8233 - Brian Epstein Signed 1965 Bournemouth Concert Contract - The Paramounts Support the Rolling Stones at the Gaumont Theatre

Brian Epstein Signed 1965 Bournemouth Concert Contract - The Paramounts Support the Rolling Stones at the Gaumont Theatre DS, one page, 8 x 10, June 28, 1965. Eric Easton Ltd. Emergency Contract between Rolling Stones Limited, identified as the “Management,” and The Paramounts, identified as the “Artiste,” engaging the band for two performances at the Gaumont in Bournemouth on July 18, 1965. The contract specifies a salary of £35, a 3 p.m. rehearsal, and performances at 6:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., with additional clauses governing rehearsals, illness, and arrival at the theater. Signed at the conclusion in ballpoint by Brian Epstein on behalf of NEMS Enterprises Ltd., whose address, “Sutherland House, 5/6 Argyll Street, London,” is stamped below. In fine condition, with evenly trimmed edges, light toning from prior display, and tape remnants to reverse corners. Although Brian Epstein never managed the Rolling Stones, NEMS Enterprises operated as one of Britain's leading booking agencies in addition to representing the Beatles, presenting and contracting acts across the industry independent of any management relationship. Epstein's signature here reflects that agency role, securing supporting acts like The Paramounts for this Rolling Stones-headlined date. The contract also falls at a pivotal moment for the band's own management: dated June 28, 1965, it captures Eric Easton, Andrew Loog Oldham's partner in Rolling Stones Limited since 1963, still nominally in charge of the band's business affairs just days before Oldham secretly brought in American financier Allen Klein that July, the first step in easing Easton out of the partnership entirely later that year. The engagement came at a high point for the band: ‘(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction’ reached number one on the U.S. Billboard chart on July 10, 1965, eight days before this Bournemouth performance, and the Gaumont date fell within a short run of English shows from July 16 to 26 that also included Exeter, Portsmouth, Great Yarmouth, and Leicester. The bill that night was a particularly stacked one, pairing the Stones with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, featuring Eric Clapton, and the newly formed Steampacket, with Rod Stewart, Long John Baldry, and Julie Driscoll. The Paramounts, then based in Southend and featuring Gary Brooker, Robin Trower, Graham Derrick, and B. J. Wilson, also appeared; Brooker, Trower, and Wilson would later reunite in Procol Harum.