The Fifth Beatle

The Beatles are undeniably the most influential musical act of all time. Although the line-up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Star performed for only seven years, during that time they created some of our best loved music. For a while all was happy with the fabulous four but undercurrents of discontent developed between them. Different members of the band have been blamed, but it was the sudden death of their business manager, Brian Epstein, at the age of 34, that is now being considered the primary cause of the breakup.

From time to time the curious idea about a “The Fifth Beatle” popped up in the tabloids. Paul McCartney said on two occasions that “if anyone [were] the fifth Beatle”, it was manager Brian Epstein.” Other names were offered for this role, but there was always the feeling that the band, despite their exceptional talent and obvious efforts to be engaging, could not have accomplished their phenomenal success on their own. It’s probably true, but why Epstein?

Brian Epstein may have loved the Beatles more than anyone else in the whole world. He was a Whitechapel record shop owner who was a bit older than any of the four and he offered to manage the group as they were just starting out. It was his first try at promotion, but within several months he had shaped their Fab image and booked them on the CBS The Ed Sullivan Show. His life is featured in Meet Brian Epstein, the Man Who Discovered The Beatles.

Beatle historian, Robert Rodriguez, states that Epstein kept the band focused amid touring dates and studio sessions. “The thing that really sets him apart from other management types of the era was he was never in it for the exploitation. He wasn’t in it to make his fortune off the Beatles’ back and hard work,” Rodriguez added, “He recognized that there was something special there and he needed to keep them on a certain trajectory. Which he did to his dying day.”

It was a shock to everyone when Epstein was found dead of an accidental drug overdose. He was only 32 years old. It was reported that the Beatles did not attend his funeral to allow the family privacy. In 2014 Epstein was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a “Non-Performer.” Maybe we will learn more about this “Fifth Beatle” in Midas Man, an Epstein biopic currently in production. Meanwhile we can explore the Dayology dynamics of the five Beatles.


#43 WED LIB
10/9/1940 
John Lennon

#51 THU GEM
6/18/1942 
Paul McCartney

#60 THU PIS
2/25/1943
George Harrison

#07 SUN CAN
7/7/1940
Ringo Star

Upon first inspection of this foursome, the only Beatles with obvious Dayology similarities are Paul and George. They were both born on Thursday and therefore have the same sort of expansive INNER selves. The two of them were good friends and, yes, it was Paul who brought George into the band, but there are other starry matters to consider. The SUN SIGNS energies of these two guys, Gemini and Pisces, are not so compatible for the long run. Gemini tends to be on and off extroverted while Pisces inclines toward a direction of steady introversion.

The strongest Beatle connections exist between the OUTER selves of John and Paul. Their SUN SIGNS, Libra and Gemini, are both of the AIR element and give them an ability to consider lofty thoughts and compose uplifting songs. And in a similar manner the WATER SIGNS of George and Ringo, Pisces and Cancer, add a sense of warmth and soft humor to the group’s public impact. It not hard to see that George was in nirvana exploring his drifty spiritual nature and Ringo was as happy as a clam providing the steady heart beat of group.


#39 WED VIR
9/19/1934
Brian Epstein

This analysis gels when when the Dayology Signature of the Beatle manager, Brian Epstein, is added to the mix. Epstein was born on a Wednesday in the Zodiac sign Gemini. Mercury is the ruler of both his INNER and OUTER Selves making him very bright and extremely concerned with details, especially those regarding marketing.

Brian Epstein was gay, although the fact was not revealed to the public until after his death. It didn’t make any difference to the Beatles. Nothing in the world could have made him a bigger fan and promoter. The outstanding Mercury influence reveals why Epstein related closely with the INNER self of John Lennon and the OUTER self of Paul McCartney, clearly making him the fifth Beatle.

Group Dynamics

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