Editing Fifth Beatle (section)

===Brian Epstein===
{{Main|Brian Epstein}}

Brian Epstein, the band's manager from 1961 until his death in 1967, was instrumental in the Beatles' rise to global fame. Epstein "discovered" the band in Liverpool, saw their potential, and never wavered in his faith and commitment to them. He purposefully restricted his oversight of the band, limiting himself to business matters and public image, and gave the band free creative rein in their music. Epstein also doggedly sought a recording contract for the band in London at a crucial moment in their career, fighting their perception as provincial "[[Northern England|northern]]" musicians.

Epstein's death in essence marked the beginning of [[Breakup of the Beatles|the Beatles' dissolution]], as Lennon admitted later. Because he was not creatively involved with the band, Epstein was only infrequently called the "fifth Beatle", but over the years he and producer George Martin have been recognised as the two inner-circle members who most profoundly affected the band's career. In an interview in the 1990s describing Epstein's involvement in the band's rise to fame, Martin declared, "He's the fifth Beatle, if there ever was one."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rowan|first=Terry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FNvGBAAAQBAJ&dq=He%27s+the+fifth+Beatle%2C+if+there+ever+was+one.&pg=PA92|title=Penny Laine's Anthology|date=31 March 2015|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-105-58230-1|language=en}}</ref>

When the Beatles were awarded their [[Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|MBE]]s in 1965, Harrison said that a fifth medal should be given to Epstein since "MBE really stands for 'Mr Brian Epstein{{'"}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Miles|first=Barry|title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years|year=2001|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|isbn=0-7119-8308-9|page=197}}</ref>
McCartney summarised the importance of Epstein to the Beatles when he was interviewed in 1997 for a BBC documentary about Epstein. He stated: "If anyone was the fifth Beatle, it was Brian."<ref name="epstein1"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Brian Epstein Play to Open in Liverpool |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/9494823/Brian-Epstein-Play-to-Open-in-Liverpool.html |quote=Sir Paul McCartney said of him: 'If anyone was the Fifth Beatle, it was Brian.' |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |date=27 August 2012 |access-date=23 September 2012 }}</ref>

In 2013 Epstein was the subject of a graphic novel entitled ''[[The Fifth Beatle (graphic novel)|The Fifth Beatle]]'' by [[Vivek Tiwary]]. The book was released in November and spent several weeks on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]], reaching no. 1 in its third week of release.<ref>{{cite news |title=HARDCOVER GRAPHIC BOOKS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/hardcover-graphic-books/list.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=17 December 2013 |access-date=17 December 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Beatles and George Martin in studio 1966.JPG|thumb|left|275px|George Martin (second-right) working with the Beatles]]