Tony Barrow
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Anthony F. J. Barrow (11 May 1936 – 14 May 2016) was an English press officer who worked with
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
between 1962 and 1968. He coined the phrase "the Fab Four", first using it in an early press release.


Life


Early life

In the late 1950s, when teenagers
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
and
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
were putting together their earliest group in one part of
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Tony Barrow was presenting jazz bands and
skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...
-folk groups at local dance halls and clubs across town, in the south Lancashire suburb of Crosby. Educated locally at Merchant Taylors School he later studied languages at
Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
. In 1954, when he was still a 17-year-old sixth-form schoolboy, he landed his first regular freelance writing job as pop-rock record reviewer for the '' Liverpool Echo'', the largest-selling provincial evening newspaper in the UK.


Decca

At the beginning of the 1960s, while the Beatles worked in the Hamburg clubs, Barrow moved from Crosby to London to work for the Decca Record Company, where he wrote the liner notes that appeared on the back of LP album covers. From his new London base, he continued to contribute his weekly record column to the ''Liverpool Echo'', and when Liverpool record retailer Brian Epstein signed the Beatles to a management deal at the end of 1961, he contacted Barrow for professional advice. In a 1968 interview, Barrow recounted that Epstein asked him to write a column about the band. Barrow then arranged to get the Beatles an audition with Decca, who rejected them. That led to an informal arrangement whereby Barrow became the Beatles' part-time press-publicity consultant, which involved promoting the launch of the new EMI band from behind a desk at rival London record company Decca. His earliest task for Epstein was to co-ordinate a media publicity campaign to surround the release of the group's first UK single, " Love Me Do", on EMI's
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
label in October 1962. He was paid a one-off freelance fee of £20 to compile the Beatles' initial press kit.


NEMS

When Epstein promised to double his Decca salary, Barrow left the record company in May 1963 to join Epstein's new artists' management company, NEMS Enterprises, on a full-time basis. Barrow opened Epstein's first London office and, as head of the Press and Public Relations Division, began to promote the careers of not only the Beatles but also Epstein's other artists, such as Cilla Black,
Gerry & The Pacemakers Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat music, beat group prominent in the 1960s Beat music, Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early ...
, Billy J Kramer with the Dakotas and
The Fourmost The Fourmost are an English beat music, Merseybeat band that recorded in the 1960s. Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964. History Formation Guitarist/vocalist Brian O'Hara and best friend guitarist/vocalist Joey Bower (bor ...
. In view of his previous employment as a liner-note writer with Decca, it was taken for granted that he would do the same job for the Beatles and Epstein's other acts. Barrow saw Beatlemania as beginning with the band's appearance on '' Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' on 13 October 1963, at which point he no longer had to contact the press but had the press contacting him instead. It was Barrow's idea to give out Beatles Christmas greetings to their fan club members. Barrow thought that goodwill gesture might limit the damage done to the group's reputation by delays in replying to an ever-increasing volume of fan mail. The Beatles were three weeks behind in answering membership applications. At the time he said that he thought of how the Queen always sent out Yuletide greetings to her subjects every year on UK radio and TV, and he decided that the Beatles should "follow her fine example but in their own way". All members of the group's official fan club would receive an exclusive flexi-disc containing messages from John, Paul, George and Ringo. What started as a one-off damage limitation job grew into an eagerly anticipated annual event. In 1965 and 1966's, Barrow travelled around the globe with
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
,
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
, George Harrison and
Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
on the Beatles' biggest, most lucrative and most dangerous international concert tours, conducting their massive daily press conferences wherever they were on the road, accompanying them on their very private "summit of the giants" meeting with
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
at his home in Bel Air, California, and setting up the Fab Four's media interviews and photo shoots when they returned home. One of Barrow's final tasks as the Beatles' Press Officer was to compile and edit the strip-cartoon story booklet which was part of the " Magical Mystery Tour" recording package at the end of 1967.


After the Beatles

When the Beatles set up their own self-management operation, Apple Corps, in 1968, the year after Brian Epstein's death, Barrow's job as their publicist became redundant. He left NEMS Enterprises to set up his own independent show business PR consultancy, Tony Barrow International. Headquartered in London's Mayfair district, TBI and its sister company, Tony Barrow Management, represented many of Britain's entertainers and recording artists in the 1970s, including the Kinks, the Bay City Rollers, the New Seekers, Bob Monkhouse, and Hello, as well as handling the European tours of American artists, including David Cassidy,
Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...
, David Soul,
the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
,
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
, the Jackson Five,
Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
, and Neil Sedaka. In 1980, partly because he disliked the unsavory images portrayed by the era's new wave of punk bands, Tony Barrow quit the PR business to return to freelance journalism, writing various books, including a career guide, ''Inside The Music Business'' (co-authored with Julian Newby), and ''John, Paul, George, Ringo & Me'', his memoir of the 1960s. By 2007, he had become the last surviving professional writer from the Beatles' original inner circle of business aides and associates, and was continuing to take on selected writing and broadcasting assignments, including some directly linked to his years with the Beatles. Contrary to newspaper reports that Barrow died at his home in Morecambe,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, he actually died in the Royal Lancaster Infirmary on 14 May 2016, three days after his 80th birthday.


Books

* ''The Making of the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour'' (1999) * ''John, Paul, George, Ringo and Me: The Real Beatles Story'' (2006)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, Tony 1936 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Durham University The Beatles English public relations people People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby People from Crosby, Merseyside