In 1966, Robert Stigwood merged Brian’s agency at NEMS Enterprises with his own, which was an offer by Brian himself.
Lots of his staff were shocked and even angry; Stigwood’s way of working was the complete opposite of Brian’s. The tension around Brian’s staff, Robert Stigwood’s staff and the man himself grew within weeks.
They were angry at Stigwood, annoyed at Brian for even doing such a thing— and on top of that, Brian kept showing up late, cancelling meetings and have a rude attitude towards some of his staff workers.
Eventually, Brian started noticing what the impact was of this bold move of his— this is a quote from Ray Coleman’s book:
Brian had been offered representation of the Bee Gees early in 1967, but had felt too beleaguered by problems to concentrate on launching the act that would eventually score resounding successes as singers and songwriters. The group was passed to Stigwood, who saw their potential and, to the intense annoyance of Epstein, said of them:
“They'll be bigger than the Beatles.” Inside NEMS, a power-play began, caused by Brian's frequent absence. Stigwood began to push Geoffrey Ellis aside in all decisions; when Brian heard of that he was displeased.
Like Brian, Stigwood laid grandiose plans for his operations.
Launching the Bee Gees with an enormous press party in New York, he asked Nat Weiss to rent a yacht and stage a glamorous all-day event.
“Who are you going to charge it to?”asked Weiss. Bill it to my personal account, Stigwood replied. Epstein phoned Weiss from London that night. He had heard of the extravagant shindig. “Who is paying for this?” he asked tartly. “Oh, Robert told me to charge it to his personal account,” Weiss answered. “Those were his words.”
There was a silence before Epstein spoke icily.
“Number one, he works for me,” Brian began. “You're my partner. Number two, you're going to have to pay for this. Number three, Robert owes me £10,000 on a personal loan already. Number four, when the Bee Gees have come to America and earned a million dollars, then they can take a yachting trip.” Then he hung up.
Brian always admired many artists other than those he managed or discovered, particularly Cream and Georgie Fame. But he resented Stigwood's hustle with the Bee Gees. “He liked their music, and liked them personally,”says Weiss, “but when Robert described them as the next Beatles, Brian was furious.”
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