From a Birmingham council estate to Beach Boys tour manager

A former tour manager for the Beach Boys has said the legendary frontman Brian Wilson would want to be remembered for his music.

The 82-year-old Californian singer’s death was announced by his family on Wednesday, saying they were heartbroken.

Barry Tomes, who worked with the band on and off over 45 years, remembered a pinch-me moment when he first joined them on tour.

“I fly out of Northfield [in Birmingham] and I’m in South Africa, I’m standing watching the Beach Boys. I’m crying, because I’m like, wow, how did this happen?” he said.

“It’s quite surreal – I’m 25 years old, I’m a kid from a council estate in Northfield, and I’m a tour manager.”

The Beach Boys were one of the USA’s biggest bands of the 1960s, who introduced surf-rock to worldwide audience with songs like I Get Around, Surfin’ USA and Good Vibrations.

The group was formed by Wilson with his younger brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine.

Jardine has paid tribute to Wilson as a “humble musical giant” with “huge musical intellect”.

Mr Tomes, who had already worked with Alvin Stardust and Lulu before joining the Beach Boys on tour, described Wilson as “amazing” and his music as “timeless”.

“Brian was a very complex character. ‘Genius’ has been used a lot which is absolutely true,” he said.

“He always came back to music and that’s the important thing.”

Speaking of the group’s friendly rivalry with The Beatles, Mr Tomes said Wilson had initially abandoned his Smile album in the 1960s when he heard Sgt Pepper, “because he said it wasn’t good enough”.

Eventually publishing it 45 years later, Wilson said he put the album on the shelf as it was “too far ahead of our time”.

Sir Paul McCartney has written that he was “privileged to be around Wilson’s “bright shining light for a little while”.

Mr Tomes said: “Brian was in awe of The Beatles and I remember at one of the gigs for the Smile album Paul McCartney was there and he said he believed that God Only Knows was the best song ever written… and he’s probably right.”

Now a publicist, Mr Tomes described his memories of the band as “so special” and added he had kept in touch with them over the years.

Despite the sadness around Wilson’s death, he said the “music lives on”.