DM's Beatles forums

Solo forums => Fifth Beatles and the Merseybeat Scene => Topic started by: pc31 on March 17, 2004, 01:49:39 AM

Title: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on March 17, 2004, 01:49:39 AM
i bet you were wonder how long this would take me....read and see for yourself he is mildly bitter
BEST OF THE BEATLES

Pete Best talks about his time with the Beatles in a q/a session in the UK.

By Gary Howman

(Thanks very much, Gary, for this great report.)

I was thrilled to note from a local paper that Pete Best was appearing at the King Lynn Arts Centre on 15 October 1999. This was not to be the Pete Best band in concert but the former Beatle alone on stage talking about his time with the Beatles with an opportunity for the audience to ask questions. I hurried to book a ticket at the reasonable price of £7.00 and turned up bright and early at the historic yet cosy venue. The audience was a cross section of ages and styles
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Beatle Ed on March 23, 2004, 11:00:19 AM
Man I do feel bad for Pete, so what if he didn't have the personality maybe that they were looking for. But it wasn't right for them to just off him like that ya know..

But.. I <3 Ringo
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Joost on March 23, 2004, 02:34:20 PM
Well, you can also look at the bright side for him...

Cause basically he just played in a local band for a couple of years like hundreds of thousands of other people have done, but unlike 99,99% of all those people he still makes money from that band and people still are interested in his stories, only because his former band mates made it big without him. So in a way you could say he's a really lucky bastard. And I guess it just wasn't meant to be for him.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: The End on March 23, 2004, 05:47:31 PM
I also met Pete - he REALLY was a great guy. My camera suddenly stopped working and he re-posed for all the pics for me!!!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on March 24, 2004, 12:59:37 AM
is the one of him nude on the bearskin from that shoot????lol
welcome back alan
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: The End on March 24, 2004, 02:20:22 AM
[quote by=pc31 link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=4 date=1080089977]is the one of him nude on the bearskin from that shoot????lol
welcome back alan[/quote]

LOL That wasn't bearskin, that was me!!!!!!!!

Thanks PC :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Beatle Ed on March 24, 2004, 09:54:20 AM
[quote by=The_End link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=5 date=1080094822]

LOL That wasn't bearskin, that was me!!!!!!!!

Thanks PC :)[/quote]

(http://beatles.murashev.com/forums/BlahImages/Smilies/yellow/dance.gif) Maybe we should call you



oh wait.


Thats just wrong.


Nevermind. :-)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on March 25, 2004, 12:37:33 AM
Who gives a rats ass about Pete? The bastard is cooking fish at some grease pit, why is he even relative now?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: The End on March 25, 2004, 12:41:27 AM
[quote by=Alan_H link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=7 date=1080175053]Who gives a rats ass about Pete? The bastard is cooking fish at some grease pit, why is he even relative now?[/quote]

You really are a sad little tosser aren't you!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Beatle Ed on March 25, 2004, 08:36:38 AM
[quote by=The_End link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=8 date=1080175287]

You really are a sad little tosser aren't you![/quote]

Fish, grease, tosser.. Makes me hungry for Fish and Salad. And Alan-H head on a platter... I have a possible IDea or two about whom he is..
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on March 25, 2004, 11:36:58 AM
for him the bell tolls......toss off
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on April 09, 2004, 12:59:43 AM
Dear All, 
 
Please find further details for the Casbah Coffee Club and Pete Best and band
 
The Pete Best Band : The Pete Best Band will be performing on three seperate occasions in Hamburg, Germany. The band will be performing on the world famous Reeperbarn on the 17th, 18th & 19th of June as part of the Hamburg Beatles Convention.
 
The Casbah Coffee Club, the true birthplace of the Beatles is now officially open to the public. Bookings can be made by appointment only and can be done so by sending an e-mail to bookings@petebest.com .
 
Many Thanks
 
Pete Best.com
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Beatle Ed on April 12, 2004, 09:13:53 AM
Peach Besht
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: The End on April 12, 2004, 11:17:41 AM
[quote by=Beatle_Ed link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=12 date=1081761233]Peach Besht[/quote]

Are you drunk?! LOL ;)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Beatle Ed on April 12, 2004, 11:24:42 AM
Yup. Nope. Yup.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on April 13, 2004, 06:45:53 PM
Mr. Best (Besht) is a really good guy and is extremely relative to the Merseybeat scene and the Beatles. I have been lucky enough to meet him on a few occasions, I thought this was a Beatles forum? Alan_H get on back to your limp bizquit chat room.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on April 14, 2004, 02:00:07 AM
pete was the FIRST FULL TIME drummer that the beatles had.have you heard them play with no drums?????3 lead guitars and a lame bass if your lucky but no percussion......pete put the beat in beatles.but ringo made them a complete product.
it does not seem likely that pete would have been as happy and go lucky in the back seat as ringo...ringo in the back seat????????no way he recieved the most fan mail in the beginning.he did enhance the others talents as pete could not have.in my opinion anyways.pete was always looking moody and sullen.ringo was spry and funny.
face ringo was the fit but pete was the first.i like petes attempts to create.i bear the man no ill will......
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on April 14, 2004, 02:01:20 AM
ooops i meant i agree with some other guy....
goose step ma ma goose step ma ma
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on April 14, 2004, 02:33:34 PM
pc31,
Pete Best may not have been the best fit for the Beatles (for whatever reason) no one will ever know for sure? Mr. Starkey did turn out to be the best fit but he certainly wasn't the first choice as Pete's replacement. The Drummer the Beatles initially wanted was Johnny Hutchinson from the Big Three as he was regarded by most as the best drummer in Liverpool at the time. Johnny Hutch had a great singing voice, he filled in as the Beatles drummer for the Larry Parnes audition and numerous shows. He was asked by Epstein to join the band but declined as he believed he was already in the best band in Liverpool. Many people believe that Pete was sacked and quickly replaced by Ringo because of his superior drumming ability, which is not the case.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Wayne L. on April 15, 2004, 10:22:06 PM
I don't feel sorry for Pete Best for getting dumped by the Beatles before their huge success since it happens to millions of other legendary rock bands like Mark Stone who was a member of Aerosmith before their rock stardom.  I think Pete is a great rock drummer in his own right who will always hold a little grudge against Paul mostly no matter what he says differently in interviews.  I'm sure millions of Beatles fans would like to see a picture of Paul & Ringo with Pete before their time is up to symbolically heal old wounds from the past which I believe will never happen. 
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: slick rick on April 25, 2004, 12:35:11 AM
if pete had had the talent any of the fab four had he would have been more.........he didn't have the desire or want to be in a second rate rock band.which is where they were b4 ringo.noone but ringo could have been the 4th.it had to be a down player presence not a big show presence.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on June 13, 2004, 12:28:17 AM
http://petebest.com/
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on July 18, 2004, 02:44:47 AM
i would like to share an email with you.......Dear Beatles' Fans,
 
    I saw Pete Best, the Beatles' original drummer, at the Jaxx in West Springfield, Virginia, on Thursday, July 15.  Pete and his band started at 9:15 and played the following set list:
 
1. Slow Down
2. What'd I Say
3. One After 909
4. Please Mr. Postman
5. P.S. I Love You
6. My Bonnie
7. Cry for a Shadow
8. September in the Rain
9. Roll Over Beethoven
10. Some Other Guy
11. Sweet Georgia Brown
12. Hello Little Girl
13.  Like Dreamers Do
14.  Till There Was You
15.  I Saw Her Standing There
16.  Twist and Shout
17.  Kansas City       
 
Encore (actually, the band never left the stage)
18.  Johnny B. Good
 
    Pete's band consisted of a lead singer who looked like a young Phil Collins, two guitarists, a bass player, and a second drummer (Pete's half-brother, Roag, son of Neil Aspinall).  Everyone had thick Liverpool accents and talked like the Beatles.  They all wore black t-shirts and black pants.
 
    Pete is a competent drummer, but he is not a flashy or charismatic performer.  He was content to stay in the background while the lead singer did most of the talking.  Pete came out from behind the drums only twice, to introduce "What'd I Say," and to introduce "My Bonnie."
 
    Fewer than 100 people attended the show.  On the plus side, I was able to go up to the railing at the front of the stage whenever I wanted. Most of the crowd stayed for autographs after the show. 
 
    Pete was very polite and cordial, and complied with all requests for pictures and autographs.  He autographed my booklet from the "Beatles Anthology 1" CD, and posed for a picture with me.
 
    In summary, I enjoyed the show.  My feelings are the same as after my first Pete Best show in 2001 - I was thrilled to meet and shake the hand of someone who knew and performed with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, and who made early contributions to their music.
 
Sincerely,
 
Jeff Root
Fairfax, Virginia
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Rowdy on July 18, 2004, 11:21:56 AM
Yeah, I've heard nothing but rave reviews about the current Pete Best tour.....it's great music....and a former Beatle, what's not to like?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on August 21, 2004, 09:33:34 PM
http://www.geocities.com/garyz_45459/best.html
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on September 17, 2004, 01:46:48 AM
(http://www.brunnet.net/rickresource/discus/messages/16/235.jpg)
sing it pete
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: RICKENBACKER325 on September 17, 2004, 04:10:34 AM
Great article PC  thanks for posting it.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: HFleen on September 17, 2004, 02:33:57 PM
you heard him sing btw? does he "have" a voice?

???
HFleen
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on September 17, 2004, 03:16:37 PM
 *bites tongue*
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on September 18, 2004, 09:44:11 AM
lol you zipperhead
yeah he harmonizes,but i never heard him sing by himself.
he did in the beatles as the pic above shows.
hey 777 the dead milkmen are a good band.....
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on September 18, 2004, 09:45:37 AM
its been said he covered match box............during the beatles.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on September 19, 2004, 02:03:05 AM
[quote by=pc31 link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=29 date=1095500651]hey 777 the dead milkmen are a good band.....[/quote]


I'll take your word for it  :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Revolver on December 01, 2004, 10:20:27 PM
One listen to Love Me Do on the Anthology reveals why Pete was sacked, IMO.  The drumming was not very good.  During the harmonica solo, he is all off.

Ringo was far better.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Sadie4 on December 03, 2004, 06:08:54 PM
I thought only Andy White and Ringo drummed opn Love me do...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Revolver on December 03, 2004, 07:59:27 PM
[quote by=Sadie4 link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=33 date=1102097334]I thought only Andy White and Ringo drummed opn Love me do...[/quote]

There's an outtake on Anthology 1 with Pete drumming.  Most of it's pretty bad, but during the solo it gets really bad.  He's way off the beat.

Pete is interesting because of how close he came to being a star, but he's no different, IMO, than Stu or any of the Quarrymen or any other member of any famous band who got kicked out before the big break.

Ringo got the gig because he was better.  End of story.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: SieLiebtDich on December 05, 2004, 11:47:41 AM
oh...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Mairi on December 08, 2004, 03:45:32 PM
Quote
Pete is interesting because of how close he came to being a star, but he's no different, IMO, than Stu or any of the Quarrymen or any other member of any famous band who got kicked out before the big break.

Stu wasn't kicked out, he left.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Revolver on December 08, 2004, 07:00:26 PM
[quote by=Mairi link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=36 date=1102520732]

Stu wasn't kicked out, he left.
[/quote]


Of course, you're right.  I was just making a point.  Over the years, Pete's legend has grown to the point where people can't conceive that he was kicked out for the simple reason that Ringo was far better.  It has to be that everybody was jealous because he was so good looking and he was better than Ringo, ect. 

The legend has only grown because the Beatles are the biggest band in the world.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Mairi on December 08, 2004, 07:52:35 PM
Yes. And, it's true that Stu wasn't much of musician either. As I recall he couldn't even play bass.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on December 09, 2004, 01:52:00 AM
beatles the biggest??????
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: SieLiebtDich on December 09, 2004, 02:39:02 AM
[quote by=Mairi link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=38 date=1102535555]Yes. And, it's true that Stu wasn't much of musician either. As I recall he couldn't even play bass.[/quote]

i heard that too
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Revolver on December 09, 2004, 05:31:52 PM
[quote by=pc31 link=Blah.pl?b=fifths,m=1079488179,s=39 date=1102557120]beatles the biggest??????[/quote]

Yes... Is that troublesome?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on December 10, 2004, 03:21:51 AM
just seems like a narrow veiw.thats all.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Revolver on December 12, 2004, 09:48:27 PM
What's narrow?  That the Beatles are the biggest band in the world or that Pete is not as good as Ringo?

The Beatles have sold more records than any music act in history and they still are a top 10 selling act 35 years after they broke up.  To me, that's the biggest band in the world.  Now, if you're arguing that there is someone who is better than the Beatles, that's a subjective opinion, but that's not what I was referring to.

As far as Pete vs Ringo, once again, based upon recorded evidence, Ringo seems to be better.  That might be a subjective opinion, but most would agree with me.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on December 14, 2004, 11:41:09 AM
maybe beethovens 5th has been played more than yesterday.i love the beatles too but because the impact is personal i must disqualify myself as a judge.
you catch my drift?music is like THE BORG.it is a collective type thing that needs all parts.no one person or people can be the best can they?
influential sure...........
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Revolver on December 14, 2004, 05:26:45 PM
I understand what you are saying, but I think we are talking about different things. 

I didn't say the Beatles were, necessarily, the best group ever or the most influential (although, I think they are), but that point can be argued.

What I did say, is that because the Beatles are the most popular, most well known band in the world, the Pete Best thing gets blown out of proportion.  Really, think about it, more people know who Pete Best is (who is only a former Beatle) than know who the actual drummer is for many, many rock bands. 

I, really, don't think the fact that the Beatles are the most well known and popular band in the world can be challenged.  They've sold more than anyone else, they continue to sell more than most others (even modern bands), and most everybody knows the names of the 4 members, even if you aren't a fan.

Now, that doesn't mean that someone won't come along who will be more popular and well known, but as of right now, because of the reasons I listed, the Beatles are the biggest ever and because of this, people make a bigger deal out of Pete Best being kicked out than they should.  He is just a footnote.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on December 15, 2004, 01:36:05 AM
good defense paul......lol kidding i know the beatles we know and love would not have been the huge thing they were without mr richard starkey.i just kinda consider the facts as they are.....like b4 pete they had no steady drummer and at some shows showed with no drummer.then the fact mona owned the casbah club,where they played more than a few times.also neil aspinall lived with petes family while he was a beatle.
they used pete.paul admits it.THEY HAD NO DRUMMER.and figured pete would do.they asked him to join.he didn't ask them.

but ringo made the band complete.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Indica on December 15, 2004, 07:43:42 PM
Yeah, I agree.
Like John said, 'to make it you had to be a bastard, and The Beatles were the biggest bastards at the time' (something along those lines) :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Lenny Pane on February 04, 2005, 11:00:06 AM
good old john.. not one to mince his words lol :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on February 07, 2005, 06:38:52 AM
He was at the Chicago Beatlefest last August. Kind of a dour fellow. He was hawking signed drumsticks and photos for $20.00. I felt bad for the guy, here he is tucked in a little room signing stuff and having pictures taken, while you can hear the screams from the screening rooms, and he's surrounded by all the memorabilia, etc. Its a living I suppose, but its gotta suck having your nose rubbed in it.  I know its his choice, but it still has to sting.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on February 09, 2005, 03:01:49 AM
his nose rivals ringos too.did you notice that?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Rowdy on February 09, 2005, 06:18:41 AM
so.........was Andy White a better drummer than Pete?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on February 09, 2005, 05:46:58 PM
Quote from: Rowdy
so.........was Andy White a better drummer than Pete?

Probably not, but Andy White was a session musician and George Marting was playing it safe, maybe too safe because, let's face it, "Love Me Do" doesn't have the most intricate drumming in the world.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Rowdy on February 11, 2005, 06:27:16 AM
Yeah, but if Pete was so bad that George Martin didn't even want to have him on the record........I would think that White was better.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on November 20, 2005, 03:54:09 PM
it was the fact the were unsure about ringo....
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on November 24, 2005, 06:48:31 PM
happy birthday pete.......
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: The End on November 25, 2005, 01:00:21 AM
I think it was just because Ringo was an unproven entity in George Martin's eyes and he took the precaution of booking Andy White.

In the end Ringo's version was used as the single (in the UK) and Andy White's version with Ringo relegated to tambourine made the LP. It was around the time of The Beatles' Hits EP that Andy White's version became the version we are most familiar with. I don't think the master of Ringo's version is still in existance! I seem to remember that a new master was made from a dub from a single! Stoopid EMI!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: raxo on April 19, 2006, 10:04:46 PM
Pete Best on TV ... long time ago ... funny ... in the mid-1960s as a guest on a TV show ...

