5 People Who Could Be Considered The Fifth Beatle

The term “Fifth Beatle” has usually been used to refer to a select group of individuals who have played roles in the success of The Beatles at various different stages of their career.

Normally, those recognised with this informal title look upon it with great pride. After all, it is an honour to be held in such high esteem alongside the greatest musical group of all time.

Fans, critics, and even The Beatles themselves have used the term to describe various people whom they have deemed to have been instrumental in their success. The individuals who have fallen into this category have included fellow musicians, producers, management, and others who were important in the members’ lives.

In this list, we will look at five people who can stake the best claim to being known as the Fifth Beatle. This list will take into consideration each individual’s association with the group, what role they played and how recognised they were by the group themselves.

So without further ado, let’s begin.

5. Neil Aspinall

Neil Aspinall has been associated with The Beatles from before they were even a group till long after their dissolution. In many ways, Aspinall can say that he was right in the trenches alongside the group from start to finish.

Aspinall’s involvement with the band was both professional and personal. A schoolmate of George Harrison, Aspinall quickly became friends with The Beatles future lead guitarist. Soon after, he was introduced to John Lennon and former member Pete Best and began a close friendship with them as well. He would also move into Best’s home where he rented a room.

An accountant by training, Aspinall would help out from time to time, driving the group around and helping to pick stuff for them when needed. However, as the band began to pick up steam, he quit his job and worked for The Beatles full-time as their Road Manager.

In the years that followed, Aspinall would be promoted to the band’s personal assistant, worked as their interim manager following the death of Brian Epstein, and eventually became the CEO of the band’s record company, Apple Corp. Despite his rise up the ranks, he still found time to drive his friends around on occasion.

Aspinall was part of many crucial moments in the band’s history. He drove them to their famous Decca audition, followed them on their first trip to America, and procured many of the interesting items seen on the iconic cover of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band among others. On a more personal note, he also entered into a brief relationship with Pete Best’s mother, Mona, and fathered a child with her named Roag.

It seemed that as the years went on, Aspinall’s life became more and more intertwined with The Beatles. George Harrison would go on to acknowledge Aspinall and Derek Taylor as the only two people deserving of the moniker Fifth Beatle. The other members have also spoken very fondly of Aspinall’s role in their careers. A loyal employee and a good friend, Neil Aspinall is a very deserving, albeit underrated contender for the title of Fifth Beatle.

4. Billy Preston

One of the most prolific session musicians of the 1960s, Billy Preston befriended The Beatles shortly after they became superstars in 1962. As the years went on, Preston would associate with them socially and lend a bit of his musical expertise when needed.

However, Preston’s biggest contributions to the band would come right at the tail end of their run. In 1969, tensions between The Beatles were at an all-time high. So much so that George Harrison briefly left the group. After being convinced to return, Harrison agreed on the condition that Preston be invited to play with the group.

Harrison believed that the presence of an outside musician would help defuse the tension between the band and keep them tight musically at the same time. He was right. Preston played on many tracks for the Let It Be album, most memorably on its titular song and “Get Back,” in which Preston became the only artist to be credited alongside The Beatles in any of their songs.

So impressed were the band with Preston’s skill and their chemistry with him, that he was invited back to play on their infamous rooftop concert. John Lennon in particular enjoyed working with Preston so much that he even invited him to join the group permanently as its fifth member. However, he was eventually dissuaded from doing so by Paul McCartney.

Even after The Beatles broke up, Preston maintained friendships with its members and continued to work closely with them on their various solo projects. As The Beatles’ most prominent musical collaborator, he too is indeed deserving of the moniker of the Fifth Beatle.

3. Stuart Sutcliffe

If we took the term “Fifth Beatle” at face value, then Stuart Sutcliffe would be the only person deserving of the title. Long before they became the Fab Four we know today, The Beatles were a five-piece band with Sutcliffe being the latest member to join.

Thus, Stuart Sutcliffe can lay claim to the moniker for being the only “true” Fifth Beatle in a more literal sense as he was officially part of the group when it was a five-piece band. Aside from his actual membership in the group, Sutcliffe is known for having played a crucial role in the earliest days of the band.

A college friend of John Lennon, it is widely believed that Sutcliffe was the one who came up with the group’s name. While brainstorming with Lennon over possible names for the group, they eventually settled on The Beatles. Sutcliffe became the band’s bassist and also acted behind the scenes as an agent to help the band book gigs.

Sutcliffe was noticeably different from the rest of his bandmates. While the rest of The Beatles were native Liverpudlians, Sutcliffe was Scottish but was raised in Liverpool. He also had a quieter, more mysterious demeanor and was the only member of the group to wear sunglasses on stage. What he had in presence, he lacked in ability.

Sutcliffe was a competent albeit unremarkable musician and everyone knew that his true passion was in art. Sutcliffe would leave the band on fairly amicable terms in order to further his studies in Hamburg, passing on the role of bassist to Paul McCartney. Sutcliffe even lent McCartney his bass but instructed the left-hander to not change the strings, thus forcing him to essentially play it “upside-down”.

Sutcliffe spent the remainder of his life mostly in Germany where he had fallen in love with Astrid Kirchherr. He enrolled into an art college there and began to study in the hopes of being an art teacher. Although there were little ill-feelings between Sutcliffe and his ex-bandmates, he and Lennon remained exceptionally close.

