ALLAN WILLIAMS, the man who became the Beatles' first manager, is 75 today and determined to mark it in style.
But there will be no Beatles music at his party event. Instead, he has planned a night of big band music to which everyone is invited.
He has booked what is arguably Britain's best band - the Syd Lawrence Orchestra - to play for dancers at Liverpool's Olympia Theatre on Saturday night.
"I was going to book them for a private party but could not afford the fee," he explains.. "So someone suggested I should sell tickets."
And that's what he has done for the special show which will include Liverpool singers Phil Jones and Frank Sinatra stylist David Knopov on the bill.
"I have told the band I don't want any Beatles numbers," explains Williams who had a notorious fall-out with the group.
He had met them in the Jacaranda coffee bar which he ran and offered to find them gigs. He later organised their famous dates in Hamburg, travelling with them to the German city where they first established their playing credentials.
Later, in a row over payments, Williams and the Beatles parted company. Williams claims he sacked them.
As their unofficial manager, Williams was approached by Brian Epstein about managing the band and famously warned him, "Don't touch them with a barge pole".
Bootle-born Williams has continued to work as an entrepreneur, organising Beatles and non-Beatles events and becoming a regular at Beatles conventions.
