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"Brian was the worst cruiser in the world. He could never pick up anyone. People used to ask me about his gayness, [and] I would say, 'Не was the worst homosexual in the world.' I mean, he really was the least predatory homosexual I have ever met."—Nat Weiss via All You Need Is Love by Peter Brown.
“Brian really sailed into uncharted waters,” his friend Nat Weiss told me. “When Brian came to America, there were no groups that could fill stadiums. There were no groups that could fill Madison Square Garden. We had Elvis, but Brian said they’d be bigger than Elvis back in ’61, which I’m sure in some cases was misconstrued. The idea of putting together stadiums and large arenas, all of these things were new. He created a lot of these things. Nobody has come near to fashioning a phenomenon like he did, and it’s not a learned process. “I think the image of Brian was that of a very soft, sensitive person, which was not the case. He was a very strong-willed person. I remember when John Lennon refused to do an interview during a tour because the people out here were fascists or something like that, Brian went nose to nose with him. He took his tie and said, “John, you’re soft,” and stared him down. And you could see it, John backed away. Brian had full control, and they respected his thinking. Brian, in a way, saw them like his children. He understood them.”
The Secret Public: A Queer History of Pop, Jon Savage (2024)
this meltdown is very good acting. teary eyed bc ive bn there
Midas Man Reaction
I watched this using a google drive version from @skydiamonded thank you, thank you!
Spoilers under the cut!!!
Brian Epstein & Diz Gillespie's relationship
So I put together most of the quotes on Brian and John 'Diz' Gillespie's relationship from Peter Brown & Steven Gaines's book The Love You Make & Jim Irvin's MOJO article on Brian's death earlier to make it a bit easier for me to look at in full - I'll put it on here too if anyone wants to read.
(Some of the quotes from the MOJO article are in the BBC documentary The Brian Epstein Story. It's available on YouTube here but its also available on BBC iPlayer for the next three weeks in better quality)
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In spring 1965, Brian meets and quickly falls for 'Diz' Gillespie, a young Californian actor living in London, who soon moves into his Whaddon House flat.
'Dizz was an aspiring actor-singer in his early twenties, with dark hair, mischievous eyes and an impish, upturned nose. Brian was so taken with him he seized upon Dizz’s phantom acting career to play Svengali. … Using the excuse that Dizz was a NEMS artist, Brian paid many of his debts and began to dole out a small allowance from his own pocket. Naturally, all of Brian’s friends warned him against being used by this boy. “He may be manipulative,” Brian said, “but he’s different than most. There’s something special about him, something that I can’t name.”' - Peter Brown, The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of The Beatles (1983) p.172
Portmeirion
Portmeirion in Gwynedd, North-West Wales, a two-and-a-bit hours drive from Liverpool has a bit of interesting Beatles history attached to it. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 as an Italianate style village. He drew inspiration from a range of architectural styles, from classical and Gothic to Romanesque and Egyptian, to create the unique and eclectic village that stands to this day. (Watch him talk about the village here)
He was an advocate of rural preservation, amenity planning, industrial design and colourful architecture. "I think that Beauty, The Strange Necessity - as Rebecca West once called it - is something that matters profoundly to humanity, and that unless the race of man perishes from the earth, it will increasingly value that Grace, will seek it, and will ultimately attain it." - Sir Clough Williams-Ellis
Brian and George Martin visiting Portmeirion, 1966
Brian Epstein holidayed here often with family and friends, staying frequently until his death in 1967. Portmeirion was an important place of retreat for him. At the start of August 1966, Brian went there to recuperate from a serious bout of glandular fever after his doctor prescribed a quiet vacation to rest and recover from the intense stress he was under, among other physical ailments recieved during the tour.
Brian became good friends with Williams-Ellis. Staying in the Gatehouse cottage, close to the entrance to the village, Brian suggested that the property might benefit from a dining room where he could entertain guests. Sir Clough duly obliged, building a large and ostentatious room not entirely in keeping with the original cottage. Not only that but the fashion conscious Brian once commissioned a renovation of his room at the Gatehouse having complained that there was not enough space for his clothes when he came to stay in his cottage every summer.
Brian's room in the Gatehouse with wardrobes made to his design (photo: Alli Devine)
““He went to convalesce in Portmeirion, North Wales ... There he invited George Martin as a guest. The two men spent much time devising an idea for a new television series on pop music to rival the BBC’s existing Juke Box Jury. The essence of their programme was that a jury had to guess what the chart ratings were going to be each week. The live programme was to be geared to when the charts of the week were revealed, so that only the presenter would know the record positions. Epstein and Martin took the idea to the BBC’s Bill Cotton Jr. ‘Brian was terribly enthusiastic about it,’ says George Martin, ‘But Bill Cotton didn’t think it was worthwhile. He was working on another programme at that time.’ The Epstein/Martin programme had a suggested title of Pick the Pops.
Brian told his mother from Portmeririon by telephone that he was bored, that a break was essential before his forthcoming American trip. But his boredom and enforced rest had lasted a weekend when a phone call from Nat Weiss forced him back to reality.” The Man Who Made The Beatles, by Ray Coleman
“He went by himself to a luxury hotel in Portmeirion on the North West coast of Wales that overlooked the Sea, and wind-swept beach, as remote a place as you could get from London. Everyone’s adcice was the same: try not to worry.” He had been there only four days before uproar errupted over John’s Jesus comments. Brian left Portmeirion right away to soothe the chaos.
“At the time, Brian was in Portmeirion, Wales, and he was ill. As the evening went on and I was getting all these calls, I called Portmeirion in the middle of the night and said, 'Something has to be done about this.’ And he said, is it serious?’ And I said, 'I think it’s so serious that you have to come over here.’The next day he flew over and I met him at the airport. The first thing he said to me was, 'How much would it take to cancel the tour?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know. Maybe a million dollars.’ He was so concerned about anything happening to any of the Beatles.” Nat Weiss, In My Life: The Brian Epstein Story by Debbie Geller
Patrick McGoohan chose the village as the setting for his TV series the Prisoner, which started shooting there in 1966 (he had filmed scenes for an earlier series there too, Danger Man, known as Secret Agent in the US). The Beatles were fans of the show, enjoying it's other-worldly setting, intriguing concept and the anti-establishment struggle of the lead character. George mentioned the Prisoner in his book, I Me Mine. Paul has reportedly stayed there, and Mike McCartney has also stayed there and loves it.
George Harrison loved Portmeirion and famously celebrated his 50th birthday in the village in February 1993. George originally wanted to stay in the Watch House, one of the village's most popular cottages which is high up on the cliff side of the upper part of the village. However the Watch House only has a low wall around it so his security men persuaded him to stay in the much safer Peacock Suite of the main hotel, where Brian had entertained dinner guests all those years ago.
It was also during this stay in Portmeirion that George was filmed for several interviews which were used in the The Beatles Anthology and had some pictures taken in the mirror room.
More footage of the place + Beatles history here.
of course he was the emperor 😭😭😭 love that
