John Lennon pal recalls outing Brian Epstein
 

Just when you thought every facet of John Lennon?s life had been mined in the 25 years since his murder, a new gay twist has come to light. A report in the Liverpool Daily Post & Echo details how Beatles manager Brian Epstein was outed to Lennon by a friend and how Epstein threatened to take the friend to court over the ?highly malicious and defamatory? remark.

It was 1962, the Beatles did not yet have a record contract, and gay sex was still illegal in the United Kingdom. So when John Lennon?s art-school acquaintance, Ian Sharp, outed the Beatles? new manager, Brian Epstein, to Lennon and fellow Beatle Paul McCartney, Epstein?s lawyers sent Sharp a letter demanding a retraction. The acquaintance said he had heard of Epstein?s sexual orientation from a club owner he knew.

According to the Daily Post, Sharp asked Lennon and McCartney, ?Which one of you does [Epstein] fancy??

Sharp, who later changed his name to Richard Tate in order to pursue an acting career, told the newspaper, ?I was just joking. There was nothing malicious, nor homophobic, about it. John and I were just 21, and that was the way we spoke.?

Tate added, ?Thankfully, they didn?t use my other line. John had said, ?He?s not like that, is he?? and I replied, ?Don?t bend down to pick up the contract.??


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