Here you are:
http://rapidshare.de/files/18443675/Pete_Best.wmv.html

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on June 18, 2006, 03:34:47 PM
Many people say that when Ringo arrived, the Beatles were complete.  They basically say that Ringo was indispensable and that, perhaps, the Beatles ascent to glory was now unimpeded.  This implies that Pete was an obstacle in their path to fame and fortune.

Nonetheless, Pete was wildly popular with his fan base.  I question how the Beatles disregarded Pete's popularity while assuming they could dismiss him without any threat to the group's overall appeal.  Did they have a Plan B of asking Pete back into the band if Ringo didn't receive the fans' approval?  How could they risk firing him without also jeopardizing their own success?  Could they really have been absolutely sure that Pete was nonessential and that Ringo would automatically receive widespread acceptance (which he did)?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on June 19, 2006, 09:09:45 AM
Quote from: Loco_Mo
Many people say that when Ringo arrived, the Beatles were complete.  They basically say that Ringo was indispensable and that, perhaps, the Beatles ascent to glory was now unimpeded.  This implies that Pete was an obstacle in their path to fame and fortune.

Nonetheless, Pete was wildly popular with his fan base.  I question how the Beatles disregarded Pete's popularity while assuming they could dismiss him without any threat to the group's overall appeal.  Did they have a Plan B of asking Pete back into the band if Ringo didn't receive the fans' approval?  How could they risk firing him without also jeopardizing their own success?  Could they really have been absolutely sure that Pete was nonessential and that Ringo would automatically receive widespread acceptance (which he did)?

That's a very interesting thought. But I guess there was no way back when they sacked Pete. Asking Pete back? If I were Pete, I would never ever have done that. I wonder if Pete was really an obstacle in getting a proper contract and chance at Parlophone's. If he was, then that might have been a true reason for letting him down. There's been a lot of speculation about the true reasons. Even Pete himself claims he still doesn't know the true reason. Still, John, George and Paul must have been aware of the fact that they took a risk in sacking Pete. Or, they must have been very full of confidence.

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Kevin on June 19, 2006, 10:39:33 AM
Quote from: Loco_Mo
Many people say that when Ringo arrived, the Beatles were complete.  They basically say that Ringo was indispensable and that, perhaps, the Beatles ascent to glory was now unimpeded.  This implies that Pete was an obstacle in their path to fame and fortune.

 How could they risk firing him without also jeopardizing their own success?  Could they really have been absolutely sure that Pete was nonessential and that Ringo would automatically receive widespread acceptance (which he did)?

You make it sound like they were a poltical party running for office.
I'm not the first to say "it's only the bl**dy drummer." I doubt whether they went through that kind of thought process, or that they would have seen past the fact that they had to find a recording contract, and if that meant dumping your mate, then so be it.  I think J & P would have seen themselves as the only essential members, with G a close second. Drummer schrummer.
Beatleworld didn't collapse when Jimmy Nichol took over. In fact, I put it to you that if Ringo had not come back the Beatle bandwagon would have rolled on regardless.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: tkitna on June 19, 2006, 10:51:40 AM
Quote from: kevin_b

Beatleworld didn't collapse when Jimmy Nichol took over. In fact, I put it to you that if Ringo had not come back the Beatle bandwagon would have rolled on regardless.

Being that it was in 64' at the height of the groups popularity, I might be inclined to agree. If we were talking 66' or so after they quit touring, I dont think so. Ringo was embedded by then plus the fact i'm sure he helped in keeping the ego's intact.

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on June 25, 2006, 11:33:43 AM
Reply to Bobber:  It
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on June 25, 2006, 12:28:19 PM
Quote from: kevin_b

You make it sound like they were a poltical party running for office.
I'm not the first to say "it's only the bl**dy drummer." I doubt whether they went through that kind of thought process, or that they would have seen past the fact that they had to find a recording contract, and if that meant dumping your mate, then so be it.  I think J & P would have seen themselves as the only essential members, with G a close second. Drummer schrummer.
Beatleworld didn't collapse when Jimmy Nichol took over. In fact, I put it to you that if Ringo had not come back the Beatle bandwagon would have rolled on regardless.

Man, I hate to have to agree with this, but you're right. How many tours have been called to a halt because a member of the band is sick? Not many. Jimmy came in did his job, the tour went on, and no problem. If Charlie Watts was sick (and I'm glad he's in remission), there's no way the Stones would tour. Pete got dumped due to the chemistry of the band-not to mention Brian Epstein's whatever. Ringo fit in, but for the first few years, he was worried that they were 'pulling a Pete' -which sounds completely different than was meant, but that he could be replaced in an instant. Who could blame him? George Martin bringing in a session musician to play that incredibly intricate 'Love Me Do'. "Here Ritchie, have a tambourine".

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on June 26, 2006, 11:29:39 AM
Pete Best 2006 summer tour schedule announced

The schedule has just been announced for the Pete Best and the Pete Best Band summer tour which begins July 28th in Clearwater Florida and ends August 11th at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago.
Performing the songs the Beatles were playing from 1960-1962, the Pete Best Band delivers the raw, thumping intensity of the Beatles' savage sound of the early sixties. Right from the first beat, you'll feel you're at the Casbah Club, in the Cavern or hanging out in Hamburg. During the show, Pete also comes out from behind the drum kit to treat the audience to anecdotes about those early days with John, Paul, George and Stu Sutcliffe.
Of those years, John Lennon said, "We were at our best when we were playing in the dance halls of Liverpool and Hamburg. The world never saw that." Here's when and where Pete Best and the Pete Best Band will be performing this summer:

Friday 7/28 and Saturday 7/29 - Royalty Theatre - Clearwater Florida

Monday 7/31 - Smith's Olde Bar - Atlanta Georgia

Tuesday 8/1 - Greene Street Club - Greensboro NC

Wednesday 8/2 - Jammin Java - Vienna Virginia

Thursday 8/3 - Legends of Waldorf - Waldorf MD

Friday 8/4 - Laugh Factory - Times Square NYC

Saturday 8/5 - Elks Lodge - Latham NY

Sunday 8/6 - Hartwood Acres Outdoor Concert - Pittsburgh PA

Wednesday 8/9 - Club Infinity Buffalo NY

Thursday 8/10 - Winchester Tavern and Music Hall - Lakewood Ohio

Friday 8/11 - Sunday 8/13 - The Fest for Beatles Fans - Chicago IL
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on June 28, 2006, 01:20:50 PM
I'm going to try to hit the 'Fest in Chicago this year, and will probably check out Pete for a few. Probably the most dour person I've ever met. If he does Beatles music, which I'm sure he does, I hope it's the stuff they did in Hamburg and the Casbah, etc., and not anything from the 'Post Pete' era.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on June 29, 2006, 02:43:23 AM
I have to add something to my previous comments because it's bothered and puzzled me for a long time.  John Lennon once made the remark that without the 4 of them as they were the Beatles would not have existed.  This seems to suggest that Ringo was absolutely essential to the band's widespread approval and success.  I just have a hard time believing this.  How could a drummer be that important?  The Beatles were already incredibly popular with Pete in the drummer's seat.  This fact seems to contradict Lennon's supposition.  Yet I am puzzled because a number of authors have said that the Beatles really came to life after Ringo joined.  The tone, spirit and zest of their recorded music shifted into high gear and into the stratosphere when Ringo began executing his stickings.  Can this really be true - that without Ringo, the Beatles wouldn't have been as big as they were?

I've also read that the Beatles had asked other drummers to replace Pete.  If Ringo were considered the one and only, then why wasn't he the one and only one they asked?  And why did it take them so long to dump Pete if he was not a good enough drummer and didn't smile enough for them?  What were they waiting for?

Poor Pete - any other band and who would have cared?  But he had to miss out on being in the greatest band of all time.  Otherwise, the reasons for being booted out wouldn't have mattered at all.  He would have gone on with his life no worse for wear.  

I used to play in bands long ago and I remember firings were common and bone cold.  There was little or no finesse or consideration of feelings shown.  Pretty crude matter-of-fact stuff, it was.  No apologies, if someone didn't like you and they carried enough clout, you were out.  I think the Beatles saw Pete in their way with George Martin and the Parlophone recordings and, boom, that was it.  A cold and unceremonious death for Pete.  Yep, they said the Bs were ruthless, but how many of us would have acted differently considering a coveted recording contract and the all absorbing desire to get ahead in the music trade?  
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on June 29, 2006, 03:07:27 AM
I think Ringo's main contribution was the chemistry. You can't pull a word out of Pete Best through his nose-I can't imagine him at the press conferences. He completed the band just by being himself.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Mairi on June 29, 2006, 05:40:03 AM
I think Pete needs to just get over himself. Okay, so he was sacked, and they weren't very nice about it, but still, that was over 40 years ago. If he wants to continue charging for autographs and giving bitter interviews, then so be it. But he's just making money off of SOMEONE ELSE'S success!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 04, 2006, 06:27:20 PM
Pete has often asked what the real reason was for his firing out of the number which have been proposed.  I think the most salient reason is George Martin's comment that Pete wasn't a good enough drummer.  That is really what killed him.

Consider this, the Beatles were desparate for a recording contract and everyone else prior had turned them down.  This seemed like the last chance for them.   Although Martin said it wasn't a problem in that he could sub Pete with a session drummer, I'm sure the Beatles had other thoughts.

First of all, they were a live concert band at the time.  If Pete couldn't back them on studio recordings, then how would he faithfully rendition their songs live?  They couldn't use the session drummer live just so they could get the tune right.  Bottom line, the B's wanted their drummer to be a credible presence both live and in the studio.  This is truly the most compelling reason for Pete's canning.

Pete couldn't play "Love me do."  Listen to the Anthology recording.  He struggled with that.  He couldn't find the beat and tried to play the accenting of it instead.  It just didn't work.  It felt too forced and stilted.  I speak from my own experience as a drummer in my younger days.  For a guy who's used to 4 to the floor, "Love me do" was confusing and challenging.  Pete needed a simple soft back beat.  He'd should have pulled out his brushes.  He might have made it.  If he had, who knows how much longer he could have lasted with them?

They were other challenging tunes ahead.  Could Pete have provided the excellent backing that Ringo did for "Please please me?"  The Beatles catalogue was not simply straightforward rock and roll.  It was really a mix of the past and present styles of music.  You'd have to have been a really versatile drummer to successfully complement the Beatles' wide range of musical diversity.  

As far as Pete goes, all I can say is "Let it be, yeah, let it be, whisper words of wisdom, let it be."
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Kate on August 11, 2006, 11:48:05 AM
:o

Concert by 5th Beatle draws noise citation
08/02/2006

The Associated Press

ATHENS
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on August 12, 2006, 09:10:45 PM
it's funny because if it was r e m it wouldn't have happened but i think the deep south still can't accept the british invasion...they still love country down there...no wonder they call them crackers...no thats not the real reason i know...but it sure is funnier than the real reason...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on September 28, 2006, 03:19:22 PM
The excellent BEST OF THE BEATLES DVD from PETE BEST will finally be released in the UK on October 2nd, but with a slightly different title - PETE BEST OF THE BEATLES "The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Story Never Told".
The DVD features interviews with original fans and friends of the BEST family, together with the earliest known colour footage of THE BEATLES - a must for all fans!
---> Well, that's what the producer says. Any recommendation from DM's?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: The End on September 28, 2006, 06:10:34 PM
Yeah - I've got it! It sits nicely along side the Anthology DVDs and is what should have been included in the Beatles' story - afterall, he was a Beatle!!!

Thoroughly recommended!!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: The End on September 28, 2006, 06:18:19 PM
Here is a previous conversation we had regarding this DVD, including a more detailed review: http://www.dmbeatles.com/forums/m-1127086338
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on February 02, 2007, 12:16:09 AM
According to a post on Pete Best's website, he is touring the States beginning June 2007.

I think I will try to go to that!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on February 02, 2007, 02:19:18 AM
he is worth a watch!!!enjoy yourself!!!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on March 03, 2007, 12:50:42 PM
Beatles
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on March 03, 2007, 01:25:48 PM
i would be willing to bet there was less guilt with slicing bread....even tho he was cut out he was probally better off....they snuck around his back discussing him...and decided he had too go...groups make decsions together after all and if one is excluded then he is not of the group....
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Revolution on March 03, 2007, 09:18:05 PM
Slicing Bread for a living at the time? :'( My son's guitar teacher met him at a show in Florida. Said he's a nice guy.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on March 03, 2007, 11:44:02 PM
at least he was rolling in the dough....
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Andy Smith on April 08, 2007, 09:06:50 PM
I heard some news today that Pete Best wants to make up with
Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr after 45 years of no contact.
What do you guys think to this?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: raxo on April 08, 2007, 11:43:08 PM
The Beatles' original drummer Pete Best has invited Sir Paul McCartney to break his 40 (sic) years of silence and get in touch.

Best was famously sacked in favour of Ringo Starr just before the Fab Four hit the big time, but the 65-year-old says he'd like to finally speak to Paul again for the first time since he was booted out of the band.

He explains to the Mail, "We're not getting any younger. We know what we've done and we're not going to think any worse of each other if we had a chat now. God bless us all: it was all 40-odd years ago."


They have to hurry up ...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on April 09, 2007, 03:29:12 AM
I think everyone should make up with everyone, because I think people are happier when the air is cleared. You never know when the end might come, and you never get to say what you might have wanted to say.

That said, however, it would really be Paul and Pete having a conversation. I can't see that Ringo had much to do with Pete, although they might have known each other a little from playing a few of the same venues.

From what I understand, John was closest to Pete and George was the one who championed getting Ringo in. So Paul was not the main mover in the replacement matter, or the main friend to become estranged. It might be nice just because Pete sounds like a nice guy.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on April 15, 2007, 06:16:02 PM
the air needs clearing i think tony sheridan would be a good meadiator......
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Revolution on April 16, 2007, 02:00:08 AM
Would be Great to see Pete talking to them. Metallica did this with  their old guitarist( pre- fame era.) . It was Very emotional! The guy just let loose on them for what they did and treated him like.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on April 16, 2007, 10:53:11 AM
dave mustane you are refering too....yeah they did him the same way great analogy......
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Kaleidoscope_Eyes on April 17, 2007, 11:11:55 PM
It would be good if they become friendsies again. I mean it was 40 odd yrs ago (as PB says) and you know, it aint such a big deal  no more i think. Lets hope that "it wont be long"
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Andy Smith on April 18, 2007, 02:23:43 PM
Life's is very for fussing & fighting my friend!!
It is very strange how the beatles never sopke to him again
after he was sacked. Maybe they were too embarrased to face
him after what happened :-/
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Kaleidoscope_Eyes on April 19, 2007, 06:19:36 AM
Quote from: 614
Life's is very for fussing & fighting my friend!!
It is very strange how the beatles never sopke to him again
after he was sacked. Maybe they were too embarrased to face
him after what happened :-/

Yea... did Pete Best go to Brian Epstein's funeral? What I want to know is what PB thinks of Neil Aspinal staying with the Beatles and all.

By the way, you said "life's very short..." I see now that short is defined as 40yrs ;)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on April 19, 2007, 02:38:56 PM
Just wait until you're 40, Kaleidoscope_Eyes! Life will seem very short indeed. In fact, it gets shorter the older you are!  ;D

That said, I don't believe Pete Best went to Brian Epstein's funeral. I've never seen it mentioned. The Beatles did not go because the family didn't want the crowds, although they went to a memorial service later on.

Quote from: 614
Maybe they were too embarrased to face
him after what happened :-/
John always said he was chicken. I forget where the quote originated, but it's certainly covered in the Anthology book. Cheers!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Kaleidoscope_Eyes on April 19, 2007, 11:44:10 PM
Quote from: 551
Just wait until you're 40, Kaleidoscope_Eyes!


You mean 'til I am in the age of 40 or 'till i am, physically, 40 kaleidoscope eyes?  ;) hehe, i know what you mean.  
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on April 20, 2007, 02:37:59 AM
Whoa, 40 kaleidoscope eyes! *quickly takes LSD to recover from the image*  ;D
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: DarkSweetLady on April 25, 2007, 10:48:25 PM
I met Pete Best last summer. after I saw a show... just thought I add that ...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Andy Smith on April 25, 2007, 10:56:05 PM
You met him?!!! :o
did you speak to him or was it just a quick hi?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on April 25, 2007, 11:53:37 PM
Quote from: 614
You met him?!!! :o
did you speak to him or was it just a quick hi?

OMG, what I would give to even say hi.

Makes me want to ask ... has anyone ever laid eyes on a Beatle?  I went to a Paul McCartney concert, but I mean up close, like close enough to say hi, or even (GASP) shake hands or something?

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on April 26, 2007, 12:37:58 AM
Quote from: 284
at least he was rolling in the dough....

Oh, I get it.  ;D (Better late than never...)

