Allen Klein Passes Away

Legendary music mogul Allen Klein - who managed both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones - has died.

Born in Newark, New Jersey Allen Klein initially had no inclination towards the music industry. Excelling at mental arithmetic he began shop work, before meeting the pop singer Bobby Darin at a wedding.

Offering to look through his accounts, Klein earned Darin over $100,000 in a short period of time after uncovering irregularities in the royalties owed to the singer. Becoming known for his uncompromising style, Klein favoured the artist's rights over the label's.

After a short period managing Sam Cooke Allen Klein bought a part share in The Rolling Stones. Becoming the band's manager he enjoyed a famously truculent relationship with singer Mick Jagger - himself a former pupil of the London School Of Economics.

Acquiring the publishing rights to many of the band's early songs, Klein was eventually fired when The Rolling Stones moved to set up their own record label.

Meeting John Lennon on the set of The Rolling Stones' 'Rock And Roll Circus' Allen Klein quickly moved into The Beatles inner circle. The band lacked a manager after the death of Brian Epstein in 1967, and Klein quickly filled this role.

Moving to tackle financial problems at the band's record label Apple, Klein never won the trust of Sir Paul McCartney who refused to sign a contract agreeing to him becoming The Beatles' manager.

This lack of trust, together with Allen Klein's bruising uncompromising style, are often alleged to be factors in the ultimate split of The Fab Four.

After the dissolution of The Beatles in 1970 Allen Klein remained in the music business. The manager helped organise the seminal charity show Concert For Bangladesh, and later acquired the rights to Phil Spector's back catalogue.

Later moving into the world of film, Allen Klein was called back to the music industry after The Verve used a rare and distorted sample of a Rolling Stones song in their 'Bittersweet Symphony'.

Klein's knowledge of business law came to the fore in the subsequent court case, in which The Verve were removed of all compositional rights barring Richard Ashcroft's lyrics.

Allen Klein died in New York on July 4th. A motto on his desk read "Though I walk in the shadow of the valley of evil, I have no fear, as I am the biggest bastard in the valley."