Book

Author:	Geoffrey Ellis
Title:	I Should Have Known Better
Subtitle:	A Life In Pop Management - The Beatles, Brian Epstein And Elton John
Publisher:	Thorogood Publishing
Country:	UK
Date:	29 Oct 2004
Format:	Hardcover
Genre:	Non-Fiction, Biography, Music
ISBN-10:	1854182196
ISBN-13:	9781854182197
Rating:	Rate
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	1 Owns
Price Guide:	Valuation Page
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210 pages. Book dimensions: ‎16.51 cms x 2.31 cms x 23.01 cms.

From Amazon:

Geoffrey Ellis spent forty years in the music business, working closely with the Beatles and Brian Epstein during the 60s, and Elton John and his management in the 70s. From an unrivalled position he has written a highly informed account of the music business from the 60s to the mid 90s and an insider's view of the careers of many of the most significant players. His insight is less than adulatory and often critical, in particular of the Beatles and Brian Epstein, his friend. During the 60s Geoffrey Ellis was Chief Executive of NEMS Enterprises, Brian Epstein's company, at the time when the Beatles became global superstars. His book contains insights and stories, many previously unpublished, concerning the often tortuous business and personal affairs of Epstein, and the aftermath of his death. There is also much about Elton John of whose management Ellis formed a vital part from the earliest days with Dick James Music and then with John Reid Enterprises, including a trenchant account of the High Court action brought by Elton John against Dick James, in the course of which Ellis himself spent two and a half days in the witness box.

Comments and Reviews


JPGR&B SUBS 3rd Dec 2022		Review Annotation: Geoffrey Ellis was a boyhood friend of Brian Epstein from Liverpool who became the latter's personal assistant in October 1964. He then became Chief Executive of NEMS Enterprises in 1965 and co-director of Dick James Music Ltd. following Epstein's death in 1967. Such close proximity suggests an interesting window into the day-to-day decision-making at NEMS. We are, however, disappointed - Ellis evidently cared little about what went on around him - or else has forgotten - not necessarily a great starting point for writing a memoir. Undoubtedly the 'swinging sixties' has been grossly mythologised, however Ellis certainly appears to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time for most of the time. For example, regarding the 'Sgt. Pepper' release party he states "I went to bed and to sleep quite early [...] There were twin beds in the bedroom, and I woke to find the late comedian, Kenny Everett, in the other bed. We had no conversation as, by the time I left the house, he had not yet surfaced" - wow, how interesting. Such writing led the music journalist of The Times Caitlin Moran to describe the book as "so bad it's good". Indeed, despite there already existing many utterly terrible Beatles books available by the time of this publication (2004), one should regard I Should Have Known Better as the Plan Nine From Outer Space of Beatles' texts. There are occasional moments of interest for the Beatles' researcher, but the author's personal wrath obscures any context. For example, Ellis evidently hated John Lennon. He mentions, but does not deliberate, Lennon's "scorn of the fans, his sharp tongue and his conscious nurturing of his 'working-class hero' image"; according to Ellis, Lennon was, apparently "too clever for his own good" and "unkind" to Cynthia. "I cannot overcome my distaste for his memory", he states - but why? We never find out. Utterly awful; could Geoffrey Ellis actually be the 'Ed Wood' of Beatles writers? I should have known better and left my money in my wallet. Michael Brocken Source: The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide To The Literature - Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis (The Beatle Works Ltd., 2012), with acknowledgement, and used here with permission from the authors for educational and historical purposes only. ✔︎ Helpful Review?

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