Neil Aspinall 1941 – 2008

Neil Aspinall has passed away in New York at age 66. He was receiving treatment for lung cancer. He was such a huge part of The Beatles success, it’s hard to overestimate how much he will be missed. Not only was he heavily involved in their business, but he was a close schoolmate with Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

He has been described as the “Fifth Beatle,” and here’s why…

Neil Aspinall was The Beatles first road manager in 1961, driving the group between gigs around Liverpool in his van. Later after Mal Evans started managing the band’s equipment, Neil went on to personal management, and also published about The Beatles recording sessions for their fan magazine. He also subbed as a studio musician and performed on “Yellow Submarine,” “Within You Without You,” “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” and “Magical Mystery Tour.”

Aspinall also managed Apple Corps from 1970 until last year, and oversaw many high profile lawsuits like the one between Apple Computers and EMI. He was fiercely loyal to The Beatles and fought to protect their copyrights, music and projects. He also had his own film company, and produced the music video for “Something.”

He is most widely acknowledged as the Executive Producer of the Beatles Anthology, the BBC Radio CD series, The Ones CD, and is credited with much of the band’s sales in the last 25 years.

News articles on Neil Aspinall:

nytimes.com

news.bbc.co.uk

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
Written by: Mike Withrow