NEMS record store, Liverpool

Here I am stood at the former location of the Epstein's retail shop where Brian Epstein signed up relatively unknown rough-and-ready band currently called The Beatles. There's no blue plaque unfortunately and the building has been fully replaced.

Brian worked for the family business. The Epstein's were an affluent middle-class Jewish family and they'd been in retail from the 1930's. Their stores sold furniture but when Brian worked here they'd diversified into selling radiograms, television sets and washing machines. As British culture changed they foresaw what the public need and started selling records. In this store classical music was on the ground floor and popular music down in the basement. Brian was the store manager but he didn't know who The Beatles. One day a customer asked Brian for a record called My Bonnie by The Beatles. He didn't like losing a sale and made a note to find out more about the band. He learnt the record had been cut in Hamburg by a lively wayward bunch of lads who will gaining a following across Merseyside. On someone's recommendation he went to see an afternoon performance at The Cavern club. He knew that if he didn't sign them somebody else would. He signed them up and changed his own and much as theirs.

I had a stroll around that Sunday evening, a little wary of people asking for "lose change" should you stop for long. I had a photo of the building and worked out whereabouts the entrance to the shop was. Above it was Brian's office and on Wednesday 24th January 1962 he signed the first contract the Beatles ever had to make music (it later sold for £275,000.) I looked up at the building. For years the previous frontage had "NEMS" across it which stood for North End Music Stores. The building was demolished in the 1990's and a variety of shops appeared before it was replaced by the Forever 21 development you can see in the photos.

There's a well-known publicity photograph of the lads on the stairs leading up to the office. It was taken in January 1963 when they made a personal appearance in the shop before leaving to perform in Mold's Assembly Hall in north Wales. They were reluctant to go as they were being paid just £50 total (rather than £200.) The booking had been made months earlier by Mold Council when The Beatles were almost unknown. Brian was a man of integrity and insisted they honour the booking. It was the last time The Beatles played for £50.