Brian Epstein’s Merseybeat hit composed in Golders Green
Liverpool's Gerry and The Pacemakers gave The Beatles' manager his first number one but it was written in NW11
Brigit Grant is the Jewish News Supplements Editor
Though The Beatles were the first band Brian Epstein ever managed, it was Gerry and The Pacemakers who delivered his first UK number one. Best of all the Mersey Beat hit, How Do You Do It? was written in Golders Green.That was where composer Mitch Murray lived with his parents in 1963 and his song features in Midas Man, the new biopic about Brian Epstein.
When Mitch saw the movie he was thrilled to hear his hit being sung first by Epstein’s assistant Alistair Taylor ( Milo Parker) and then as originally recorded by Gerry Marsden. “What a thrill it was for me,” said Mitch. “And so unexpected”.
Born Lionel Michael Stitcher in 1940, the song writer changed his name in 1968, which is when his father Eric realised selling handbags was not a thing for his music lover son. As the owners of a factory and handbag business, Mitch’s parents had hoped he would join the business, but he was only interested in playing the ukulele and writing songs.
“I had a go with the handbags, but the day came when my father said ‘you’re no good to me at the moment. Take some time off. And I’m not doing this because I’m generous. I’m doing this because I’m your father’. He didn’t really believe in me, but when I got my first number one, he had business cards printed for himself with the name Mitch Murray Snr.”
The road to that first number one was Denmark Street in WC2 which is where Mitch hung out with other aspiring songwriters such as Lionel Bart and if he wasn’t there he was outside The Savoy autograph hunting and chatting to Humphrey Bogart and Danny Kaye.
In time a collaboration with Les Reed who wrote It’s Not Unusual for Tom Jones led to writing and record releases with singer Cleo Laine and then Mitch began working with singer/songwriter Barry Mason of Delilah fame.
It was Barry who offered to share his appointment with Ron Richards, assistant to producer George Martin – a generous act that Mitch hasn’t forgotten. “It was a fabulous thing to do and he did it because he thought I’d written a terrific song.”
The song was How Do You Do It? which Mitch had already recorded with the then unknown Dave Clark Five in a small Denmark Street studio. The ‘meeting’ got the song to publisher Dick James and then to George Martin who wanted The Beatles to record it.
“It was the first one they did at Abbey Road, but they didn’t want to do it,” snipes Mitch who is ridiculously youthful at 84. “They said, ‘we can write better stuff than this’ to which George Martin said, and this is true because it’s in his book. ‘when you can write a song as good as this I’ll record it, but until then, this is what you will do.’”
But when Dick James played Mitch the recording; “I hated it. I told Dick it was terrible and they had screwed it up deliberately. I was told they were going back to the studio in September as George Martin wanted to try it again. But I told Dick, that they would never do it right because they’ were songwriters themselves and didn’t want to make mine hip. That’s when we agreed to find somebody who could do it really well.”
This was when Mitch met Brian Epstein. “I could tell was a good guy right away because I overheard him on the phone saying: ‘No, we can’t do that, it won’t be good for the fans’. For a manager to show concern for fans was rare and he also said sorry about The Beatles ‘thing’ but that he had the second biggest act in Liverpool, Gerry and the Pacemakers and asked me to have a listen.”
When Mitch arrived in Liverpool lunch was waiting in Brian’s office and so were The Beatles.“They were very polite blokes and when I came into the office, they all stood up. Very nice,”says Mitch who was roughly the same age. “Brian also played me The Beatles latest record Please Please Me which they released instead of mine.” But it was the demos by Gerry and The Pacemakers he was interested in and they were enough to convince Mitch to give the band a shot.
It was the right decision and How Do You Do It? produced by George Martin went straight to number one. “When I first heard the recording, I said it’s fantastic and Gerry Marsden’s voice was perfect. It sounded like an American record which most didn’t in those days. Gerry had his own presence and did it better than anybody could have done. “
It was the perfect writer band combo for manager Brian who got his first number one and for Mitch who then wrote the follow up single. In Golders Green.“My father by that time who had seen my song go to number one, and kindly started feeding me ideas on bits of paper with titles for songs and one was ‘Do it again. I like it’ ’.”
Gerry and The Pacemakers got their second number one with Mitch’s ‘I Like It’ on 16th June 63. The band were now a hot property and song writers clamoured to write for them – including Mitch.
“With two hits I thought I had a clear run at Gerry with my songs. Until the day I went to Dick James office and his secretary told me to wait in another office as he was in a meeting with Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Brian Epstein. I went in to find John sitting by himself. We shook hands and then he said, ‘if you get your song to Gerry I’ll thump you.’ It was said tongue in cheek, but I realised I was competing with John Lennon”.
Brian Epstein however was always supportive. “He was very helpful and all sorts of fingers in different pies and worked his magic to get Freddie and The Dreamers to America and on TV with my song I’m Telling You Now. It knocked The Supremes off the number one spot.”
The last time Mitch saw Brian Epstein was in a restaurant in New York. “We met by chance and I thanked him for what he did for Freddie and The Dreamers and what it meant for me. He really was a good guy, but beyond that I didn’t know much about him. We all knew he was gay, but that he’d also been engaged to a Jewish girl.I don’t remember where I was when I heard that he’d died, but it was tragic.”
Mitch wrote other UK hits, many with Peter Callander:Georgie Fame’s The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde, Cliff Richard’s Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha and Tony Christie’s Avenues and Alleyways which remain Baby boomer favourites. Among the 60s stars, Mitch remembers fondly is Dusty Springfield who his stage star daughter Maz Murray will play in November in a musical about the singer’s life. “Dusty always had to come close to recognise me because she was very short sighted.”
Being recognised is rare for most songwriters, but Mitch thinks there are less obvious rewards. “I remember being on the tube into town when a bloke began whistling. How do you do it? He didn’t know me from Adam, but he knew my song”.
And The Beatles remembered How Do You Do It? as they put the version they recorded in 1962 on their Anthology album 30 years later.To which Mitch responded: “Thank you Paul for buying me a house.” At the screening of Midas Man, Mitch was introduced to actor Jacob Fortune Lloyd who plays Brian Epstein in the film.
“Oh my,” said Mitch. “I haven’t seen you for 50 years”. “I’ve been away,” replied Jacob. “But I’m back now.” It was another memorably moving moment for the boy who wrote hits in Golders Green.
Midas Man is on Amazon Prime now
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