MONDAY MARCH 24th
2008 - PRESS RELEASE - IMMEDIATE
Released on behalf of the family of Neil Aspinall
Neil Aspinall, The Beatles' friend, guide and Apple mastermind, has died.
One of
the great legends of the music business, Neil Aspinall,
has died in
He was
66. His wife Suzy and his five children were with him as he passed over.
Neil's
family said today: "He was the centre of our universe and still is".
Neil Aspinall was the man who was closer to all of The Beatles
than anyone. Under his creative and caring direction, The
Beatles business phenomenon and its trademark Apple transcended far beyond
the Sixties.
He was
the Beatles' friend who became their roadie who became the chief of their
empire and the unassuming, modernising mastermind behind the band's
enduring appeal and influence for four generations.
Although
he would deny it, he was long considered to be "the real Fifth
Beatle" by the music and entertainment industries which for 40
years revered and respected him as one of the wisest men in the
record business.
Today
Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr paid tribute
to "a loyal friend and a great man".
In a
statement on behalf of Paul, Ringo, Yoko Ono and
Olivia Harrison, Apple Corps said today: "The Beatles and the entire Apple
Corps family, both past and present, wish to extend their greatest sympathy to
the family of Neil Aspinall. As a loyal friend,
confidant and chief executive, Neil's trusting stewardship and guidance has
left a far-reaching legacy for generations to come. All his friends and loved
ones will greatly miss him but will always retain the fondest memories of a
great man".
Neil
was born in October 1941 to Liverpool parents evacuated to Prestatyn,
Although
he studied for and briefly became an accountant, when his friends later formed
The Beatles with Pete Best and then Ringo Starr,
Neil remained at the centre of the gang that was to change the world.
Always he was right at the Beatles side; captaining their flagship
Apple for 40 years after beginning as their first road manager and
driver of their old Commer van, doubling up as The
Beatles' minder, spotlight operator, confidante, fixer, personal
assistant and, moreover, their mate.
In a
rare interview, Neil once said "People used to say to me then 'What do you
do?' I'd stopped being an accountant or pretending to be one by this time and I
said 'I drive the band around' and they'd say 'Yeah - I know that, but what do
you do for a living?' Two years later, the same people were saying 'You lucky git, Neil'".
In
1964 during the making of The Beatles movie 'A Hard Day's Night', Neil met his
future wife Suzy. They were married in 1968. Neil was a very proud father and
grandfather.
,
Following the
death of The Beatles manager Brian Epstein in 1967, Neil was asked by the band
to take over the management of their company Apple Corps when it was founded in
1968. Typically, he agreed on condition that he would manage the
corporation "only until they found somebody else". He
remained the chief of Apple Corps until last year.
Shrewd,
innovative and totally-trusted, Neil was the unseen architect of
the reinvention of the post-Sixties Beatles, first with The
Beatles At The BBC cd in the
mid-90s, followed by the record-breaking Beatles
Anthology and Beatles 1 albums.
As the
keeper of The Beatles flame and protector of their legend, it was Neil who
quietly acquired for Apple the Beatles rights back to countless
photographs and film footage that enabled the making of the
Grammy-winning Beatles Anthology TV and video series and the band's celebrated autobiographry.
It was
also Neil who masterminded the modern merchandising of The Beatles, notably
with the relaunch of The Beatles Yellow
Submarine film and CD, making it a bigger success in the 90s than it had
originally been in the Sixties. From Let It Be Naked to The Beatles'
recent Cirque du Soleil show
hit Love, to every Beatles business success since the band broke up in
1970, Neil Aspinall steered the ship -
and the submarine - always ensuring the Beatles' strong bond
with Liverpool in every venture.
It has
been reported that during the last 20 years of Neil's time at the helm of Apple
Corps, The Beatles sold in excess of 70 million albums.
Although
modest in any claim of his achievements, his quick and dry wit
was amused by a comment made in The Observer newspaper during the
hugely-successful 1995-96 Beatles Anthology project. The multi-media
project, of which Neil was executive producer, once again
cemented the Sixties band's dominance of the music scene around the world
- "the only band to have become bigger
than The Beatles is The Beatles", commented The Observer on the
Anthology-led resurgence of Fab.
His
friend, Apple aide and ABC TV producer David Saltz
said today: "Neil was the most brilliant and inspirational guy that everybody
just gravitated around; he had an amazing mind and he was a very groovy
guy".
Neil Aspinall's wise, commonsense approach to what he
dubbed "not the music business but the Beatles
business" commanded great affection and respect in all who had the privilege
of working with him but he was an intensely-private and naturally modest
man in both his professional and personal lives, never taking a bow
himself. Neil avoided all personal publicity and always refused requests for
interviews, pointing the credit to the band who made
the records.
In The
Beatles Anthology Neil said: "My happiest memories of being with the band
were some of the laughs that we had backstage and in dressing rooms when nobody
else was around and we were swapping jokes together. No big deal, really. It
was those little personal things that are my favourite moments. We always had a
laugh".
Besides
running Apple Corps, Neil created Standby Films with Suzy - makers of
the acclaimed 1999 Jimi Hendrix movie, Hendrix: Band Of Gypsys. Neil was also one
of the co-founders of Paul McCartney's performing arts university LIPA, now housed in the building of their
old school.
Few
outside Neil's circle knew of his own talent as a wry artist with
coloured inks - but now an exhibition of his previously-never-before-seen
work is to be held on a date to be announced.
Neil Aspinall fell
ill to lung cancer two months ago. He has been under care at the
Sloan-Kettering hospital in