Ooh, tell us more, DarkSweetLady. I will post George pictures for you. What were your impressions when you met Pete Best? Everyone so far (that I've read about on the web) has really liked him.

DarkSweetLady bait:
(http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/harihead/georgechair1.jpg)

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: DarkSweetLady on April 28, 2007, 10:36:29 PM
harihead you crack me up... I loved the bait! It is a very sexy picture...

OK! Here's the story:

   It was on August 6th at this one concert he was performing at... after the concert he was signing autographs... and we were the last people in line... so we waited for like an hour and a half...
But I was like freaking out for like that whole time. I was like" OMG what do i say!? What if I can't say anything?!... I laugh at it now... ya but I just basically said that i liked the concert and what he was doing now was cool... but I got a drum snare signed.
I didn't want to say anything in refrence to the beatles b/c I didn't know how he might react. but i was wearing a beatle top...

 But I didn't know he was signing or I would have bought my camera. . . maybe next time right?
Is that what you wanted to know...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on April 29, 2007, 02:30:05 PM
Quote from: 668
I loved the bait! It is a very sexy picture...

My pleasure, DarkSweetLady! :)

You got a drum snare signed, how cool! Thanks for the report.  Did you get much of an impression of Pete as a person? I know you were nervous-- I'm sure I would be, too. I just wondered if you got any sense of his personality from seeing him up close. But perhaps he was mostly signing and not chatting.

Anyway, just for fun, here's a pic of the Beatles with Pete:
(http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/harihead/hamburg6.jpg)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: raxo on April 29, 2007, 03:01:26 PM
Quote from: 551
[...]Anyway, just for fun, here's a pic of the Beatles with Pete:
([url]http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/harihead/hamburg6.jpg[/url])


... and two bass guitars, by the way!  ::)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: DarkSweetLady on April 29, 2007, 04:42:23 PM
He was very nice. He seemed very sweet.
I was just nervous because I mean look how close he was to George in that picture. LOL!

I just wish I got a picture of him. My dad said if he tours here again he'll take me.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on April 29, 2007, 05:52:59 PM
There you go, nice and sweet. So far, only good reports about Pete. :) I hope you do get to see him again and get a photo, DSL! That would be lots of fun. :)

Quote from: 297
... and two bass guitars, by the way!  ::)

Yes, I noticed that. I assume this must be January (or so) after the first Hamburg trip, when Stu came back for a while before moving to Germany permanently.

Quote from: 668
I mean look how close he was to George in that picture. LOL!

He's even closer to George in this picture. ;)

(http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/harihead/hamburg10.jpg)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: DarkSweetLady on April 29, 2007, 08:20:14 PM
Yum! George looks so mysterious. You have the greatest pictures harihead!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on April 30, 2007, 03:34:45 AM
Thanks, DarkSweetLady! I am a mere newcomer, so my picture collection is quite eccentric. I do like the funny ones, however.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: DarkSweetLady on May 01, 2007, 12:12:42 AM
i think he looks hott lol...

      
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on May 09, 2007, 11:03:33 AM
So, according to this news Paul and Pete did meet recently:

Quote
Sir Paul backs the Casbah in new promo film
[Press release] -- "I think it's a good idea to let people know about the Casbah. They know about the Cavern, they know about some of those things, but the Casbah was the place where all that started," said Sir Paul McCartney.

The Casbah Coffee Club was not just the starting block for popular cultures greatest music phenomenon, The Beatles, but it was the place where Liverpool's sound was nurtured, and encouraged to grow. Liverpool's first BEAT CLUB launched practically every group that became synonymous with Mersey Beat, and put Liverpool on the musical world map.

A new five-minute film featuring Sir Paul McCartney, Rory and Pete Best, Neil Aspinall, and Cynthia Lennon is to be released on Friday the 11th of May 2007. The film can only be viewed at the following Liverpool locations:


The Casbah Coffee Club, West Derby Village, recently awarded English Heritage status.
The Beatle Story, Albert Dock.
The 08 Place, Whitechapel.

More information:
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on May 09, 2007, 02:06:51 PM
I'm excited! But... I can see they're in a film together, but did they actually meet? I would expect it's a collection of separate interviews.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on May 09, 2007, 07:27:39 PM
Quote from: 551
I'm excited! But... I can see they're in a film together, but did they actually meet? I would expect it's a collection of separate interviews.

That's true. I'm quite sure someone will post it on youtube.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Andy Smith on May 09, 2007, 11:10:58 PM
Be interesting to hear what they had to say. ::)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on May 10, 2007, 02:25:00 AM
No, I think he'll come clean at last!

PAUL: The real reason why we wanted Pete Best out of the group was... [answer interrupted by static that looks suspiciously like the kind that interrupted Brian Epstein's apology to the Manillan people about why the Beatles never made it to the Royal Palace...]

PAUL: ...and that is the complete and total truth. Now, at last, it's clear!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on May 13, 2007, 11:37:01 PM
clever girl what!!!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: raxo on May 28, 2007, 08:00:54 PM
Quote from: 297
Pete Best on TV ... long time ago ... funny ... in the mid-1960s as a guest on a TV show ...

Here you are:
[url]http://rapidshare.de/files/18443675/Pete_Best.wmv.html[/url]



I've reuploaded this clip here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/25361791/Pete_Best_-_What_s_My_Line__TV_Show__1964_.wmv.html
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: on June 05, 2007, 03:32:45 AM
I was not aware until a short while ago that Pete Best BBC recordings still existed. They do. Use some fukking symbols Pete.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on August 24, 2007, 01:52:40 AM
nice pete interveiw here.....http://beatlesbrunch.com/Features/Articles/petebest.html
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on March 07, 2008, 09:10:56 AM
Interview with Pete and Mona Best:

I_p_zKrKWFE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_p_zKrKWFE)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on March 07, 2008, 11:57:24 AM
Bless him. His mum's speaking up for him!! :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on March 07, 2008, 12:15:01 PM
It looks like Pete can hardly speak for himself!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bill Harry on March 08, 2008, 09:17:18 AM
 Here is an excerpt of a piece I wrote about Pete:

    On Wednesday 15 August 1962, following their lunchtime gig at the Cavern, Pete asked John what time he and Neil Aspinall would collect him for the customary lift in the van the next day. John said:
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on March 08, 2008, 02:27:33 PM
Quote from: 63
Interview with Pete and Mona Best:

I_p_zKrKWFE ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_p_zKrKWFE[/url])


"I haven't seen him for Donkey's Years"?

Is that what he said? Is that a Liverpudlian thing? If so, I LOVE it!!

Also, I'd never heard the expression about being "a bit niggled" before, that's great too!

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on March 08, 2008, 02:32:57 PM
Quote from: 1062
Here is an excerpt of a piece I wrote about Pete:

    On Wednesday 15 August 1962, following their lunchtime gig at the Cavern, Pete asked John what time he and Neil Aspinall would collect him for the customary lift in the van the next day. John said:
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bill Harry on March 08, 2008, 02:57:04 PM
I collaborated on a book with Pete called 'The Best Years Of The Beatles' and spent a week with him at his home taping his entire life story. The book was published in Britain by Headline, but not published internationally. Pete told me in detail what had happened and he was unaware that the planning to oust him had been going on for some time. I do know that George went to Ringo's house to ask him to join them, but Ringo was in Butlins with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes at the time. I mentioned it in Mersey Beat which is perhaps why Bruno gave him that black eye!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on March 08, 2008, 06:11:55 PM
Quote from: 1062
I collaborated on a book with Pete called 'The Best Years Of The Beatles' and spent a week with him at his home taping his entire life story. The book was published in Britain by Headline, but not published internationally. Pete told me in detail what had happened and he was unaware that the planning to oust him had been going on for some time. I do know that George went to Ringo's house to ask him to join them, but Ringo was in Butlins with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes at the time. I mentioned it in Mersey Beat which is perhaps why Bruno gave him that black eye!

Wow! I know about the black eye, I think there are pics of George in Studio #2 (for the first time) sporting a shiner. Who was Bruno?

BTW, was it Mona Best that Mal fathered a child with?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: JimmyMcCullochFan on March 08, 2008, 06:34:45 PM
Mona fathered a child with Neil.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bill Harry on March 08, 2008, 07:19:13 PM
Yes, Roag Best is Neil's son. Bruno was a Best fan and he hit George in the eye when they appeared at the Cavern. On the front page of Mersey Beat, where Brian had a special photo taken for me of the Beatles at Speke Airport on their way to London for the recording session, George can clearly be seen with the black eye. This issue is now available on  www.rockandpopshop.com
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on March 09, 2008, 04:36:56 PM
Wonderful entries. Thanks, Bill.

Amazon's copy of  'The Best Years Of The Beatles'  is for sale for over $100, so I don't think I'll be buying it anytime soon. Any chance of a reprint?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on March 10, 2008, 07:32:46 AM
Quote from: 568

Who was Bruno?


Bruno Koshmider. He owned the Kaiserkeller in Hamburg where The Beatles played in 1960.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Ligger on March 10, 2008, 11:52:13 AM
What a magnanimous, healing gesture it would be for Paul to invite Pete over for a little chat. Even better to ask him over to jam on a new project. It really would benefit Paul more than anyone. Such an amazing amount of good karma would accrue.

Pete really has been such a gentleman about the whole thing. God, if it were me, I would have quite an ax to grind. It would be hard to hold my tongue and be civil.

I have to say that Pete's Anthology windfall was a first step by Paul etc. in the right direction. That largess allowed Pete to take early retirement and get back into playing music and meeting the fans on a regular basis.

Goodbye Liverpool Employment Office 9 to 5 grind. Back to the drum kit.

As an aside, I was once visiting Liverpool almost twenty years ago, to research a writing project and I telephoned Pete at his job. The man was such a gentleman, so polite. He was extremely courteous to this complete stranger who called out of the blue. He took the time to explain that he was terribly busy at the moment and that he wasn't doing interviews at that time in his life. I got the message and apologized for bothering him at work. He wished me the best of luck with my project; and I was left with an after image of a warm, kind and generous person.

I still feel fortunate to have been able to talk to him on the telephone for five minutes.


Come on, Paul.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on March 10, 2008, 03:47:20 PM
Quote from: 568

... Who was Bruno?

 


Quote from: 1062
... Bruno was a Best fan and he hit George in the eye when they appeared at the Cavern...

Quote from: 483

Bruno Koshmider. He owned the Kaiserkeller in Hamburg where The Beatles played in 1960.

BM, are you sure you are talking about the same Bruno that Bill Harry is? I guess your Hamburg Bruno would have to have been visiting the Cavern to bop George one...?


Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on March 10, 2008, 04:06:06 PM
Quote from: 568






BM, are you sure you are talking about the same Bruno that Bill Harry is? I guess your Hamburg Bruno would have to have been visiting the Cavern to bop George one...?



I don't know for sure, but it's quite possible. Koshmider had been in England before. Didn't he hire Derry & The Seniors?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on March 10, 2008, 05:43:51 PM
Quote from: 483

I don't know for sure, but it's quite possible. Koshmider had been in England before. Didn't he hire Derry & The Seniors?

Yes, and I'd LOVE to see/hear them in action. They looked jamming at the Weymouth social club from the still photo. I suppose we'll never see/hear them. I wonder what Paul thought about them?

Mr. Harry, if you're reading this, did you ever get to hear/see them?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on March 10, 2008, 07:30:17 PM
Quote from: 568

Yes, and I'd LOVE to see/hear them in action. They looked jamming at the Weymouth social club from the still photo. I suppose we'll never see/hear them. I wonder what Paul thought about them?

Mr. Harry, if you're reading this, did you ever get to hear/see them?


Bill's on holiday. But referring to his site (http://www.mersey-beat.net/), the band, under the name of Howie and the Seniors, did record and they even did so before The Beatles made their first record. Bill might be of help here!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on March 10, 2008, 08:00:21 PM
Quote from: 63

Bill's on holiday. But referring to his site ([url]http://www.mersey-beat.net/[/url]), the band, under the name of Howie and the Seniors, did record and they even did so before The Beatles made their first record. Bill might be of help here!


Wow, is all I have to say!

Well, not really of course, but I remember reading a thread a while back that asked if any other Liverpool groups had recorded before the Beatles, and here is the answer. THANKS, Bobber.

I will start a new thread for Mr. Harry's attention to see what he might know about the recording, or even what it might have been like to hear them.

Thanks again, Bobber!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on March 11, 2008, 03:21:40 AM
bruno k didn't punch george...http://beatlesstory.com/wiki/ow.asp?BrunoKoschmider
i thought that it was around this time...(http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/john-lennon-067-1.jpg)
but no black eye there...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on March 11, 2008, 08:36:06 AM
Not yet. You can see it in this session:

(http://www.beatlefans.com/post/firstbeatles1962.jpg)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on March 11, 2008, 08:37:24 AM
Quote from: 568

Wow, is all I have to say!

Well, not really of course, but I remember reading a thread a while back that asked if any other Liverpool groups had recorded before the Beatles, and here is the answer. THANKS, Bobber.

I will start a new thread for Mr. Harry's attention to see what he might know about the recording, or even what it might have been like to hear them.

Thanks again, Bobber!

You're welcome. Not groups, but artists like Billy Fury and Frankie Vaughan came from Liverpool and recorded before The Beatles did.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on May 08, 2008, 01:49:54 AM
Quote from: 284
nice pete interveiw here.....[url]http://beatlesbrunch.com/Features/Articles/petebest.html[/url]


sorry haven't signed in for several weeks. Got tied up putting this event together for the first USA concert of the Pete Best Band 2008 tours in Buffalo NY on 5/9.    Rumor has it there may be the debut of new PBB music, but we won't know until the first show on May 8th in Burlington Ontario. (club 54).

Anyhoo...here's the 97rock radio interview on podcast.  http://www.97rock.com/Article.asp?id=668983&spid=21996

Pete will also be on PM Buffalo 430 (or 4?) eastern time on Friday.

full event details  www.tralfmusichall.com

Enjoy the interview. about 10 minutes or so.

 

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bill Harry on May 08, 2008, 07:17:07 AM
Bruno was a fan from West Derby in Liverpool, not to be confused with Bruno Koschmeider of the Kaiserkeller. The book I wrote with Pete 'The Best Years Of The Beatles', is available at a normal rate on Pete Best's own site.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on May 08, 2008, 10:38:11 AM
haymans green is due out soon.....
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Ligger on May 08, 2008, 12:14:15 PM
I just finished listening to that 97 Rock Pete Best interview.

He sounds so happy.

Bravo, Pete.

What a classy guy.

The Beatles were really blessed to have been surrounded by a bunch of pretty nice people like: Pete, Neil, Mona, Brian, George, Mal, Astrid, Klaus, Jurgen, Sam L., Bob W., Bill H, etc., etc., etc.

"Yes, I know I'm a lucky guy..."
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Geoff on May 11, 2008, 03:43:48 AM
Found while surfing:

Ex-Beatles drummer Pete Best rocks on

By ROBERT M. COOK
bcook@fosters.com
Article Date: Saturday, May 10, 2008


DOVER
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on May 11, 2008, 06:48:05 AM
Quote
Many of the songs the band plays were featured on the Beatles "Anthology I" CD in 1995 and netted Best and his family up to $4 million pounds in royalties.
Well, that's a relief. Better late than never, I suppose. I'm glad he got a chance to enjoy his contribution to their legacy at last, as he certainly went through some misery to begin with. *hugs him... oh yeah, I already did that* :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Out Of Me Head on June 03, 2008, 06:06:36 PM
I heard a funny story from someone who went to see Pete Best giving a lecture about his Beatle days. During the lecture, Best did a fairly obvious running gag of "then I met Paul, er, Paul (pretending to forget) what's his name again?" Unfortunately, there was a completely humourless fan in the audience, who not realising it was a gag, stood up and helpfully shouted "It's Paul McCartney!" And later on, when Pete Best redid the same gag for the other Beatles, this fan kept on standing up going "It's John Lennon!" and "It's George Harrison for god sake, you worked with him!". Excruciating at the time, but funny in retrospect.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on June 04, 2008, 07:12:31 PM
Ugh! What a horrible story! Wasn't any intelligent person sitting near this "fan" who could say, "It's okay, buddy. Grow a sense of humor."

I heard Pete is funny at these talks. He did a bit of talking between sets during the concert I saw but... I couldn't understand him! His accent was too thick. From the people up front who were laughing (perhaps they could lip read?) he was pretty funny.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on June 04, 2008, 07:15:30 PM
Quote from: 551
Ugh! What a horrible story! Wasn't any intelligent person sitting near this "fan" who could say, "It's okay, buddy. Grow a sense of humor."

I heard Pete is funny at these talks. He did a bit of talking between sets during the concert I saw but... I couldn't understand him! His accent was too thick. From the people up front who were laughing (perhaps they could lip read?) he was pretty funny.

