Today we’re bringing you part two of our interview with Andrew Cook, author of the new book Capitol Gains: Exposing the Conflict between the Beatles and the Record Label that Made Them.

In part one, we dug into the many myths surrounding the Beatles signing to Capitol Records, and Andrew walked us through the new information he uncovered about how that historic deal actually came together. We also talked about Dave Dexter, the Capitol A&R man with the dubious distinction of rejecting the Beatles four separate times before the label finally said yes. And we explored the massive marketing campaign Capitol launched to turn Beatlemania into an American phenomenon ahead of those first appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

So if you haven’t heard part one yet, you may want to go back and start there for the full story.

Today we pick up where that conversation left off — with the Beatles’ relationship with Capitol after the breakthrough. We talk about Dave Dexter’s continuing role at the label, the infamous Butcher Cover, and how things evolved in the later years as the band renegotiated their contract. We also look at how Capitol’s relationship with the Beatles changed after Brian Epstein’s death, when the notoriously controversial Allan Klein stepped in as manager.

Capitol Gains is out now, wherever you get your books.

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Today we’re joined by Andrew Cook, author of the new book Capitol Gains: Exposing the Conflict Between The Beatles and the Record Label That Made Them — part one of a two-part conversation.

If you think you already know the story of how The Beatles conquered America, this book might surprise you.

Capitol Gains takes a deep dive into the complicated, occasionally combative, and hugely consequential relationship between the Beatles and Capitol Records in the 1960s. Andrew explores Capitol’s early refusals to release the band in the U.S., the strange and sudden shift that led to their American breakthrough, the aggressive marketing campaign that helped manufacture U.S. Beatlemania, and the decision to reshape the Beatles’ catalogue for American audiences — new tracklists, new mixes, new covers, new everything.

Drawing on corporate archives, private papers, and previously unseen material, the book re-examines some of the most persistent myths in Beatles history — and raises big questions about who really controlled the narrative, the money, and the music during those formative years.

Andrew Cook is the author of fifteen published books covering a wide range of 19th- and 20th-century history, from British intelligence agencies to the Romanovs, Jack the Ripper, and the Great Train Robbery. His work has led to more than twenty films and documentaries since his first book was published in 2002. His 2013 book The Great Train Robbery: The Untold Story from the Closed Investigation Files inspired a Channel 4 documentary and the acclaimed Chris Chibnall dramas A Robber’s Tale and A Copper’s Tale, starring Jim Broadbent and Luke Evans.

He’s written for The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, BBC History Magazine, and History Today — and now he’s turned his archival instincts toward one of the most fascinating business relationships in rock history.

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This episode is Part Two of our 12-part series, Beneath the Surface: The Beatles in 1966, a year-long, month-by-month look at the band’s most transformational year.

February 1966 continues the strange calm at the start of the year. There are no riots. No screaming headlines. No dramatic breakups or public meltdowns. Instead, the changes are quieter — but no less significant.

George Harrison and Pattie Boyd slip away to Barbados for their honeymoon, marking a new chapter in George’s personal life. Brian Epstein turns his attention to producing a play, widening his ambitions beyond managing the biggest band in the world. And Paul McCartney continues his immersion into London’s cultural underground — one night seeing Stevie Wonder in concert, another attending avant-garde composer Luciano Berio’s lecture — steadily expanding the artistic influences that will soon reshape the Beatles’ sound.

But the most important development of February 1966 happens on the page.

Journalist Maureen Cleave begins writing an extraordinary series of five individual profiles — one for each Beatle, and one for Brian — unusually intimate pieces for pop stars at the time. Rather than treating the band as a single unit, Cleave captures them as four increasingly distinct individuals, each evolving in different ways at a critical turning point in their lives and careers. She also offers a rare and revealing portrait of the complicated, foundational bond between the Beatles and Brian Epstein.

In this episode, we dive into each profile and examine how Cleave’s observations quietly document a band in transition — and how one of those interviews, with John Lennon, will echo far beyond February, ultimately igniting the “more popular than Jesus” controversy that explodes in America later that summer.

The surface still looks calm. But the fault lines are becoming visible.

About the series:

On the surface, 1966 begins like peak Beatlemania: hit records, big plans, and a global machine that still seems unstoppable. But underneath, everything is starting to shift. Over the course of the year, we’ll watch as touring becomes untenable, old identities fall away, new artistic ambitions take hold, and the band slowly, and sometimes reluctantly, becomes something entirely different.

Each episode explores one month in 1966, tracing the small decisions, strange moments, cultural collisions, and personal turning points that — piece by piece — reshape the Beatles’ music, image, and inner lives. This isn’t the story of a single break, but of a gradual reveal: the year the surface finally started to crack.

Further reading:

Want to dive deeper into the fascinating twists and turns of 1966? We highly recommend Beatles ’66: The Revolutionary Year by Steve Turner, which serves as a major source and foundational text for this series — and one of the best deep dives into this pivotal year in the band’s history.

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