A Sheffield connection: Queenie Hyman
While this archive focuses on memories of The Beatles performing in Sheffield, there is also a quieter, lesser known link between the city and their manager’s family.
Recent research in Sheffield newspaper archives has revealed that Queenie Epstein, mother of Brian Epstein, grew up in Sheffield and had a notably artistic upbringing.
Born Minnie Hyman in 1914, also known as Malka and nicknamed “Queenie”, she was the youngest of three children in a prosperous Jewish family. Local newspaper records show that she studied piano from an early age, passing music examinations between 1923 and 1927. In 1928 she achieved a Senior Certificate with Honours from the Poetry Society.
Her sister, Freda Hyman, was a contralto singer who performed in concerts in Sheffield from a young age. Together, their activities suggest a household in which music and performance were not only encouraged, but part of everyday life.
The Hyman family were involved in Sheffield’s furniture trade and, by the early 1930s, were living in the Broomhall area. In 1933, Queenie married Harry Epstein and moved to Liverpool, where the family business would go on to develop into NEMS.
Their son, Brian Epstein, would later manage The Beatles and play a central role in shaping their success.
This Sheffield upbringing offers a small but fascinating connection, a reminder that part of the story begins here, long before the band ever set foot in the city.
Update: As I continue uncovering new articles and information about Queenie and the wider Hyman family, I’m preparing a more in-depth piece that explores their story in greater detail, I hope to share it here in the coming weeks.
Leave a Reply