William Howard Ashton, known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney compositions never recorded by the Beatles, among them the UK number one "Bad to Me" (1963). Kramer and the Dakotas had a further UK chart-topper in 1964 with "Little Children" and achieved U.S. success as part of the British Invasion. Since the end of the beat boom, Kramer has continued to record and perform. His autobiography, Do You Want to Know a Secret, was published in 2016.

Brian Samuel Epstein was an English music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1961 until his death in 1967.