‘He’s terrified, panicked, can’t sleep’: the tragic, lonely death of Beatles manager Brian Epstein

Now, confronted with Epstein’s address book, and the revelatory list of contacts within, he saw a different story waiting to be told. “There’s such a strong sense of the gay community within the book,” says Kemp, “whether it’s Brian’s lawyer, David Jacobs, the people he brought down from Liverpool … or people in the book, like Robin Maugham, Somerset Maugham’s nephew, who all had gay relationships that were quite open in that they lived together.” 1967 – The World of Brian Epstein and The Beatles by Gary Kemp and Simon Halfon (HarperCollins, £25).