That is crazy!!  Most accents mellow out over time, or at least stay the same. I've herrrrd Pete talk on youtube, he seemed fairly intelligible. Do you think it was a bad sound system at the venue (lots of echo), or maybe there was some alcohol involved, perish the thought!

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on June 04, 2008, 07:33:35 PM
Here's a piece I found that Bill wrote for Mersey Beat when Ringo replaced Pete. (Hope you don't mind Bill)

(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g299/paulk58/pete.jpg)

MERSEY BEAT EXCLUSIVE STORY
BEATLES CHANGE DRUMMER!

Ringo Starr (former drummer with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes) has joined The Beatles, replacing Pete Best on drums. Ringo has admired The Beatles for years and is delighted with his new engagement. Naturally he is tremendously excited about the future.

The Beatles comment "Pete left the group by mutual agreement. There were no arguments or difficulties, and this has been an entirely amicable decision."

On Tuesday, September 4th, The Beatles will fly to London to make recordings at E.M.I. Studios. They will be recording numbers that have been specifically written for the group, which they have received from their recording manager George Martin (Parlophone).

THE BEATLES TO PLAY CHESTER

As a result of the phenominal Box Office success of the Beatles during their 4-week season of Monday nights at the Plaza Ballroom, St. Helens, the directors of Whetstone Entertainment, controllers of the ballroom, have engaged the Beatles for a series of four Thursday night sessions at the Riverpark Ballroom, Chester, which commenced on 16th August.


[Mersey Beat, August 23, 1962]
Article copyright
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: harihead on June 07, 2008, 08:39:50 PM
Quote from: 568
I've herrrrd Pete talk on youtube, he seemed fairly intelligible. Do you think it was a bad sound system at the venue

Maybe it was a bad sound system. I hadn't thought of that. It was terribly frustrating, because I've listened to the Beatles a lot, and I just couldn't get what Pete was saying.

I know I certainly got smashed after the show (sat up drinking with some friendly Canadians), but Pete was sober, but very tired, poor man. I know because I was forced to hug him four times for the requisite mug shot, because my flash wouldn't go off.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on June 21, 2008, 06:09:39 PM
Pete Best doesn`t seem to be a very clever guy. As George Martin says he was rather gloomy, aloof and tied-lipped, out of the place. I dont think there is any point in their meeting each other, what can they say to each other? Though, certainly, as a fan i would like to watch them and to listen to any kind of conversation they may have. So from my egotistical point of view i am for the encounter.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on July 04, 2008, 07:35:45 AM
I read that Pete is about to release an album with original material, called Haymans Green.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Andy Smith on July 04, 2008, 08:15:55 PM
Quote from: 63
I read that Pete is about to release an album with original material, called Haymans Green.


is Macca making a guest appearance on a track?  :P

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bill Harry on July 05, 2008, 08:46:32 AM
I can't help feeling that some of George Martin's current comments have been influenced by the Beatles books he's read. It was very common in the early Sixties for Londob A&R men to use session drummers - on a variety of bands ranging from the Beatles to Procol Harum.
When the Beatles sacked Pete, George Martin told Mo Best: "I never suggested that Pete Best must go. All I said was that for the purposes of the Beatles first record I would rather have a session man. I never thought that Brian Epstein would let him go. He seemed to be the most saleable commodity as far as looks went. It was a surprise when I learned they had dropped Pete."
When Ringo replaced him, Ron Richards. George Martin and Paul McCartney all said they were unhappy with the way Ringo played on their first recording session, so a second one was arranged. When they arrived drummer Andy White was there and Ringo thought 'They've done a Pete Best on me.' Martin said, "He (Ringo) couldn't do a roll - and still can't,  though he's improved a lot since. Andy was the kind of drummer I needed. Ringo was only used to ballrooms. It was obviously best to use someone with experience."
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Geoff on July 05, 2008, 11:40:00 AM
Quote from: 1062
It was very common in the early Sixties for Londob A&R men to use session drummers - on a variety of bands ranging from the Beatles to Procol Harum.
When the Beatles sacked Pete, George Martin told Mo Best: "I never suggested that Pete Best must go. All I said was that for the purposes of the Beatles first record I would rather have a session man. I never thought that Brian Epstein would let him go. He seemed to be the most saleable commodity as far as looks went. It was a surprise when I learned they had dropped Pete."

I may well have this wrong, but I think Martin said somewhere that while he thought Pete Best was fine for live dates he wasn't a good enough drummer to record (the Anthology audition take of "Love Me Do" bears him out on this, I think). He probably expected to use session drummers on the recording sessions while Pete would keep playing for The Beatles live, and was surprised when The Beatles turned up to record "Love Me Do" with Ringo. Ringo got his shot on the first recording of "Love Me Do" - that take appeared on the first issues of the single -  but was displaced by Andy White's remake on the album and later editions of the single. Ringo and George Martin have been cheerfully giving each other the elbow about it ever since, too, most notably on the Anthology video.   :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on July 11, 2008, 01:46:24 PM
The last two pieces of information are very interesting! I have never heard about that. The general perception is that Pete didn`t fit in, first, for his lack of charisma, and, second, for his rather poor performance. But, remember, the curios thing is that none of the Beatles objected to the dismissal. As if they were happy to get rid of him. As if he hadn`t made close friends with them when in Germany, as if he were simply a burden to them, an alien, a pariah. And they had never communicated with him since. So not much of a loss was he. Why do you think they didn`t protest?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on July 11, 2008, 02:12:04 PM
Quote from: 1393
Why do you think they didn`t protest?

It was their plan in the first place.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on July 11, 2008, 02:13:36 PM
Quote from: 63

It was their plan in the first place.

Mean plotters!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on July 11, 2008, 04:18:10 PM
Quote from: 551

Maybe it was a bad sound system. I hadn't thought of that. It was terribly frustrating, because I've listened to the Beatles a lot, and I just couldn't get what Pete was saying.

I know I certainly got smashed after the show (sat up drinking with some friendly Canadians), but Pete was sober, but very tired, poor man. I know because I was forced to hug him four times for the requisite mug shot, because my flash wouldn't go off.

I remember when you went ... what a fantastic experience, to touch a Beatle, and more than that to talk and hug one!!

You had a beautiful pic or two (later lightened up by a helpful forum mate) you posted back then ... would love to see them again if you wouldn't mind reposting -

Thanks Harihead!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bill Harry on July 11, 2008, 05:57:48 PM
hERE'S A BIOG i WROTE ABOUT HOWIE CASEY:

Casey, Howie

Howie Casey is a Liverpool legend and his bands preceded the Beatles on a number of fronts. Under their original name of Derry and the Seniors they were the first Liverpool group to go to Hamburg and as Howie Casey & the Seniors the first Mersey band to make a record in their own right.

Born 12 July 1937, Howie started playing saxophone because he liked jazz and decided to pursue a career in music by signing with the King
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on July 15, 2008, 05:17:22 AM
Quote from: 63
I read that Pete is about to release an album with original material, called Haymans Green.

Yes that's true about Haymans Green.

Scheduled for USA release on 9/16.  USA/Canada tour starting 9/12.


I'm not sure how to post up a graphic here, but I have the CD cover art here to share.  No matter where you stand on Pete's role in the history, you're gonna love the concept on the cover art.    
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on July 15, 2008, 05:34:31 AM
Quote from: 1161

I may well have this wrong, but I think Martin said somewhere that while he thought Pete Best was fine for live dates he wasn't a good enough drummer to record (the Anthology audition take of "Love Me Do" bears him out on this, I think). He probably expected to use session drummers on the recording sessions while Pete would keep playing for The Beatles live, and was surprised when The Beatles turned up to record "Love Me Do" with Ringo. Ringo got his shot on the first recording of "Love Me Do" - that take appeared on the first issues of the single -  but was displaced by Andy White's remake on the album and later editions of the single. Ringo and George Martin have been cheerfully giving each other the elbow about it ever since, too, most notably on the Anthology video.   :)

before jumping to a conclusion about that Anthology Love Me Do track, ya should review the history of that LMD track, and why the rudimentary drumming was laid down that way.  It was a raw take of a song in development.

While Cry for a Shadow was on Anthology, as was My Bonnie, Hello Little Girl, Besame mucho, etc... several others great fun tracks, why single out an intentionally raw LoveMeDo as being representative of 1 single musician's ability or alleged lack thereoff ?  

heck, ya can probably also listen to other tapes that reflect some off key singing here or there , but it's so funny to see folks point specifically to that LMD track as some kind of solid "proof" of sub-par musicianship.   For example, just from Anthology alone, Macca goofs up on the takes for 1 after 909, but that's fine right? yet LMD sounds goofy yes (because it's raw), so that makes PB a a poor musician?  Nah... it's just double standards abounding.  

It's fun discussions though. It's history, we all move forward and enjoy the music and the colorful times around it.

Get your ipods ready for Haymans Green though.  I'm pretty sure most of the DM members know the specific relevance of the 2 words in the Fan istory, but for those that don't , you're going to enjoy what you learn on your voyage of discovery.   Go on...look it up.  Enjoy.



Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on July 15, 2008, 08:23:13 AM
Quote from: 902
before jumping to a conclusion about that Anthology Love Me Do track, ya should review the history of that LMD track, and why the rudimentary drumming was laid down that way.  It was a raw take of a song in development.

While Cry for a Shadow was on Anthology, as was My Bonnie, Hello Little Girl, Besame mucho, etc... several others great fun tracks, why single out an intentionally raw LoveMeDo as being representative of 1 single musician's ability or alleged lack thereoff ?  

It was not just 'Love Me Do'. The Beatles first session at EMI was for 3 hours - from 7pm to 10pm on 6th June. They recorded 4 songs - 'Love Me Do', 'Besame Mucho', 'P.S. I Love You', and 'Ask Me Why'. But they rehearsed a good deal of material in the studio before the actual recording started. In fact, it was on hearing 'Love Me Do' that the recording engineer - Ron Richards, sent for George Martin, who would otherwise not have been there. So George made his decision based on more than just one song.

Btw, 'Love Me Do' was not really in development at that time. It was deliberately written in a Roy Orbison style.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on July 15, 2008, 08:44:46 AM
Quote from: 902

Yes that's true about Haymans Green.

Scheduled for USA release on 9/16.  USA/Canada tour starting 9/12.


I'm not sure how to post up a graphic here, but I have the CD cover art here to share.  No matter where you stand on Pete's role in the history, you're gonna love the concept on the cover art.    


(http://h1.ripway.com/Bobber3/haymansgreen.jpg)

Tracks:
Come With Me

Step outside

Start Again

Grey River

Gone

Dream Me Home

Everything I Want

Beat Street

Broken

Red Light

Haymans Green
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Geoff on July 16, 2008, 12:21:07 AM
Quote from: 902

before jumping to a conclusion about that Anthology Love Me Do track, ya should review the history of that LMD track, and why the rudimentary drumming was laid down that way.  It was a raw take of a song in development.

While Cry for a Shadow was on Anthology, as was My Bonnie, Hello Little Girl, Besame mucho, etc... several others great fun tracks, why single out an intentionally raw LoveMeDo as being representative of 1 single musician's ability or alleged lack thereoff ?  

I'll take your point about making too much of the anthology take of "Love Me Do;" as BlueMeanie says, George Martin's decision about wanting to use a session drummer for The Beatles' studio sessions was based on more than that. You also raise an interesting point: Pete switches tempo in the anthology take, and I wonder if that was the way The Beatles played the song live or was it an attempt to re-arrange the song in the studio? If it was the latter, it might explain why Pete had trouble with it and why John and Paul's vocals sound so tentative on a song they must have known well.  :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on July 16, 2008, 03:31:44 AM
Quote from: 1161

I'll take your point about making too much of the anthology take of "Love Me Do;" as BlueMeanie says, George Martin's decision about wanting to use a session drummer for The Beatles' studio sessions was based on more than that. You also raise an interesting point: Pete switches tempo in the anthology take, and I wonder if that was the way The Beatles played the song live or was it an attempt to re-arrange the song in the studio? If it was the latter, it might explain why Pete had trouble with it and why John and Paul's vocals sound so tentative on a song they must have known well. :)


I think one reason for the tentative vocals is that the vocal arrangement was all of a sudden different from their live/pre-studio one (OT - did this song have a life in the clubs, or was it a pure studio song?) - John was actually the one who sang the hook "... love me do..." prior to the studio rehearsals for their first recording! George Martin, who picked the song mainly for the harmonica riff, decided that John didn't have enough time to sing the line AND then inhale enough to play the harmonica riff properly, so he said ... "Here Paul, you sing that line". So that change, plus the pressures of their first recording, could certainly have resulted in tentative vocals!

*Disclaimer - I can't cite references for this, but I'm pretty sure I've read it in multiple places. Maybe someone can confirm (or not)?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Geoff on July 16, 2008, 04:01:09 AM
Quote from: 568
George Martin, who picked the song mainly for the harmonica riff, decided that John didn't have enough time to sing the line AND then inhale enough to play the harmonica riff properly, so he said ... "Here Paul, you sing that line". So that change, plus the pressures of their first recording, could certainly have resulted in tentative vocals!

Yes, I think you're quite right about this: great point. It seems to me that Paul's told this story himself a few times: maybe in the Anthology or his interview in Beatles Recording Sessions?  :)



Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on August 12, 2008, 02:17:30 AM
Quote from: 1161

I'll take your point about making too much of the anthology take of "Love Me Do;" as BlueMeanie says, George Martin's decision about wanting to use a session drummer for The Beatles' studio sessions was based on more than that. You also raise an interesting point: Pete switches tempo in the anthology take, and I wonder if that was the way The Beatles played the song live or was it an attempt to re-arrange the song in the studio? If it was the latter, it might explain why Pete had trouble with it and why John and Paul's vocals sound so tentative on a song they must have known well.  :)


I enjoy this site. Rational point/counterpoint here and there. It's all good.

If LoveMeDo wasn't on Anthology, this discussion probably wouldn't exist, and most casual fans would think.."hey those decca songs sound pretty good...and the Sheridan/Polydor tracks Cry for a Shadow , My Bonnie are as fun and rockin' as anythign else from the time period.  Most (except Decca!) would probably say "hey pretty good band...all of them"

That LMD track is incorrectly pointed to by casual fans as being some kind of smoking gun evidence of poor musicianshhip o nthe drummer's part, while the bass player gets a free pass for the shaky vocal.  Go figure.
 
My understanding is they were trying a differnt arrangement and kicking it around. Even heard pete mention that in some interviews.  Paul was new on the lovemedo vocal, which is  reflected in the shakiness, and also commented in interviews. They both commented on the early take of LMD, but paul gets a pass and pete gets vilified for trying something different mid-take.?  Pete was just slapping the rim of the snare for basic time on the first half of the track, as they were trying arrangements. I'd suppose they were trying stuff on an early studio go 'round..and its recorded for posterity. I' dsay raw basic track, while I know other poster above disagreed. That's fine. no problemo.

While I enjoy the discourse and always find i'm learnign different stuff from others, it's really more the myopic fans elsewhere --without ever hearing ANYTHING else--- that point out "listen to LMD on anthology..that PROVES yadda yadda.."  All I'm saying is that LMD proves only one thing: that they actually worked on songs before recording final versions for release, which is only logical, practical, heck it might have even been fun also.

PArt of the fun of Anthology was to show the band working on takes, and various timings and versions of songs, yet the rawness of LMD take is singled out.  LMD on Anth was a simple early track they were trying some ideas on..just because it was committed to tape doesn't mean that THAT specific take was intended for release and they said "good god we can't release THIS one..it's AWFUL". lol.. And the Anth track certainly doesn't reflect the sum total of any bandmember's total talent, especially if it was also macca's first shot at the "lovemedo" vocal.

Of course, there were other basic tracks not on Anthology when george's guitar work was off, or Ringo's drumming was mediocre..or whatever.  By the same token re: Anthology 1, Paul flubbed the bass on "One after 909" a few times..certainly didn't mean he wasn't a capable bass player although 1after909 didn't get released (and reworked) until the Let it Be album.  However, legions of fans would likely rush to defend how and rationalize why Paul goofed up the bass lines on 1 after 909 no matter what the story is.  It's no big deal..they were kickign it around in the studio..that's where that stuff is supposed to happen anyway.

 It's all in the past though...but it's fun to yap about it respectfully.  Of note, the recording engineers had commented LMD on the '05 pete best of the beatles dvd, and then again the decca fokls said "guitar groups are on the way out"...so, heck, people made mistakes and judgment arrors back way back. It's sll jus tso much history now..bu fun to chat about.

The most popular band in Liverpool at the time. Certainly all the musicians had chops; it was the live setting that got them noticed.  I'll refer back to Cry for Shadow of even My Bonnie, and give a listen to the drumming there. It kicks arse.  It's all good fun though...thanks for the thread and the respectful discourse.

