved-amt":"","amazon-product-timestamp":"","amazon-product-new-title":"","amazon-product-use-cartURL":"","amazon_featured_post_meta_key":"","_amazon_featured_alt":"","amazon-product-template":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[33,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2x2Mt-ctp4p","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184323917"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184323917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184323917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194564242,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184323917\/revisions\/194564242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184323917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184323917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184323917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Act One: Brian Epstein\u2019s Mission Impossible<\/strong><\/h2>
Act Two: The Worst Road Trip Ever<\/strong><\/h2>
Act Three: New Year\u2019s Day at Decca<\/strong><\/h2>
The Songs They Chose<\/strong><\/h2>
The Session<\/strong><\/h2>
Act Four: The Waiting Game<\/strong><\/h2>
The Infamous Quote<\/strong><\/h2>
Epstein Refuses to Give Up<\/strong><\/h2>
Act Five: The Road to EMI<\/strong><\/h2>
Meeting George Martin<\/strong><\/h2>
The Plot Twist<\/strong><\/h2>
The Contract<\/strong><\/h2>
The Pete Best Situation<\/strong><\/h2>
Part 2 comes tomorrow.<\/h2>
Visit my Beatles Store:<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>
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