YOU SAY GOODBYE
First manager of The Beatles Allan Williams dies aged 86
Williams fell out with the band in 1961 over payment of his 10 per cent commission
The man who discovered the Beatles has died at the age of 86.
Allan Williams was the Fab Four’s first manager and famously drove them from Liverpool to Hamburg in 1960 where they invented their unique sound.
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John Lennon and original Beatles drummer Stuart Sutcliffe had been frequent visitors to his coffee bar and music venue Jacaranda and played a few gigs there when they were first starting out.
Williams fell out with the band in 1961 over payment of his 10 per cent commission, but remained a big player in the Merseyside music scene.
In 2010, Williams told the : "I was just glad to have been there in the 60s, at the start of it all.
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"I've always been proud of The Beatles and proud and happy to have been just a small cog in the wheel of the most famous group in the world.
"A lot of people have told me 'I would have loved to have been there' and it was a lot of fun - but we didn't know we were making history.
Jacaranda – known as ‘The Jac’ – said Williams passing was “one of the saddest days in our history”.
A spokesman for the venue said: “His memory will live on through every band that plays our famous stage.”
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