Capitol Gains - by Andrew Cook (Hardcover)

About the Book

The first book to reveal the true story of how the Beatles broke the American music market to become the biggest band in the world

Book Synopsis

February 1963 marked the Beatles' breakthrough in Britain, but by December, they hadn't conquered America. Capitol Records signed them in late 1963 after a year of rejection. When the Beatles hit big in the U.S. in February 1964, their manager, Brian Epstein, and Capitol executives obscured the true story, but corporate and personal archives now reveal why Capitol viewed the British record industry as outdated and decided to remix UK master tapes and create distinct U.S. albums and how Brian Epstein struggled to balance Capitol's commercial decisions with the Beatles' interests. This account explores Capitol's PR efforts to protect the Beatles' image and examines how Capitol's decisions made the Beatles wealthy. It also reveals how choices by the band and their manager nearly led to bankruptcy in 1969.

About the Author

Andrew Cook is an author and TV consultant with a degree in History and Ancient History. He was a program director of the Hansard Scholars Program for the University of London. Andrew has written for The Times, Guardian, Independent, BBC History Magazine and History Today. His previous books include On His Majesty's Secret Service (Tempus, 2002); Ace of Spies (Tempus, 2003); M: MI5's First Spymaster (Tempus, 2006); The Great Train Robbery (The History Press, 2013); and 1963: That Was the Year That Was (The History Press, 2013).