Neil Aspinall

[Analogman]

Apple Corps Head Neil Aspinall Dies

March 24, 2008, 1:00 PM ET

 

Neil Aspinall, a longtime friend and business associate of the Beatles, has died in New York. He was 66. Aspinall died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he had been receiving treatment.

 

His death was announced in a statement released by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, and the band's Apple Corps Ltd. company, of which Aspinall had been the head.

 

"All his friends and loved ones will greatly miss him, but will always retain the fondest memories of a great man," the statement said. Aspinall stepped down last year as chief executive of Apple Corps, the guardian of the Beatles' commercial interests.

 

A Liverpool school friend of McCartney and Harrison, Aspinall was the Beatles' first road manager and would drive them to gigs in his van. He later became their personal assistant, and in 1968 was given a management role at Apple Records, the band's own record label.

 

As head of Apple Corps, Aspinall was the executive producer of the hugely successful "Beatles Anthology" album and was behind other successes, including the "Beatles 1" album.

 

"As a loyal friend, confidant and chief executive, Neil's trusting stewardship and guidance has left a far-reaching legacy for generations to come," the band's statement said.

 

 

Aspinall, born Oct. 23, 1942, was a childhood friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, first meeting them when they were all students at the Liverpool Institute. He was hired as the road manager for The Beatles, and was also The Beatles' assistant after they stopped touring in 1966. He is now best known as the manager of Apple Corps Ltd. Schooled as an accountant he was appointed director of Apple in it's chaotic early years as The Beatles were in the process of breaking up. (He was briefly fired and reinstated by Allen Klein when he was brought in to "clean house." He's spent more time with the band than about anyone else not in the band.

 

Neil even contributed to a few Beatles recordings, by playing tambura on "Within You Without You", harmonica on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", and backup vocals on "Yellow Submarine". I have heard that Billy Shears may have been a reference to Neil Aspinall.

 

In the early 1990s, Aspinall was the executive producer for The Beatles Anthology. It seems that the break up hasn't slowed down Neil Aspinall at all, probably quite the opposite as he is as of this writing (April 2006) busy re-mastering the entire Beatles catalog and preparing the Beatles' music for legal Internet downloading (The Beatles have been notoriously unavailable for downloading via the net).

 

This quote by Neil Aspinall is about a recent law suit against EMI, and shows how involved Neil still is in The Beatles' affairs:

 

[cryptique]

Aw man. Another member of that revered circle down. RIP, Neil.

[Twisted Acres]

Godspeed, Neil.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

I was gonna write a post about the passing of Norman Smith a couple of weeks ago...but it is beginning to not be worth the effort to start an original post. Seems like I don't get a lot of responses.

[Sir Stewart]

He was as close to the magic as anybody outside of the Fab Four. RIP

[Analogman]

He also fathered a child with Pete Best's mother, Mona Best.

[Elixir Sue]

Sad news.

[bobbob1313]

RIP

[Analogman]

At least he did not end up like Mal Evans:

 

Evans was shot and killed by the police on 5 January 1976, in his rented duplex at 8122 W. 4th Street in Los Angeles. The officers mistakenly believed that the air pistol Evans was holding was a rifle. Before his death Evans was working on a book of memoirs called Living The Beatles' Legend, which he was supposed to deliver to publishers Grosset and Dunlap on 12 January 1976. Friends said that Evans was depressed about his separation from his wife Lil Evans

[sgtpepper64]

Very sad

[Somnambulist]

I recently finished reading The Beatles Anthology and you really get an idea of how close Neil was with the band. Of all the people associated with the Beatles, he would have been the only other one to recall what Beatlemania was actually like.