Michael Haslam

Singer who toured with the Beatles

Michael James Haslam, singer: born Bolton, Lancashire 20 December 1939; twice married (one daughter); died High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire 29 May 2003.

Despite Brian Epstein's massive success with the Beatles, not everybody that he managed became a star. Michael Haslam was a sad casualty of Epstein's heavy workload - sad because Haslam had genuine talent and deserved better.

He was born and raised in Bolton, Lancashire, and worked the local dance halls, specialising in big-voiced ballads. In 1964, the television personality Godfrey Winn noticed his talent and recommended him to Epstein. "Brian came to see me in Bolton en route to talk to Billy J. Kramer in Blackpool," Haslam said in 1999:

He heard me sing and told me he would be back at 9pm. When he returned, he had decided to manage me and already had a plan of action. I was to stop playing my guitar as he wanted me to be more of a showman.

I could either keep my earnings and pay him 25 per cent or have £60 a week with all expenses paid. I chose £60 because I always wanted money in my hand.

Epstein put Haslam on the Beatles' UK tour in October and November 1964 and then featured him for three weeks in Another Beatles Christmas Show at the Hammersmith Odeon. Haslam said:

It was fabulous because it was at the height of Beatlemania. We all got on well together, although one night John Lennon pushed me too hard and I fell into the orchestra pit.

Haslam, dressed in suits from the Beatles' tailor Douglas Millings, was singing "Oh Pretty Woman", "Hawaiian Wedding Song" and Freddy Cannon's "Okefenokee" on stage, but Epstein, in conjunction with the Beatles' record producer, George Martin, was keen that he should record original material. "Brian got hold of an original Burt Bacharach and Hal David composition, 'To Wait for Love', and that was a very good song," said Haslam:

Burt Bacharach changed his mind and gave it to Paul Anka instead and Brian was furious. I remember him telling Bacharach, "Paul Anka's finished, he'll never have another hit." George Martin said, "It doesn't matter, Brian, we'll get John and Paul to write something", but it never happened.

Haslam's first single, "Gotta Get a Hold of Myself", was written by Clint Ballard Jnr but it wasn't catchy enough for the charts. The second one, "There Goes the Forgotten Man", was a little-known Bacharach and David song and it remained that way.

As agreed, Epstein paid Haslam's expenses, but it led to friction:

Actually, he never noticed that I was claiming for scores of taxi rides that I never had, but he called me in one day and asked why I had spent 4s 7d [23p]. It was for a pair of socks and he said, "You can't claim socks as expenses", although I argued that I could because I was wearing them on stage.

Although Haslam promoted his records on the television shows Ready, Steady, Go! and Thank Your Lucky Stars, Winn felt that Epstein should have been doing more for him. Epstein, however, decided that he could do without this pressure and let Haslam go. "He had also found a blond singer called Alan David," said Haslam, "and it may have been been that he didn't like my hair any more. I don't know."

Although Haslam continued to play in clubs and casinos, his moment in the spotlight was over. Ironically, his sister Annie Haslam went on to become the lead singer of the band Renaissance. "He had a great voice, much better than mine," says Annie Haslam.

Spencer Leigh