Meanwhile, click here  http://www.lightyear.com/  see "Music" in the middle of the screen, and click on the black/green album to hear 3 full tracks.

Enjoy.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bill Harry on August 12, 2008, 08:35:53 AM
Here's a piece I wrote about Pete:
http://merseybeat.co.uk/articles-details.php?cat=Mersey+Artists&id=375
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Geoff on August 12, 2008, 04:43:59 PM
Thanks, Bill: great site; I hadn't known about Pete's tour with Roy Orbison or the audition for The Monkees. Most of the photos were new to me, too.  :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on August 12, 2008, 06:03:50 PM
Quote from: 1062
Here's a piece I wrote about Pete:
[url]http://merseybeat.co.uk/articles-details.php?cat=Mersey+Artists&id=375[/url]


Thanks Bill for your article!

There's something a little odd about Pete learning by accident that Decca had rejected the group based on their 1-1-62 audition .... not so much perhaps that nobody told him, but that he didn't learn until June '62! I'd think he might have been asking in the previous 6 months about the results of the audition? Especially since it seems he was the main contact with Brian Epstein ... it doesn't add up somehow  :-/

Anyway, thanks for the read again Bill! I think the color pic with the "city skyline" was maybe taken in Hamburg ... Star Club? Anyone with a better idea?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bill Harry on August 12, 2008, 07:05:18 PM
Yes, the photo was one of over a dozen colour slides Manfred Weissleder took for me at the Star Club in return for me writing a column in his Star Club News. I used one of John on stage at the club as a Mersey Beat cover. I had the box of slides for many years and a friend, Henri Henroid, who used to be involved with the Star Club asked if he could borrow them to show Manfred. I never got them back and found that Henri had sold them at auction, even though they were my copyright. This happened a lot to me because I was very trusting.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on August 12, 2008, 08:21:20 PM
Bill Harry, thank you very much! Your article is very interesting, I read it in a gulp! Few people know the truth about Pete Best. Everybody thinks that he was not good enough, poor guy...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on August 13, 2008, 07:05:43 AM
Mistake tho on the date of the first Hamburg trip. That was of course in 1960, not in 1959.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bill Harry on August 13, 2008, 10:24:26 AM
Many thanks, correcting. What about this on Pete's mum:
BEST, MONA.  Arguably, the first Merseyside promoter to give the Beatles regular support.
     Born of English parents in India, she worked for the Red Cross in Delhi, where she met and married John Best, an army officer. The couple had two sons, Peter and Rory. In 1945 the family returned to England and lived in a flat in Casey Street, Liverpool for two years. Then they settled in a large Victorian house at 8 Haymans Green in the West Derby area of Liverpool.
     The huge house had a large complex of cellars and when Pete was sixteen, Mona had noticed the number of young friends visiting him at the house and decided to turn part of the cellar area into a private club for him. But word got out and more ambitious plans developed, which resulted in a club for young people with live groups. It became one of the first cellar clubs to present rock
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on August 19, 2008, 08:10:07 AM
Pete at David Letterman's show in 1982:

wb2GIFMLgpU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb2GIFMLgpU)

6C_hiy4bRLs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C_hiy4bRLs)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on August 19, 2008, 06:30:26 PM
http://www.myspace.com/thepetebestband
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: JimmyMcCullochFan on August 19, 2008, 06:59:16 PM
Thanks for the link. He's playing in my state on my birthday!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on August 19, 2008, 10:06:34 PM
great...hope you can go.....peace
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: alexis on August 21, 2008, 02:11:48 AM
Great, thanks so much pc31  :) :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on August 21, 2008, 08:04:24 PM
you're welcome as well...... ;)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: tkitna on August 23, 2008, 01:47:53 AM
Pete Best cameo in new movie-

From beatles-unlimited.com

Over the past 45 years, the legend of Pete Best has grown to the point where his name is shorthand for those who couldn
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: The Swine on September 17, 2008, 01:07:45 PM
Quote from: 63

([url]http://h1.ripway.com/Bobber3/haymansgreen.jpg[/url])

Tracks:
Come With Me

Step outside

Start Again

Grey River

Gone

Dream Me Home

Everything I Want

Beat Street

Broken

Red Light

Haymans Green



first critics seem to be alright
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: aspinall_lover on September 18, 2008, 04:41:13 AM
The Pete Best Band is coming HERE to Little Rock, October 1, for a one night performance at this rock club we have in town called, "Sticky-Finga's"...........That's a "school night" for me, on a Wednesday.......so I don't know if I'll be able to attend.............you know I'm a wife and mom.............But you NEVER KNOW what I'll pull out from the "wood-work".....ask my hubby about this one.................
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on September 21, 2008, 03:53:59 AM
tell him i'm a big big fan of his and think he needs to make some vintage posters of himself for his brother roag to sell....
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: aspinall_lover on September 21, 2008, 05:05:35 AM
Oh.......................you are SO BAD Marshall...............I'm still "in the works" on trying to attend...........
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on September 21, 2008, 05:09:34 PM
Hey folks:

Sharing some insights from the first few shows of the '08 Fall tour for The Pete Best Band.

#1) the new album is actually very good, beyond expectations.  Very pretty meolodies, great harmonies, emotional/colorful lyrics. The fact that it's biographical/autobiographical adds more to the whole package. Some venues  are using the CD cover art in some promo handbills/posters alongside Antholgy 1 cover art, to show where the pic comes from.  Quite cool actually.

#2) Several of the tracks are in the rotation now at beatlesradio.com.  they'll play it also if you email in.

#3) Seeing the songs performed live is a real treat, as each guitarist (Phil, Paul, Tony) sings lead for each of the 3 tracks respectively, round and round, Step Outside, Broken.  The harrmonies are top shelf throughout.

In all honesty, there's not a bad or boring track on the CD.  

If you're in the states..the band is now heading toward midwest for the next few weeks after wrapping up the east coast in Hamilton Ontario last night.  Phil Bimpson from Liverpool UK was in the house last week at the Liverpool NY show. Fun time all around,,really was.  

The CD sounds great..turn it up to 11. Step Outside is the first singlel a real pleasure to watch it unfold live, as each bandmember is completely engrossed in the song behind Paul's lead vocal. Watching Pete and Roag at the same time is a treat..so if yo go see them live o nthis tour, make it a point to check out how the Best brothers are driving the rhythm section.

I've not seen any bonafide "reviews" from newspapers or other media outlets, so perhaps the "fan" reviews will show up shortly on amazon.com etc etc.  

From 1st track to last, it's really an enjoyable CD. I played it in background at a business function for 80 last week. People thoguth they knew the music..sounded a bit familiar but just couldnt place it, but everyone liekd it and asked where to buy it.  That was cool to hear...

So..thanks for letting me post up again and share some thoughts with ya.

P.S. By the way, while I enjoy this forum a lot when I get in here,  I especially enjoy reading Bill Harry's posts and comments.   I'd love to hear what the buzz / comments are from Liverpool about the upcoming UK release of Haymans Green.  

Thanks. I'll be around.  
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: aspinall_lover on September 21, 2008, 06:35:54 PM
^^^^^^^^Thanks for the info 62re...........I'll keep this all in mind.............
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on September 23, 2008, 01:37:48 PM
This little rumour seems to be doing the rounds at the moment.

Quote
We only have tapes of The Beatles playing at the Casbah. We've listened to them once in forty years.


http://www.petebest.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2953
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on September 23, 2008, 01:50:41 PM
^What is this rumour worth? Depends on who the administrator of that forum is.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on September 23, 2008, 01:52:03 PM
Yep. I think the assumption is that it's someone named Best. I going to see if I can resurrect the thread.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on September 24, 2008, 06:59:48 PM
Quote from: 483
Yep. I think the assumption is that it's someone named Best. I going to see if I can resurrect the thread.

It's credible.

This may help you with some context, as I'm pretty active on the PB forum the past 4+ years: About a week ago, a new visitor to the petebest forum (username escapes me at the moment) asked for verification/info of very early tapes that were online somewhere, but the poster forgot to include the links.  

A follow up posting asked for the missing links, then the site administrator (Roag) posted the comment referencing the Casbah.   I can try to find out a little bit more if you'd like. Drop me a line or post up etc.  I was as surpised as anyone, but i forgot to ask them abut it when i saw everyone last week in liverpool NY.

..if you're in USA in September/October, just ask them directly over a beer after the show.

  
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on September 25, 2008, 12:35:25 AM
sQGaB6scAnA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQGaB6scAnA) SyGPd0RfOg4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyGPd0RfOg4)
65QhadqCNDk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65QhadqCNDk)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on September 25, 2008, 12:53:13 AM
Quote from: 902

It's credible.

This may help you with some context, as I'm pretty active on the PB forum the past 4+ years: About a week ago, a new visitor to the petebest forum (username escapes me at the moment) asked for verification/info of very early tapes that were online somewhere, but the poster forgot to include the links.  

A follow up posting asked for the missing links, then the site administrator (Roag) posted the comment referencing the Casbah.   I can try to find out a little bit more if you'd like. Drop me a line or post up etc.  I was as surpised as anyone, but i forgot to ask them abut it when i saw everyone last week in liverpool NY.

..if you're in USA in September/October, just ask them directly over a beer after the show.

  

I would post, but I'm still awaiting verification from the mods. Any help on that one would be appreciated. I guess if it's Roag, I have a long wait!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: aspinall_lover on September 30, 2008, 04:01:38 AM
Nope.........I won't be going to the show.  "Witches" meeting at Beef'O Brady's for the Haunted Hayride my church has every year.  I'm the "head WITCH" and I have alot to do.........and I will post photos of the "rituals".....
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on January 05, 2009, 04:32:48 AM
i guess we'll never hear it......
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on January 05, 2009, 08:23:02 AM
Quote from: 284
i guess we'll never hear it......

Is Liz still busy out there? She might know something.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on January 05, 2009, 02:50:27 PM
liz has distanced herself from everything...i guess pete was a passing fancy...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Geoff on February 04, 2009, 02:50:38 PM
Not sure if this is new or not....



[size=18]Pete Best finally speaks out over bitter sacking from The Beatles[/size]
by Pierce King. Published Wed 04 Feb 2009 14:12 / Click Liverpool

The original 'fifth Beatle' Pete Best has spoken out about his bitter heartbreak at being dropped by The Fab Four just before they hit the big time ahead of his new album.

Pete, 67, is a world-famous music legend, not for what he managed to achieve - but for what he missed out on for the sake of a few weeks.

He was the drummer famously sacked by The Beatles in 1962, in the month before they shot into the stratosphere. He was left on the launch pad, sticks in hand.

It's rock history now, but suddenly the Pete versus Ringo debate is firing again after Sir Paul McCartney popped up on a US radio show last week to offer his version of the event.

Macca said: "Ringo was in another band, and we just fell in love with his drumming, that's the truth.

"One night he sat in for Pete, and we just went... wow!"

Pete recalled the thousands of nights spent agonising over why he was suddenly dropped without explanation and against a huge backlash from their Liverpool home-grown fans at the Cavern.

He said: "Maybe somebody just thought Ringo sounded better than Pete, maybe it was as simple as that.

"What really hurt then, and still hurts now, is that no one had the courage or the decency to tell me what they were plotting.

"It would have been nice if just once, in these last 47 years, Sir Paul had picked up a phone to make that call and explain it as that, just as one old mate to another."

It could be argued that on the other hand, he could have picked up his own phone and called Sir Paul.

"No way," he says. "We have never spoken a word since that day, and what would we talk about now? He's a superstar, a world icon, he doesn't lead the everyday life that ordinary people do, so what would we have in common?

"I have no regrets. You can lead a rich life without millions in the bank and mansions in the country."

Pete has finally put down on the record his own feelings about the split, and the dream abruptly snatched away from him, in a song on his new CD by the Pete Best Band.

It's a track called Broken. A bitter-sounding lament about betrayal, deceit and tears behind closed doors while you put on a macho face to the world.

The album is being launched this month in the Casbah Club, the Liverpool coffee bar opened by Pete's mum Mona with her winnings from the 1954 Derby.

People think that The Beatles story started at The Cavern, but it didn't. The real beginning was in this cramped basement where the city's fledgling beat groups used to play to 200 fans inside while 1,000 more crowded into the back garden.

The Beatles tour buses don't stop here. Only diehard fans visit by appointment, to be shown around by Pete's brothers Roag and Rory.

They see the original Dansette record player propped on a stool, the upright piano the bands thumped away at, the ceilings painted by Lennon and McCartney, and there, chiselled into one wall, a single name... John.

It's where Pete still practises, amid the memories. Hayman's Green, his album's title, is the address of the street outside.

Pete is a grandfather of four now, but he's still recognisable as that moodily handsome, leather-jacketed kid who attracted his own following of adoring groupies back then.

It has also been argued that he was just too handsome and deemed a threat to Paul and John.

Pete joined another band and struggled for two more years, but with a young family to support he abandoned showbiz for regular wages. First in a bakery. Then working in a local Job Centre for 20 years.

Standing by him all the way was Cathy, the girl he had spotted from behind his drumkit as she danced in The Cavern, the girl who married him a year after The Beatles sacked him, the girl who gave him his two daughters.

"We were living in a two-up two-down by the end of the 1960s after The Beatles had conquered the world, but none of that ever mattered to Cathy," he says.

"Let's face it, if she was ever going to leave me, it would have been the day I became an ex-Beatle, but she chose to stay.

"I fell in love with her from the start and I still love her as deeply today. I idolise her.

I only wish I could be given another 45 years to spend on this planet with the same girl."

But it wasn't always easy. Pete suffered depression and even made a bungled suicide attempt - turning on the gas fire and blocking the doors before he was rescued by his brothers.

"There have been times when we were struggling to pay the bills, when we were deep in the red and had to borrow from relatives," he adds.

"Then news about a Beatle would pop up on TV and Cathy would say, 'Look, if only you were still one of them.' Then we'd laugh it off. You can live in a terraced house with a loving wife like Cathy and you're in a palace with your princess."

It was Cathy and mum Mona who convinced him to pick up his music career once more.

He played at a Beatles convention in 1988 to a rave reception, and when he came off stage they said: "You're heading back into showbiz."

Now the Pete Best Band tour the world, for up to six months a year. As much as old rockers can manage, he jokes.

So what does he think now of the band that left him behind? Ringo, he says, turned out to be a first-class drummer. But he was astonished at his outburst last autumn, when his replacement threw a hissy-fit online, telling fans he wouldn't be signing autographs any more.

Pete goes out of his way to meet his audiences after shows.

John Lennon? A genius just beginning to come to terms with his role as a world leader, when he paid the ultimate price of success.

George Harrison? He came to the end of his life doing what he wanted to do, still the private secluded person he had always been.

And Sir Paul? "He's an exceptional talent, he has proved that so often, but alongside his creativity he has always been good at public relations. The image is important. You have to think, he always gets someone to do his dirty work for him."

It was The Beatles' manager and mentor Brian Epstein who wielded the knife, that day in 1962 when Pete was cut loose. He was nervous, stammering the words: "The boys want you out and Ringo in..." he said.

Years later John, once Pete's best friend, would confess they had been cowardly.

"I believe that only three people knew the real reason why I was sacked," Pete says.

"And only one of them is left alive now to tell the story."


http://www.clickliverpool.com/news/national-news/122714-pete-best-finally-speaks-out-over-bitter-sacking-from-the-beatles.html
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on February 04, 2009, 02:58:51 PM
it started b4 pete arrived on the scene tho...even he has to know that...i use to think he took it in good graces and gave him kudos for that but he did and does dwell on it....i feel bad that he lets that holfd him back...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on February 04, 2009, 03:01:21 PM
The news is that Paul said a single line about the case.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on March 23, 2009, 04:21:41 PM
fyi: Aug 29, 2009 is 50th anniversary of the Casbah Coffee Club. Interesting lineup on "tour information" link of petebest.com.  600 tix for daytime event, only 200 tix for evening event inside CCC.

Looking forward to my first ever trip to UK.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on April 06, 2009, 06:57:58 PM
Quote from: 342
pc31,
Pete Best may not have been the best fit for the Beatles (for whatever reason) no one will ever know for sure? Mr. Starkey did turn out to be the best fit but he certainly wasn't the first choice as Pete's replacement. The Drummer the Beatles initially wanted was Johnny Hutchinson from the Big Three as he was regarded by most as the best drummer in Liverpool at the time. Johnny Hutch had a great singing voice, he filled in as the Beatles drummer for the Larry Parnes audition and numerous shows. He was asked by Epstein to join the band but declined as he believed he was already in the best band in Liverpool. Many people believe that Pete was sacked and quickly replaced by Ringo because of his superior drumming ability, which is not the case.

