Allan Williams to release autobiographical CD Update (9/8/00) We've heard the CD and enjoyed listening to Williams' tales of the Beatles' earliest days. It's hard to believe that John and Stu once were painting toilets to make a living. Some of the stories Williams recounts have become Beatle legends, but this disc gives you the opportunity to hear him tell it firsthand. A good purchase.

Update (8/29/00) The CD's press release:

PRESS RELEASE 25/08/00

"When we started off we had a manager in Liverpool called Allan Williams. He was a great guy, a really good motivator and very good for us at the time." --- (Sir Paul McCartney) The Beatles Anthology

It was forty years ago today…

The Beatles had been working for Liverpool club boss Allan Williams cleaning the toilets and painting the walls. In August 1960 Williams decided that the fledgling rock and roll band were ready for better things. He became their manager and arranged for them to play in Hamburg. Known in Liverpool as 'that bum group' The Beatles spent their time abroad learning their trade. On their return to Liverpool they were accomplished musicians and ready to take on the world.

Now the surviving Beatles are billionaires while 70-year-old Allan Williams is still in Liverpool living off his old age pension. Willams said 'There have been so many myths regarding the early years of 'The Beatles' that I thought the time was right to put the record straight. Numerous documentaries have been made about them where I don't even get a mention. Even in my home town of Liverpool, people doubted my involment. It wasn't until McCartney actually acknowledged my role as manager in the 'Anthology' that my part in their success was taken seriously'.

Forty years on, Williams has blown the lid off the early days of the Fab Four. Find out how he met The Beatles at his club 'The Jacaranda'. Learn which beatle came back to him for advice, fearful that his friends were overshadowing him. And did Brian Epstein brush Williams aside to take The Beatles to stardom? In an exclusive hour-long interview he tells the real Beatles story.

The CD 'The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away' is launched on August 25th to coincide with this year's Mathew Street Festival in Liverpool. It is a story no Beatles fan will want to miss. Available to buy from : http://www.bandline.net.

Update (8/27/00) Ananova reports that Williams lives off a state pension these days. His CD is available online through http://www.bandline.net. (Thanks to Wendy Starr.)

  • Ananova: Beatles' first manager to put record straight
  • The CD's official webpage

    (8/25/00) Former Beatles manager Allan Williams has released a CD, "The Man Who Gave the Beatles Away," also the title of a book he published in 1975. The disc, reports the Daily Mail, is an hourlong story of the Fabs' early days. (Thanks to Wendy Starr.)

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