Book

Author:	Andrew Cook
Title:	Capitol Gains
Subtitle:	The True Story Of How The Beatles Conquered America
Publisher:	The History Press
Country:	UK
Date:	23 Oct 2025
Format:	Hardcover
Genre:	Non-Fiction, Music
ISBN13 / Barcode:	9781803997285
Rating:	Rate
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
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Price Guide:	Valuation Page
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Notes

From the publisher's website (www link as at 28 January 2024):

February 1963 marked the Beatles’ breakthrough in Britain. However, by December, they were still no further forward than any other British act before them in conquering America.

How the Beatles were really signed by Capitol Records in late 1963, after 12 months of derision and rejection from the label, has remained the subject of much speculation over the years. Once the band had hit the big time in the US in February 1964, the truth was quickly papered over by their manager, Brian Epstein, and Capitol executives.

Now, for the first time, corporate and personal archives reveal the true story, and explain why Capitol believed that the British approach to the record industry was just as antiquated and flawed as its approach to other declining industries in the 1960s. The book explores why, as a consequence, Capitol decided they would need to re-mix many of the UK master tapes, create new US albums that were distinctly different in content, sleeve design and name to the UK versions.

Departmental memos show how Brian Epstein quickly found himself between a rock and a hard place, struggling to keep the peace between Capitol, who he knew were providing the lion’s share of the Beatles’ wealth, and were usually right on commercial and creative decisions, and the Beatles themselves.

This no holds barred account also explores how Capitol’s PR department struggled against the odds to extricate the Beatles from stories that threatened to damage their carefully cultivated image and harm record sales.

It also probes corporate accounts to discover the extent to which Capitol made the Beatles rich, and how a number of decisions made by the band and their manager ultimately drove them to the brink of bankruptcy in 1969.

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See Also

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Andrew Cook - The Ian Fleming Miscellany - The History Press - Hardcover - UK - 9780750960915 (2015)

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Christopher Sandford - 1964 - The History Press - Hardcover - UK - 9781803991238 (2024)

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The Beatles: An Illustrated Bibliography of Beatles-related books published in, scheduled for, or rumoured for 2024, and beyond - 146 Books - List by JPGR&B

The Beatles: An Illustrated Bibliography, from 1955 to 2027 - 2986 Books - List by JPGR&B

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