I also read it could have been Johnny Hutch. But he turned down the offer. Unfortunately for him.
However, some contemporaries said that Pete wasn`t a very good drummer as he played only one rhythm and was not very good at using both hands. What was good about Pete`s play was his aggessiveness, which he was one of the first drummers to apply to his manner of playing.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on April 13, 2009, 12:19:23 AM
pete was in a movie called the rocker........check it out...http://dvd.ign.com/dor/objects/14308430/the-rocker-born-to-rock-edition/videos/rockr_petebest_pathetic_0126.html
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on May 30, 2009, 07:24:56 PM
I have got Hayman`s Green by The Pete Best band. And you know it is very good! I do like it! What do you say? Who has listened to it?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on May 30, 2009, 08:08:35 PM
it's an average album....
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on May 31, 2009, 02:40:27 PM
I like two songs from it very much - Grey River, Hayman`s Green. The album is not worse than Paul`s latest albums BTW.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on June 26, 2009, 02:59:50 AM
pete bests american tour schedule for july and august...
USA TOUR DATES JULY AND AUGUST 2009

Best of the Beatles - The Pete Best Band

Friday the 31st of July
St Patrick's Park
211 South Bend
Indiana 46601
Ticket info,
574 235 9190
morriscenter.ticketforce.com

Saturday the 1st of August
star Plaza Theatre
8001 Delaware Plaza
Merriville
Indiana 46410
Ticket info,
800 756 3000
www.starplazatheatre.com

Monday 3rd, Tuesday 4th, Weds 5th
Northern Lights Theatre
Potawatomi Casino
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
SOLD OUT

Friday the 7th of August
The National
708 E Broad Street
Richond
VA
Ticket info,
804 612 1900 or 804 612 3621
dustin@rtconcerts.com

Saturday the 8th of August
The Norva
317 Monticello Avenue
Norfolk
VA
Ticket info,
757 622 8977 or 757 622 2828
wrowe@rtconcerts.com
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on June 26, 2009, 02:17:47 PM
He could bump into Paul somewhere!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on July 09, 2009, 10:05:04 AM
he must have read this and cancelled because no he ain't coming.......damn you bobber... ::)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on July 09, 2009, 11:38:48 AM
sh*t. Where's the thread where I stated that Pete spent more time on stage with The Beatles than Ringo?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on July 09, 2009, 11:55:48 AM
sh*t. Where's the thread where I stated that Pete spent more time on stage with The Beatles than Ringo?


http://www.dmbeatles.com/forums/index.php?topic=5706.40 (http://www.dmbeatles.com/forums/index.php?topic=5706.40)

I'm not sure you ever came to a conclusion.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on July 12, 2009, 08:32:47 PM
he hasn't because he has only recently become active...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on August 04, 2009, 02:19:01 AM
(http://www.rickresource.com/forum/download/file.php?id=17186)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on August 06, 2009, 08:43:00 PM
The girls in the front row already know...
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on August 20, 2009, 11:51:02 PM
[url]http://www.dmbeatles.com/forums/index.php?topic=5706.40[/url] ([url]http://www.dmbeatles.com/forums/index.php?topic=5706.40[/url])

I'm not sure you ever came to a conclusion.


sorry folks...i haven't been checking in for a while.

I saw a chapter in a book of little known general facts 2 years ago..it wasn't a beatle book, but it compiled the data and stats for the known dates and times of the band appearrances in hamburg, liverpool, & elsewhere in UK.  By the number of hours, Pete's time on stage with JPG far surpassed Ringo's time.

Anyhoo...is pc31 still around?  I owe him something from 2007 that I need to mail to him, but seems all of my old Private messages were deleted or went missing somehow.

In reply to Jane, yes Haymans Green is a great CD. I've gave it to some freinds without saying who the band was. they loved the whoile CD...and lved it even more, and listened closer to lyrics and evrything when i told them it was biographical and recorded by PBB.  Several tracks have made it into regular rotation on beatlesradio.com, and they'lll also play tracks on request.

Lastly, who on this board will be in Liverpool next week? I'm heading over for my first ever trip. am attending the 50th anniversary (to the day)  of the Casbah Coffee Club on 8/29. I'll be in town from 8/26 and dpearting on 9/2.

Never been over there. So feel free to drop me a line with suggestions off the beaten track. OR, if any of you will be there, let's grab a pint.

I'm going over with a few folks that regularly visit the petebest.com forum.

So...mr pc31...drop me a message with address again.   

 
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on August 21, 2009, 08:04:24 AM
Check the Beatles section for the thread about Beatles Week 2009.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on August 22, 2009, 10:52:13 PM
Check the Beatles section for the thread about Beatles Week 2009.

Thanks, will do.

p.s. My apologies for all the spelling errors in last post. I'll be better. See ya
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on August 23, 2009, 02:59:04 PM
pete is good backdround for this family vid....the family castin my spell on you 0001 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgDJkoWFRRw#normal)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: nyfan(41) on September 07, 2009, 11:02:11 PM
gotta love pete best

musicians can be such jerks - you never hear anything like that about pete best
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: peterbell1 on September 08, 2009, 11:34:56 AM
Did Pete ever play on the same bill as The Beatles after he was dumped?
He joined another local band soon after, didn't he?
Must have been pretty awkward when their paths crossed.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on September 08, 2009, 11:55:51 AM
Did Pete ever play on the same bill as The Beatles after he was dumped?
He joined another local band soon after, didn't he?
Must have been pretty awkward when their paths crossed.

Yes, it happened once or twice. Have to do a research for exact venues tho.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: peterbell1 on September 08, 2009, 03:07:29 PM
I had a quick look through the "Mersey Beat - Beginnings of The Beatles" book and from the issue dated 6-20th Sept 1962 there's a full-page advert for Little Richard playing at the Tower Ballroom on Oct 12th. The Beatles and Lee Curtis & The Allstars are both on the same bill. On the opposite page (from the Aug 23rd issue) there's a story about Pete Best joining Lee Curtis & The Allstars, with his first gig due to take place on Sept 10th.
A later advert for the same Oct 12th Little Richard concert (from Sept 20th issue) doesn't mention Lee Curtis among the support acts - was he removed from the line-up by Epstein (who I think was promoting the gig)?
There's an advert in the Oct 18th issue for a gig in Widnes on October 22nd where The Beatles are once again meant to play with Lee Curtis & the Allstars.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on September 10, 2009, 11:47:55 PM
i think if pete had the right promoter he could have been bigger than he was...he should have called him self pete pest too so when he knocked the boys off number 1 it would be good for a laugh..
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on September 11, 2009, 07:08:20 PM
In reply to Jane, yes Haymans Green is a great CD. I've gave it to some freinds without saying who the band was. they loved the whoile CD...and lved it even more, and listened closer to lyrics and evrything when i told them it was biographical and recorded by PBB.  Several tracks have made it into regular rotation on beatlesradio.com, and they'lll also play tracks on request.

Glad you like the album! I still like it very much.
Title: New dismissal theory to be published
Post by: 62redux on September 29, 2009, 11:26:05 PM
Hey folks...the below is reprinted here in full, with full permission from Dave Bedford, the author of the soon-to-be published ":Liddypool: birthplace of the beatles".

I've seen the full book, and it's dynamite..including a 27-person geneology of the
musicians that came and went through the group that eventually morphed into The Beatles.

Below is the chapter on The Sacking of Pete Best. Co-incidentally, Pete wrote the foreward for the book as well.  You can see a lot of the info on www.liddypool.com (http://www.liddypool.com), including some fun little quizzes for those that thnk they have a real good handle on the history of the early beatles and their liverpool.

So, i'm no expert...and perhaps other members here, including bill harry, would have some keen opinion on the rationale of the author's August '62 dismissal theory.  In retrospect, it seems to make a heck of a lot of sense, especially for a young band that wasn't sure if they'd make it or not, after being turned down by everyone, and eppy agreeing to a very small 1p per single contract...

My apologies for the length of the post...however, I thnk this forum will appreciate and enjoy the sneak peak. the only other place this is posted is on petebest.com and another private newsgroup.
--------------

Many theories abound regarding the controversial sacking of Pete
Best as The Beatles were on the threshold of stardom. Pete was
never told the reason why by anyone in the group and will probably
never get a straight answer in his lifetime.
Some of the most commonly quoted reasons are his refusal to get
a Beatle haircut or that he was a poor drummer. It’s also been said
that he was anti-social and a non-conformist. There is no definitive
answer, so all that can be done is to narrow down the possibilities.
John, Paul and George all knew Pete from The Casbah and kept
a watchful eye on him, particularly in the weeks prior to leaving for
Hamburg. They had become friends during the previous year before
he joined them. Pete was not unknown.
The Beatles enjoyed moderate success from August 1960 to August
1962. They refined their act and repertoire in Hamburg and Liverpool
before Epstein “cleaned” them up and secured the record deal in June 1962 that would
launch them to stardom. This was all gained with Pete’s help, but he wouldn’t be there
with them when they broke through. Instead, Ringo Starr was drafted in at the last
minute to join their wild roller-coaster ride to fame.
Pete remembered that fateful day he received the life-changing news. “Epstein saw
me the night before and said that he wanted to see me in the morning, which was not
unusual. However, when I arrived there Epstein was agitated and I knew something was
wrong. Finally he came out with it: ‘I don’t know how to tell you this, Pete, but the boys
want you out and Ringo is joining them on Saturday’. Epstein by this time was almost
in tears”.
Pete left Epstein’s office and went home to tell Mo. He just told her, “They kicked me out
of The Beatles”, and broke down.
They had been so close in Hamburg, living, eating, and playing together. Pete shared a
room with Paul, spent the night in the cells with him and they were deported together.
They grew up together in Hamburg, as John once said. However, there were supposedly
rumblings of discontent from John, Paul and George about Pete. When the band was
offered the EMI recording contract as John, Paul, George and Pete, George Martin had
questioned Pete’s drumming, and suddenly, he was out.
Subsequently, Ringo Starr didn’t pass the audition either, and session drummer Andy
White was brought in to drum on three songs. So neither Pete nor Ringo were the ideal
solution at that moment. It doesn’t mean that either of them were bad drummers, but
underscores that Pete’s dismissal wasn’t down to drumming ability alone. Ringo had
the same problem. They were ‘live’ drummers used to playing in big halls and concert
venues. Drumming for a record is a different skill altogether, which Ringo was given the
opportunity to develop with The Beatles. His style was different. “Drummers were asked
to play like me”, Ringo said when talking about his style. “I’m naturally left-handed, but
drum right-handed. I was born left-handed, but my grandmother believed that was a
witch’s spell and she made me write right-handed”. He eventually became one of the
world’s most skilled drummers.
If the EMI recordings from June are the only evidence on which to judge Pete’s drumming,
it is possible to understand the decision to replace him. But then, on that evidence,
would you have signed The Beatles as a group?
However, listen to “My Bonnie” and the recordings that Pete and The Beatles made with
Tony Sheridan as The Beat Brothers. His drumming is steady, much brighter and livelier
than the sessions at Decca or EMI. Does the way it was recorded make a difference?
This is where it can get technical, so I enlisted the help of Don Dorsey, a recording
engineer who has worked in Abbey Road.
He discussed with me the differences between drumming
in a live band and in a recording studio.
“A recording studio environment is quite different to a live environment”, Dorsey
explained. “In a live hall all band members are relatively close together and all their sound output mixes in the environment—the drummer hears everything.
In a recording studio it would be customary for the drummer to
be separated from the rest of the band with a large wall-like
sound baffle.
“The purpose of baffles is to keep sounds from one player intruding
too much into the microphones of the others. As a result, to hear
other band members well, headphones must be used and the sound
would be nothing like a live appearance. If the large wall baffles were
used, visual clues for the drummer would also be restricted because
the baffles have only small windows. If the drummer could not
hear things as he was used to he might therefore play differently.
For example, he might play more softly to attempt to hear better or
he might lag behind the beat.
“Even if baffles weren’t used, the set-up would be unusual to them.
In a studio you don’t hear things the same way you do in a live
environment—you’re restricted by the technical needs to have some
isolation between microphones.
“I don’t think any of this would be an issue from an engineer’s point
of view because engineers just set up microphones and made
everything that was happening in the room sound as good as
possible. From a producer’s viewpoint though, everything must go
quickly, easily and smoothly. Working with an unknown drummer
would probably cause any producer who knew an experienced
drummer to choose the latter just so the project could be completed
with ease.
“It’s hard to know what people were thinking forty-five years ago, but
my best guess is a cultural one. Perhaps the most relevant factor at
that time may have been a prevailing attitude that ‘drums all sound
the same in the studio, so why not change drummers if it makes
production easier, quicker or cheaper?’ It wasn’t until years later that
drummers had clearly established that they truly had unique sounds,
playing styles and personalities that made a difference to the sound
of a band. For me it’s easy to imagine how Pete or Ringo were
considered ‘just the drummer’ and not the ‘sound’ of the band, which
would be predominantly from the vocals (and guitars, as far as anyone knew). In those
days it was the song and the singers that were considered the real meat of a record.
“To a producer, the term ‘session drummer’ means ‘I know he can and will do the job
because he’s done it before’. When The Beatles were trying to break into the recording
world, the drummer was probably generally seen as ‘the weakest link’. Goodbye.
After reading Dorsey’s technical insight it is no surprise that EMI, with a limited budget
and studio time available, opted for a session drummer. Ringo was a mate who had
sat in with The Beatles when Pete wasn’t available. That only happened on a couple
of occasions and was not a regular occurrence as some have made out. On one
occasion, Pete had a virus, and so on 5 February 1962 Ringo sat in with The Beatles.
There were no repeated absences on Pete’s part. Local bands routinely swapped and
borrowed players. It was not unusual at all.
Merseybeat drummers are split on who was the better of the two.
I spoke to Mike Rice, who was a drummer with Liverpool band The Senators
in the sixties. I asked him for an impartial view on Pete and Ringo.
“They were both good drummers, and personally I preferred Pete to Ringo, but there
wasn’t much between them. As a drummer, he was all right for The Beatles, but I’ve
seen better drummers.
“I liked Pete’s style of drumming. He does what I believe drummers should do and
that is keeping a good rhythm, a strong beat, without too much fancy work. I always
found that if a drummer is too fancy, it clouds the music. (This too was Ringo’s
stated philosophy on drumming.) Some drummers over the years look for every little
space, and then they’ll throw in some extra drum rolls or something and it spoils it.
Ringo does it well, even if he was tempted at times. Drumming is very much down to
opinion. Some people think I’m good, others don’t. It’s a matter of opinion”.
Rice, like most musicians, watched the drumming styles of all the bands. He could
see and hear things that others couldn’t.
“Pete was always one of my favourites. He was dynamic with the sound he was
punching out. People tried to analyse it. It was the bass drum that stood out—the
atom beat—but there was so much more to it than that. He could use his snare and
put a variety in the beat, not just the straight 4/4 atom beat. At a gig we were playing,
Pete was also on the bill, though not with The Beatles. I’d seen him lots of times at
The Cavern and other places. He was on before us, and I liked his drumming”.
Rice shot down the notion that Pete was sacked because he wasn’t
a good enough drummer.
“I’d say it was wrong. I reckon it was jealousy from the other Beatles. He had a good
following from the fans even though he was at the back. He was a fantastic drummer.
I watched drummers all the time. You listened for the sound and knew which drums
and cymbals he was hitting without watching, and he was drumming right. You can
have a drummer who is great on a set of drums, even playing simply, and it sounds
right. Then you can get an average drummer on the same kit and it is completely
different. I can tell. If you get it wrong it is very noticeable.
“Ringo, in my opinion, was the safe option, not as good looking, and would not
dominate the sound like Pete did. Maybe that was the problem. Take John, Paul or
George out of The Beatles and you have no Beatles. Each contribution was significant
to the sound. Take Ringo or Pete out and the music and song writing would not have been much different, especially at the beginning of their recording
career, and you would still have The Beatles. Ringo had such a
great attitude and was a good drummer. He had the least ego and
did a good job, so I’m not knocking him. He was—and still is—
a great drummer”.
Regardless of whom was better, the only fact that mattered was
that George Martin sought to bring in another drummer at the
September 1962 EMI session and Pete’s card was marked.
Another reason given for Pete’s dismissal was that he didn’t fit in with
the rest of the group. This is one that only John, Paul and George
could answer, so we’ll never truly know. If it was a problem, who
would this most affect? John Winston Lennon, whose devil-may-care
attitude made him judge, jury and hangman in one. John could be
ruthless at times. He had learned to fight with his mouth from an
early age and had slayed many a foe with his sharp tongue. Many
crumbled under his tirade of abuse, yet Pete was closer to John than
to any of the others. If there was such a clash or problem with his
background or personality, it never openly surfaced.
The only two of the six Beatles who weren’t Scousers were Stuart—
who was from Edinburgh in Scotland, with Scottish parents—and
Pete who was born in India with a father from Liverpool, but his
mother grew up in India. Did it make a difference? Maybe what he
didn’t know was that unless you had that ingrained working class
“scouse” mentality, you would never survive in The Beatles.
In March 1966, John Lennon gave an interview in which he claimed
that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”. By the time the
US press and radio stations had whipped up a furore, Lennon had
received death threats and their US tour was in doubt. The reaction
from fans forced the band to close ranks and brought them closer
together. Ringo, as a Scouser, could understand their mentality and
knew what it took to break into this close-knit group. Once in, the Fab
Four were impenetrable. Even so, he said in The Beatles Anthology
that it took years to feel part of the group. He also said, “I had to
join them as people, as well as a drummer”. His natural Scouse wit
and sense of humour won him many admirers, particularly on the
U.S. tours.
There was a suggestion that Pete was moody. Bob Wooler
described Pete as “mean, moody and magnificent” and many have
taken this the wrong way. Wooler intimated that Pete reminded him
of a film star, with those “bedroom eyes” and film-star good looks.
Girls swooned when they saw him, while men conceded Pete was
a good-looking guy.
Because of his effect on the opposite sex, many have said that Pete’s
natural good looks made the other Beatles jealous. This feeling also
wasn’t helped when Bob Wooler introduced The Beatles at The
Cavern with: “It’s time for John, Paul, George and... Pete”, at which
point the screams reached an unbelievable crescendo. Ray Ennis
of the Swinging Blue Jeans recalled on one occasion when Pete
was singing “Matchbox” in The Cavern, that John, Paul and George
were asked to sit down on the edge of the stage by the female fans
so that they could see Pete.
For their gig at Litherland Town Hall on 7 August 1961, the newspaper advertisement
proclaimed “Hear Pete Best sing tonight”. When Mersey Beat announced the recording
contract had been secured, the congratulatory ad was accompanied by a photo of
Pete on his own, not of the four Beatles.
That their female admirers loved Pete, there is no doubt. But it wasn’t as if the others
didn’t have their fair share of girls—there were more than enough to go round, so this
too is unlikely as a reason on its own. Pete was an asset to the group; even George
Martin commented that he didn’t see a need to change the physical line-up of the
group. However, when you are dealing with young men, egos are involved and so
many believe, as do I, that this would have been a factor.
There are so many reasons but it comes down to John, Paul and George as the band
members who were responsible for Pete getting the axe. George Harrison stated he
felt most responsible for Pete’s sacking as he had campaigned hard for Ringo, who
was his friend. Paul had been involved in some arguments with Pete over his drumming
and had taken to sometimes showing him how he wanted them played. Ironically, that
was the very reason George left The Beatles when Paul tried to show him how to play
his guitar during the Let It Be sessions, and why Ringo walked out while recording
The White Album.
It wasn’t just Ringo who was approached to replace Pete as some have claimed.
According to Spencer Leigh’s book, Drummed Out, John met former Quarrymen banjo
player Rod Davis in March 1962. Davis told him that he had made a record and played
guitar, banjo, fiddle and other string instruments. John said, “You don’t play drums,
do you? We need a drummer to head back to Hamburg”. Davis admitted it was his
second bad career move! Dakota’s drummer Tony Mansfield recalled that Epstein also
approached the band’s manager, Rick Dixon, to ask about his availability.
Then there’s the matter of musician Johnny “Hutch” Hutchinson. He was regarded
as the best drummer in Liverpool and sat in for Pete before Ringo arrived, and surely
would have been the favourite. Bob Wooler told Epstein that Hutchinson would
suit The Beatles perfectly. Epstein asked Hutchinson, “What do you think, John?”
Hutchinson responded without hesitation. “I wouldn’t join The Beatles for a gold clock.
There’s only one group as far as I’m concerned and that’s The Big Three. The Beatles
couldn’t make a better sound than that and anyway, Pete was a very good friend of
mine and I couldn’t do the dirty on him like that, but why don’t you get Ringo? Ringo’s
a bum—Ringo will join anybody for a few bob”. Hutchinson sat in with The Beatles between Pete’s departure and
Ringo joining. Bob Wooler noted that there was considerable friction
on stage between Hutchinson and Lennon. “The Beatles didn’t want
a drummer who would be a force to be reckoned with”, observed
Wooler, “hence, Johnny Hutch didn’t stand a chance”. Not only
did Ringo have a different drumming style, he had a different, more
affable personality than Pete, and has been described as being
more charismatic. He wasn’t chosen for his looks but received sackfulls
of mail from female fans anyway.
In time Ringo became an integral member of The Beatles and
in hindsight not many could say the decision was a wrong one.
When they landed on the shores of America, he came into his
own and his quick wit and funny personality made him stand out.
He has worked with some of the leading musicians in the industry
who rate him as one of the top drummers of all time. Ringo wasn’t
an also-ran, a second-class drummer who they put up with. He
had a great reputation and was there on merit. Those that know
about the events of Pete’s sacking have either died or refuse to talk.
Bob Wooler at one time supposedly threatened Epstein that he
would go to the press with the truth, but was talked out of it at the
last minute. We will probably never know exactly what happened,
but as Spencer Leigh concludes, it was most likely a combination
of many elements.
I am often asked for my opinion on Pete Best’s dismissal, so this is
my theory.
Many authors create their theories from hindsight. They start at
Ringo and begin to make comparisons between him and Pete Best.
Who was the better drummer? Who was the better looking? Who
had the better personality? Who fitted in best?
However, I would like to start at a point before Ringo appears on
the scene. When Pete signed the recording contract as a member
of The Beatles, he was entitled to his equal cut of the profits. Yet, if
George Martin was going to use a session drummer for the records,
why should John, Paul and George give their drummer a quarter
share of the proceeds when he wouldn’t even be playing?
The money from the record sales would therefore be better cut three
ways instead of four. That way, they could hire a session drummer
on a fixed weekly rate instead of sharing a chunk of the profits,
which weren’t expected to be great at this stage. Their royalty rate
at the time was only one penny per record.
When Ringo joined the group, he signed for £25 per week on a
probationary basis, not a quarter–share, full member of The Beatles.
Peter Brown, who had worked closely with Brian Epstein since their
days in NEMS in Liverpool was quoted as saying, “The terms were
that Ringo would be paid £25 per week for a probationary period,
and if things worked out he would be made a member”.
At that stage, the other three Beatles were taking £50 per week,
plus they were due a share of the proceeds from their records and
performances.
Consider what happened to Nigel Walley, The Quarrymen tea-chest bass player who
became their first manager. It was Nigel, a childhood friend of John’s, who booked
their first proper gig at the local golf club and then got them into The Cavern for
the first time. He also made other bookings. However, once The Quarrymen had
built up a following, it was Paul who suggested that Nigel’s managerial fee be cut off
because he didn’t contribute. Likewise, Ken Brown was eased out of The Quarrymen
at The Casbah over fifteen shillings (75 pence), because Ken didn’t play and so
John, Paul and George demanded Ken’s share, to split it three ways instead of four.
Allan Williams was the recipient of similar treatment. Williams procured bookings,
drove the group personally to Hamburg and set them up. On The Beatles’ second
visit to Hamburg, when they moved to another club, they dropped Williams and did
not pay him his usual commission because they arranged the booking themselves.
In all three situations, it was a financial decision, with the non-contributing person
eased out of the picture.
Only on 20 June 1963—nearly a year after he joined them—when Beatles Ltd. was
set up did Ringo Starr become an equal member of the band. Even then he was on a
lesser share of The Beatles performances from concerts. Ringo eventually became a
fully-fledged Beatle and his performances as a drummer and a personality ultimately
made him a very popular member. However, he spent nearly twelve months as a
session drummer with The Beatles trying to earn his place in the band permanently.
In my theory, Ringo doesn’t feature in the plan yet, because this was all about getting
rid of Pete from the band,as the other members didn’t feel that Pete should share
the profits, because he wasn’t going to appear on the records. Once that decision
was made, thoughts then turned to a replacement, who would be happy to join
them on a fixed rate. The incentive for the replacement drummer was the record deal.
Enter Ringo, a drummer they knew well, who happily signed up to the deal on offer.
So my theory is that The Beatles got rid of Pete because they wanted to split the profits
from the records three ways instead of four, with the non-contributing person eased
out. Pete was dismissed, like Ken Brown, Nigel Walley and Allan Williams, over money.
The Beatles had played together for two years, with Pete as drummer. It was only
when George Martin told Brian that Pete wasn’t going to be playing on the records that
John, Paul and George acted, swiftly.
It could be surmised that they weren’t sure how long fame would last, and they were
determined to grab every penny while they could. History shows they had no problem
sticking it to friends and associates with little or no remorse. If they were going to enjoy
maybe six months of fame and fortune, they could split the profits three ways instead
of four, then pay Ringo a flat rate. If they became successful Ringo could join them
permanently. If fame eluded them, then John, Paul and George could at least split their
meagre earnings three ways, instead of four.
Whatever the main reason was, clearly several factors were taken into account and
that between them, John, Paul, George and Brian decided Pete had to go. When
there were suggestions from George Martin to bring in a session drummer, they didn’t
think twice about dropping Pete. As Allan Williams commented, “All groups are
users. They are ruthless”. Alistair Taylor once said that Pete was simply not a Beatle.
John was even quoted as saying the same: “Pete Best was a great drummer but
Ringo was a Beatle”.

Pete was a Beatle for two years and played an important role in the formation of
the band until August 1962. He was a vital cog of the band that took Hamburg and
Liverpool by storm and secured a recording contract. What brought it to an end will
probably never be revealed, but his contribution nonetheless cannot be ignored.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on September 30, 2009, 07:43:22 AM
Very interesting read. Thanks for posting.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on September 30, 2009, 09:13:25 PM
Extremely interesting! Now the situation is clear. Thank you very much.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on September 30, 2009, 11:30:16 PM
Very interesting read. Thanks for posting.

You guys are welcome.  My apologies that the text was all jammed together, but the actual text and chapter itself are very well laid out in the book.  In fact, the whole book, all 300+ pages of it, are very well laid out. I have no tie to the book or anything, but I found had told the author of my regular activity on the petebest.com forum, so he offered to share the PB chapter from the book. Similarly, other key players have their own chapters too: ken brown, alan williams, alistair "raymand jones" taylor, others, lots of neat surprises.  

The PB chapter was nothing new until the theory comes out of the blue...and you realize that the background and "evidence" has been out there in plain sight all along. A little detective work and, voila..auther said he had a bit of a eureka moment. Whether true or not remains to be seen someday. Author told me that that Pete himself also found the theory intriguing when the author presented it to him.

I'm glad the members here received it well; i know it was a long post.  Ironically, the author and I were both at the Casbah Club 50th anniversary on August 29th but I didn't know of his book until later. FYI also there was duff lowe, ken brown, lee curtis, jackie lomax, etc. Great day.  

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on October 01, 2009, 06:56:06 AM
Now the situation is clear.

I wouldn't exactly say that. It's an intriguing theory.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on October 01, 2009, 10:39:19 AM
Excellent read, thanks Justin. And interesting theory too.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on October 01, 2009, 12:23:46 PM
I wouldn't exactly say that. It's an intriguing theory.

spot on bobber. It's an intriguing and compelling theory, especialy in retrospect.  For a band that wasn't sure if they'd make it, being turned down time after time, combined with a paltry 1p record contract (to be split 4 ways) the motivation for short term financial gain seems to make sense.   If true, or close to true, it also seems to explain why it's been kept buried, and why so many other countless "reasons" and untruths (drumming ability, missing gigs, haircut,  etc) have been out there for so long, all convenient decoys arising from pop culture mythology. Lennon's comment many years later describing that they were cowards when they sacked PB would also seem to be in line with this theory.    The bigger the band got, and the more $ they made shortly after, this alleged financial reason (correction" THEORY") for dismissal looks like a crappy thing to do to someone, creating even more reason to keep it buried out of sight.   

On the lighter side, the beatles organization and the late neil aspinall made it better later on, as described in 2003's "True Beginnings", by getting Pete royalties for 10 tracks on Anthology 1. 

I'll be around. 
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on October 01, 2009, 01:42:57 PM
Excellent read, thanks Justin.

Erm, that was 62redux. ha2ha
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on October 01, 2009, 03:55:26 PM
Oops.  ;sorry
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on October 01, 2009, 08:05:38 PM
I'm glad the members here received it well; i know it was a long post.  

It is very kind of you to have posted the chapter. Appreciated!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on October 02, 2009, 12:37:26 PM
It is very kind of you to have posted the chapter. Appreciated!

Welcome. It might be easier for forum members to copy the chapter text into a word or text document...and insert spacing to create paragraphs etc.  You can print it and read it offline. 
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on October 02, 2009, 01:53:00 PM
It is very kind of you to have posted the chapter. Appreciated!


 

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Some more related fun: Macca fans might be pleasantly surprised to see the comments on this video about the Casbah Coffee club...the only place it's usually seen is at the Beatles Story in Liverpool or London. pb.com webmaster told us this was just posted up, so it's very new to the youtubeworld.
 www.myspace.com/thecasbahcoffeeclub (http://www.myspace.com/thecasbahcoffeeclub)

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on October 12, 2009, 12:42:18 PM
I saw a chapter in a book of little known general facts 2 years ago..it wasn't a beatle book, but it compiled the data and stats for the known dates and times of the band appearrances in hamburg, liverpool, & elsewhere in UK.  By the number of hours, Pete's time on stage with JPG far surpassed Ringo's time.
Didn't I tell you guys?!

In reply to Jane, yes Haymans Green is a great CD. I've gave it to some freinds without saying who the band was. they loved the whoile CD...and lved it even more, and listened closer to lyrics and evrything when i told them it was biographical and recorded by PBB.  Several tracks have made it into regular rotation on beatlesradio.com, and they'lll also play tracks on request.

I'm not sure. I d/loaded it for a prelisten ha2ha. But it sounds like the band really wanted to sound like a mixture of Crowded House, The Beatles and Klaatu. It's not something special, tho I must admit I was surprised that the production sounded good. It's been well taken care of.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: BlueMeanie on October 12, 2009, 01:01:58 PM
Didn't I tell you guys?!

Actually, no. You never got around to it!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Bobber on October 12, 2009, 01:36:00 PM
Actually, no. You never got around to it!

Erm. You're right. But that's just because I'm still counting! ha2ha
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: tkitna on October 13, 2009, 12:42:25 AM
Thats a good read and the theory probably was right. Who knows? I've heard a bunch of different ones and it gets tiresome after awhile.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on October 21, 2009, 12:35:40 PM
Didn't I tell you guys?!

I'm not sure. I d/loaded it for a prelisten ha2ha. But it sounds like the band really wanted to sound like a mixture of Crowded House, The Beatles and Klaatu. It's not something special, tho I must admit I was surprised that the production sounded good. It's been well taken care of.

bobber: it's human nature to consider "what does the music sound like or remind me of?", however, make note that each track is either autobiographical (re: lyrics by pete) or biographical, which makes the HG CD wholly  unique, especially for beatles fans: "Come with me", is an invitation to the Casbah Coffee Club, "Red Light" about the beatles' colorful early days in the red light district in Hamburg, "Gone", about the people / places of that time period with some lyrics about Paul/pete getting arrested etc.  Personally, i like "Step Outside" and how it builds to a crescendo. cool lyrics toom which most people everyone can relate to at some point in their lives. The rockers really do rock here.   Take a look at the reviews on amazon.com. it's 4-5 stars from all over.

Slide the headphones on, and listen to the lyrics, the stories being told in each song  the whole CD is really a tribute to that early history of the beatles, and pb's appreciation for being a part of it all.   

you've already noted the production quality. take a look at the lyrical quality.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on October 21, 2009, 12:53:45 PM
Thats a good read and the theory probably was right. Who knows? I've heard a bunch of different ones and it gets tiresome after awhile.

Same here ,as i've seen authors mention not "theories" but outright "facts" which were really just often repeated myths, and it gets tiring to see a new "truth"  (usually unsupported) mentioned in each new book...however, most of the books just repeat the pop culture hearsay, and the fiction that's been blindly accepted: haircut, personality, jealousy, personal popularity, not a good drummer, missed shows, etc etc.,   However, none of those shallow reasons would explain why the whole thing would be such a dark secret for decades, especially when George Martin thought PB was the most marketable of all of them (BUT, GM wasn't going to use PB on the record).  THAT was when the ax fell swiftly. 