Sutcliffe excelled in art school and he was noted by his teachers to have had the potential to become a successful artist. However, he died suddenly in 1962 of an aneurysm. He was just 21 years old. In the years to follow, the band would pay tribute to their old friend by featuring a photo of him on the cover of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Those close to the group often mentioned how Lennon would very often continue to speak fondly of his old friend and bandmate.

Although Sutcliffe’s time with The Beatles was short, it was important. Without him, we may very well be calling the greatest band of all time by a very different name. Besides, what is a list about the Fifth Beatle without the fifth person to actually join The Beatles?

2. George Martin

By the early 60s, The Beatles were without a doubt a talented group and had the potential to go far. However, their talent was still unrefined and their potential had yet to be fully realised. Enter Sir George Martin, the perfect man to harvest that raw talent.

When he first met the band in 1961, Martin had worked as producer for over a decade. He was experienced in producing for television and comedies and was also a formally trained musician and arranger. Although he did not see much promise in the group as it was, he sensed the untapped potential within them.

The Beatles were like ripe grapes that Martin could help turn into the finest wine. The band’s natural talent was refined by Martin’s formal musical training while their inexperience was covered by his years as a producer. Throughout their time together, Martin became a close member of the band’s inner circle and the older producer grew into a friend and mentor of sorts to the group.

When The Beatles chose to depart from more conventional rock n roll music and into a more experimental direction, Martin supported them and helped them with arranging and composing the various orchestral parts in songs such as A Day In The Life and Eleanor Rigby. When necessary, Martin himself would perform on the records. This willingness to change and keep up with the times made him very popular amongst many musicians.

Even after the band broke up and Sir George’s reputation grew, he continued to maintain his friendship with the members and worked with them on occasion. Up until his death in 2016 at the age of 90, Martin continued to work on various Beatles related projects.

Each member of The Fab Four have credited Martin as being an absolutely crucial part of their success. Paul McCartney himself has stated that Martin was the most deserving person of the Fifth Beatle Moniker. After all, if you were to hear any famous Beatles hit, there’s a very good chance that George Martin had something to do with it. While few could contest his claim to the title of the Fifth Beatle, George Martin himself would deem one person more worthy of it.

1. Brian Epstein

Arguably the most important figure in the success of The Beatles, Brian Epstein served as the band’s manager from 1962 until his death in 1967. Just as The Beatles were in their early days, Epstein had no experience as a manager whatsoever. However, he was a shrewd businessman and had an eye for spotting talent.

Owning a local record shop in Liverpool, Epstein was in-touch with the music scene and was somewhat well known among the local groups. Having seen The Beatles perform from time to time at The Cavern Club, Epstein believed that even with his own managerial inexperience, he could take them far.

Despite being warned against managing the up-and-coming group by his predecessor and drawing the ire of the bands’ relatives, Epstein was persistent and secured a management contract with The Beatles. Epstein quickly got to work on all manner of things from firing Pete Best to introducing the group to George Martin and perhaps most crucially of all, reinventing the band’s image.

Epstein had wanted the band to abandon their leather jackets and jeans in favor of suits and matching haircuts. He wanted the group to have a clean-cut and more elegant image. Although initially reluctant, the band quickly warmed up to the idea as they realised that a more refined image had gotten them better bookings. Less than a year into Epstein’s management, The Beatles became international superstars.

Epstein was also a fair manager who knew when to get involved and when to stay away. He made it a point to deal strictly with the business and PR side of things. He afforded the band total creative freedom and refused to involve himself in the band’s music process, leaving it in the more capable hands of George Martin.

Although a consummate professional, Epstein was also noted for being a kind man who genuinely cared for the band. Before they made it big, Epstein looked after the band’s expenses and ensured that their finances were in order when they became successful.

He also developed close friendships with each of them and even served as John Lennon’s best man at his wedding to Cynthia Powell. Epstein also went the extra mile for his band, paying for things such as hospital rooms out of his own pocket, treating them to meals and even opening his own home to them when necessary.

When he passed away suddenly from an accidental overdose in 1967, The Beatles were affected both professionally and personally. They had lost the only person who knew how to properly manage their group and they also had to grieve the passing of a very dear friend. So important was Epstein to the group that many people, including the band themselves saw his passing as the beginning of the end for The Beatles.

Had Epstein not died, there would have been a very good chance that fans would have continued to see The Beatles well into the 70s if not longer. Epstein’s ability to mix an effective managing style with a close, personal friendship with the group is noted by many to be just as important to the success of The Beatles as their music. Nurturing the greatest band of all time has made Epstein more than deserving of the title of Fifth Beatle.Long-time Fifth Beatle favourite George Martin has said himself that Brian Epstein was far more deserving of the moniker.

That does it for this list. I realize that there are other names who could also stake a claim to being the Fifth Beatle like Pete Best, Eric Clapton, and Jimmie Nicol. However, it seems that the contributions of these five men have been far more instrumental to the band’s legacy.

That being said, there is a certain amount of personal preference involved. I’d love to hear your thoughts on who you believe is most deserving of the title of the Fifth Beatle. I thank you all once again for taking the time to read this and until we see each other again, take care!