Who else did tough-guy Beatles manager, Allen Klein, get rich record deals for?
Music manager Allen Klein, a no-holds-barred businessman who bulldozed his way into and out of deals with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, died Saturday in New York after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, a spokesman said. He was 77. During a career spanning more than 50 years, Klein enjoyed a reputation as a savvy gangster-like figure. But he also earned grudging respect for bullying labels into giving rich deals to his clients – the Animals, the Dave Clark Five and Herman’s Hermits. He became most famous – and later infamous – for signing on the Rolling Stones and then the Beatles. Both arrangements eventually spurred lawsuits, with some Beatles fans blaming Klein for contributing to the tensions that broke up the group. Klein once said John Lennon hired him to protect his interest in the Beatles because Lennon and wife Yoko Ono wanted “a real shark – someone to keep the other sharks away.” Sources:
