Brian Samuel Epstein was born on September 19, 1934 in Liverpool, England. He is best remembered for managing the careers of several notable performers in the Sixties, such as Cilla Black, Billy J. Kramer, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and especially the Beatles.

Epstein's rich, Jewish, parents always hoped he would take over the family furniture business, but he was disinterested and originally aspired to be an actor. He went to London to study at the prestigious acting school, RADA.

However, he dropped out after a short time and went home to Liverpool where his family gave him a small section of their furniture store to set up a record shop. Within a few years, the small selection of jazz records would become a chain of stores known as North End Music Stores (NEMS) . When the shops expanded their catalogue to include American rock 'n roll, the business became increasingly more profitable for Epstein and he had quickly become a huge success.

One day, a local boy wandered into one of the NEMS shops and asked Epstein if they carried a record by the Beatles. Epstein had never heard of the local group and through one of his employees learned that the group played regularly at the Cavern Club, a small venue not far from the flagship NEMS store.

Epstein was persuaded to go see the group and was taken by their musical talents, as well as the reaction of the fans. He approached them after the show to propose a management contract, and as they say, the rest is history.

In general, a fanlisting is just a place for fans of a certain thing, such as a TV show, a band or in this case, a person, to come together to share their love. For more fanlistings, please visit TheFanlistings.org.

I decided to create a fanlisting for Brian Epstein because, as a Beatles fan, I believe that they owed their entire career to this extraordinary man. I'm also attending college as an entertainment management major, and I see Brian as my idol in the business and I hope to one day be as successful as he was.

The name MBE was chosen because when the Beatles received their MBE medals in 1965, Brian did not. That prompted George Harrison and Paul McCartney to quip that MBE actually stood for Mr. Brian Epstein and that they were receiving them in his honor.

The quote in the title bar, "Nothing is more important than this," is taken straight from Brian's mouth. He used the phrase frequently when the Beatles would hit certain milestones, such as playing at the Palladium in London and their 1964 US debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.