Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: On 3 August 1961 , Epstein started a regular music column in the Mersey Beat magazine , called ` Record Releases by Brian Epstein of NEMS ' .
Simplified: Late in 1961 , when a fan asked Epstein about a record the Beatles had made in Germany , Epstein was unable to find it through his sources .