Spit'z book a few years back mentions them going to fetch Ringo for the 25 pounds/week, but stops there. (look up what all 4 were getting pre-sack.). Peter Brown probably knew, but chose to dance around it in his book, prolonging the "mystery".   In retrosepct, when the band became super successful and wealthy, it would make them all look very petty and nasty if it came out that they discharged PB because they wanted his $ share of the record contract, espcially when you look at the whole "all you need is love" mantra and "peace, love".   If bedford's theory is the closest to truth, it would explain why no one has ever wanted to talk about it.

FYI for the baord..i tried to hook up pc31 to meet PB in person in florida in early October but timing didn't work out.  NExt time maybe.

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Kevin on October 21, 2009, 02:03:45 PM
I don't know. I'm not disputing any facts but the thinking seems a bit circular and complicated: PB was a "full share" Beatle. He's not considered good enough for studio work. He is fired. Ringo is hired "part share." Therefore PB was fired because of the money. It requires collusion and a long silence worthy of JFK.

Could it not just be that PB was fired (for whatever reason) and the band simply were reluctant to pay a new member full share until he proved his worth? He was after all on probation. Or saw a chance to save a few bucks? That doesn't mean PB was fired because of the money issue.
E=MC2. The simplest answers are often the best.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on October 21, 2009, 06:39:26 PM
I don't know. I'm not disputing any facts but the thinking seems a bit circular and complicated: PB was a "full share" Beatle. He's not considered good enough for studio work. He is fired. Ringo is hired "part share." Therefore PB was fired because of the money. It requires collusion and a long silence worthy of JFK.

PB is not considered good enough for studio work. He is fired. Ringo is hired. But Ringo is also considered not good enough for studio work. He is suspended. Remember? Why not suspend PB in the first place? Why fire PB and hire somebody not suitable for studio work and thus not solving the problem? Maybe PB`s dismissal meant something else? Maybe they just needed a new person, not a full-time Beatle, in order not to pay the full share? Can it be so?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: breedofrandy on October 21, 2009, 07:15:57 PM
PB is not considered good enough for studio work. He is fired. Ringo is hired. But Ringo is also considered not good enough for studio work. He is suspended. Remember? Why not suspend PB in the first place? Why fire PB and hire somebody not suitable for studio work and thus not solving the problem? Maybe PB`s dismissal meant something else? Maybe they just needed a new person, not a full-time Beatle, in order not to pay the full share? Can it be so?

I thought they said that Ringo always was the better drummer! i thought that was why they hired him in the first place!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: nyfan(41) on October 21, 2009, 08:17:11 PM
that was interesting to read, 62 redux - thanks for posting it
it's an interesting subject
i'd heard a few places that they only brought pete on as an afterthought in the first place because they needed a 5 piece band for the hamburg trip and he was . . . a guy with a set of drums
not sure how this fits in, but pete's mom kind of 'stage mom'ed the situation when she made her basement into a club for them to play at
-------------
as far as the 'looks' part, i'd always read about the fan protests after pete left because of his female following. back then one of the big movie heartthrobs was tony curtis and pete best looked just like him!
-------------
at the end of the day, ringo had more charisma/humor/'exceptional likability' more on a par with john paul and george
- from what ive read, ringo was a big part of the early beatle success because of his catchy name - and because he was generally considered the stand out performance in a hard days night . . .  (that's why they made plot of help center around ringo)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: breedofrandy on October 22, 2009, 06:04:40 AM
^^ya, Ringo was better all around. He just fit in with them better, and he made the Beatles what they were.  ;D

I like how they centered Help! around him, very wise idea!  ;)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on October 23, 2009, 10:01:26 PM
I thought they said that Ringo always was the better drummer! i thought that was why they hired him in the first place!

Randy, we are just speculating whether the idea posted above could have any credibility. BTW in the Russian forum this idea has been proved wrong and the proofs are very interesting. I could tell them to you.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: breedofrandy on October 24, 2009, 02:01:39 AM
Randy, we are just speculating whether the idea posted above could have any credibility. BTW in the Russian forum this idea has been proved wrong and the proofs are very interesting. I could tell them to you.

Yes I would like to hear this Jane!  ;)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on October 24, 2009, 11:44:32 PM
no shirt yet dude...... :(
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on November 09, 2009, 10:40:13 PM
Great news!!! Pete Best`s Haymans Green has been nominated for Grammy Awards in three categories. I am happy for Pete! I wish he would win!!!!!!! "If there`s any justice in the world..." Is there?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on November 12, 2009, 05:59:58 AM
no shirt yet dude...... :(


PC31: my bad pc31. since we last spoke, I got caught up and pre-occupied with regular day job and travel for work. I have your addy to send it. My apologies, got WAY caught up with work stuff here.

Jane: Very cool if true. I know there was some talk about trying to get PBB/Haymans Green on the ballots for 3 different nominations, but hadn't seen any word yet whether official nominations were made yet. Do you have a source for what you heard there ? Thanks.

Randy: See Jane's comment about "we were speculating" on the merits of the theory, not about what latter day fans think about who was a better drummer.

NYfan: Regarding "at the end of the day, ringo had more charisma, etc." which perhaps makes for a good "at the end of the day" perspective in hindsight. However, back then, at the beginning of the day, it was PB that had the popularity, and the looks, in the most popular group around. The band was not hurting for popularity or a shot of charisma. Even GM had said (and it's on tape at the beatlestory exhibit, word for word)that PB had more marketability than any of the others, and that was
before RS came on the scene. So, while many always feels compelled to say that it all worked out in the end, and that RS was the person for the job, bedford's theory above still seems to carry a lot of solid credibility in suggesting that the job was was stolen from PB due to what appears to be --in 47 year hindsight - -a $ issue that no one wanted to talk about,,,so, "ringo was better" became a better way to spin it.

In the end, who among the inner circle would ever want to admit publicly that they stole the drummer spot from PB because they felt he didn't deserve any $ from a record that he wouldnt be playing on?  It would be too embarassing and bad for the band's image, so a better route to follow is "ringo was better". Besides, another angle, if they really felt that RS was a better drummer and really made the band THAT much better, then it doesn't make much sense to pay RS LESS than what they were paying PB, as well as not making RS a full bandmember until 1963.  RNah, i still like Bedford's theory, because it seems to hoild up well to scrtinty.


This is a cool conversation though.


Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Jane on November 14, 2009, 10:40:44 PM
http://fortyquestions.blogspot.com/ (http://fortyquestions.blogspot.com/)
Monday, November 02, 2009
On being Pop Vocal God
Pete Best № 016

http://www.facebook.com/abbeyrode?v=feed&story_fbid=150413311051 (http://www.facebook.com/abbeyrode?v=feed&story_fbid=150413311051)


http://folks.co.in/2009/11/when-will-you-return/ (http://folks.co.in/2009/11/when-will-you-return/)

If it`s any proof.
Sorry, but other sources can`t be found.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on November 15, 2009, 03:52:29 AM
Thanks Jane:

Try Step Outside with headphones. Beat Street reminds some people, including me, of Cry for A Shadow..sort of turned inside out.  Take a note though..there's a travel commercial on TV..that one with the little knome (spelling) starts out on a sidewalk i think:the soundtrack of the commercial sounds a LOT like Beat Street. 

Okay, now here is some VERY cool news that I'm sure PC31--and several others--are going to love:

Liverpool Daily Post:

"Ex-Beatles Pete Best performs to 250,000 people in India as part of campaign to attract tourists to Liverpool"

Couldn't get a good link for the story, but it's out there.  Enjoy.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on November 15, 2009, 03:58:29 AM
^^ya, Ringo was better all around. He just fit in with them better, and he made the Beatles what they were.  ;D

I like how they centered Help! around him, very wise idea!  ;)

Easy to say in retrospect, but the group was already very popular, and won a recording contract (however small), when RS wasn't even in the picture.   No matter how you look at it, Bedford's theory appears strong, although it may take a while for hard-core fans to grasp the idea that their heroes may have really done the nasty on someone, and covered it up all those years with a PR spin that "RS was better".   But..that's all in the past now..although the theory is new. Congrats to Pete though on the amazing welcome in India. That's good karma all around. See ya.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on December 21, 2009, 05:40:59 AM
well after all these years i am gonna stop pimping pete....i heard something unsettling by another person that knew randolph well back then....no shirt necessary redux....pete has enough fans any how one less will not hurt anything.... ;D see you at the undertakers concert..... ;sorry
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: An Apple Beatle on December 21, 2009, 05:55:01 AM
Must be pretty bad PC for you to stop pimping the PB.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: pc31 on December 22, 2009, 06:13:25 AM
i can't say anything but i trust these others....
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: 62redux on December 16, 2010, 07:26:08 PM
 
my apologies if this is a repost or duplicate.

FYI: December 17, 1960. 50th anniversary is tomorrow.  Here are the details of the first ever appearance of the beatles as THE BEATLES on UK soil.

http://www.liverpoolbeat.com/Pete-Best-It-Was-50-Years-Ago-Today.html (http://www.liverpoolbeat.com/Pete-Best-It-Was-50-Years-Ago-Today.html)

and, sir paul is in UK this week.

admin: i tried to post the photos but too large.  See your regular email.  Print them up. See what Bill Harry might have to say ?  There appears to be a story in the photos that I took of the Macca pre-concert video this past year. Seems sir paul had prominently included several images of Pete. I took 4 photos when I saw them scrolling. Large pics, including 1 of just Paul and Pete, in their leathers, from the Merseybeat cover. Photo was cropped to show ONLY paul and pete.  Seriously.  crowd is in foreground for scale but the image must be 20-25 feet tall.   Same photo from Anthology 1 CD cover art, but the video photo thankfully INCLUDES pete's head/shoulders this time. Just  Paul and Pete in the pic.

Another pic shows a drumstick, with a newspaper headline that partially obscures Pete's image (drumstick is the clue that it's Pete). Headline says "Beatles Secrets...", with some other clues on the image. Clues yes, but what's the story or message being sent ?

I had never seen any images of Pete before in any macca concert vids; this vid was played, repeatedly, around the world.   So, who is in touch with Macca's production people, as I'm sure there's a story related to the prominent placement of the pics. I've never seen such a major acknowledgment of the early years, the Pete years, the years that Bill Harry knows as "the best years of the beatles".    I took 4 pics at the show. Pete was in about  7-8 photos.  You have to see the pics to believe the size of the images. or to believe that Paul actually included Pete's image so prominently in the video, in both leathers and in suit.

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Normandie on February 28, 2021, 06:55:55 PM

Has anyone read Pete Best's autobiography (Beatle! The Pete Best Story)? I noticed it's out of print but available on Amazon for not too bad of a price (in paperback, anyway). I've been misled by naive Amazon reviews in the past, though, so I no longer consider them when I'm debating a purchase.

If anyone here has read it, I'd love to hear your opinion.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 17, 2021, 09:42:53 PM
Hello, Normandie:

Yes, I read the book in the year it came out, 1985.  I've since skimmed through it many times.  There are 15 chapters with the last 3 devoted to his termination and the aftermath.  It's a fairly short book, 192 pages, and I think it's a quick and easy read. 

Would I recommend it?  No, unless it's to a specific person.  That is, someone who's interested in Pete Best and his story, especially the role he played in the early pre-fame Beatles.  I've read many other Beatles books which has led me to believe that some of Pete's memories may be faulty.  I won't go into this here because I'd have to research it first to make sure I'm recounting these correctly.

I felt that Pete was expressing some anger toward the Beatles in this biography.  He seems to feel at the time of writing the book, that he shouldn't have been discharged.  I think his feelings have softened throughout the years but this book is strongly reminiscent of fresh hurt and anger, IMO.  I think the people who upset him the most were John and Ringo.  He felt betrayed by Ringo who didn't tell him about the Beatles asking him to join and he was unhappy with public remarks Ringo made about him.  Also, I think George said something like "he took little pills to make him ill" therefore leading to gig cancellations.  Pete felt this was slander and one of the reasons why he sued the Beatles for personal defamation.

Probably the most interesting chapter to me was Chapter 13, The Bombshell.  This is the one in which he writes his first hand account of his firing by Brian Epstein.  It's sad and brutally real.  Pete knew the Beatles were not a minor act even before they hit the big time.  His hurt was felt immediately and not 6 months later when Beatlemania began to sweep the world.  I think his hurt was magnified and relived many times over as the Beatles' popularity soared beyond the charts.

So, if you're interested in this little man's place in the history of the Beatles and have some empathy for him, I would recommend reading it.  I will say no more.  Have a good day!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Moogmodule on July 18, 2021, 01:26:15 AM
Hey Loco. Good to hear from you again.

Interesting review. Might check that one out.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Normandie on July 18, 2021, 01:36:26 AM


Thanks, Loco Mo; your comments piqued my interest. I'll add it to my ever-growing Amazon list.  :)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 20, 2021, 09:34:13 PM
Normandie and Moogmodule:  I was happy to be of assistance.  As I've said in other posts, I've always been interested in the fate of Pete Best.

I think a very interesting movie could be made about him but it would probably attract a small niche audience.  A movie like that will never be made.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on July 20, 2021, 09:56:23 PM
Hi Loco!  Nice hearing from you again.

I think a very interesting movie could be made about him but it would probably attract a small niche audience.  A movie like that will never be made.


This is as close as we're going to get...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQgf7MzywgI# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQgf7MzywgI#)
1979

Pete Best served as a technical advisor.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Moogmodule on July 20, 2021, 11:32:48 PM

Pete Best served as a technical advisor.

And did t it show … ha2ha
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 21, 2021, 05:52:42 PM
Thanks, Hello.  I'll have to re-watch that when I'm in the mood.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Moogmodule on July 25, 2021, 06:13:16 AM
Normandie and Moogmodule:  I was happy to be of assistance.  As I've said in other posts, I've always been interested in the fate of Pete Best.

I think a very interesting movie could be made about him but it would probably attract a small niche audience.  A movie like that will never be made.

They made a film focusing on Stu Sutcliffe so it’s not impossible. 
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 25, 2021, 03:17:48 PM
Moogmodule:  Yes, you're right.  I should know by now not to make absolute statements.  A movie could be made about George Martin or Brian Epstein.  Almost any player in the Beatles game could plausibly merit a movie-bio.  How about the life of a fan for that matter?  I'm thinking of that famous early Beatle fan club.  I think it was just a few girls (teens).  That could be interesting because I think the Beatles were aware of them and actually visited them in person (in London, I think, or was it in Liverpool?).
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Moogmodule on July 25, 2021, 09:40:43 PM
Moogmodule:  Yes, you're right.  I should know by now not to make absolute statements.  A movie could be made about George Martin or Brian Epstein.  Almost any player in the Beatles game could plausibly merit a movie-bio.  How about the life of a fan for that matter?  I'm thinking of that famous early Beatle fan club.  I think it was just a few girls (teens).  That could be interesting because I think the Beatles were aware of them and actually visited them in person (in London, I think, or was it in Liverpool?).

There’s been talk of an Epstein film  or tv series for quite a while. But it seems to have gone quiet. I think if there’s enough of a hook in the story related to the Beatles it can work as a movie. With the demand for content from all the streaming services it probably increases the chances a bit that something will eventually get made.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Normandie on July 25, 2021, 09:48:05 PM
They made a film focusing on Stu Sutcliffe so it’s not impossible.

Back Beat! I was just thinking of that the other day; I was drawing a total blank on the title. I saw it ages ago. I'll have to look for that on the streaming services.

There’s been talk of an Epstein film  or tv series for quite a while. But it seems to have gone quiet. I think if there’s enough of a hook in the story related to the Beatles it can work as a movie. With the demand for content from all the streaming services it probably increases the chances a bit that something will eventually get made.

I would love to see a movie/series that focused on Brian Epstein. I keep meaning to order his book. The psychology of the Beatles and those in their universe (for lack of a better word) fascinates me.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on July 25, 2021, 10:03:18 PM
I would love to see a movie/series that focused on Brian Epstein. I keep meaning to order his book. The psychology of the Beatles and those in their universe (for lack of a better word) fascinates me.

I've always felt that Brian Epstein's perceptiveness, instinct and perseverance were responsible for The Beatles' meteoric success in the early stage of their career.  Yes, a movie focusing on Brian Epstein would certainly be welcome.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Moogmodule on July 26, 2021, 08:09:12 AM
There was a film announced last year, Midas Man, about Brian. It had a director announced and filming was supposed to begin.  It seems it’s still in pre production. Which suggests it’s been shelved.   
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Moogmodule on July 26, 2021, 08:17:48 AM
Back Beat! I was just thinking of that the other day; I was drawing a total blank on the title. I saw it ages ago. I'll have to look for that on the streaming services.


Backbeat was pretty good. Although they made the Hamburg Beatles sound like a 90s grunge band.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 26, 2021, 07:13:05 PM
Normandie:  I didn't care for Brian Epstein's autobio, "A Cellarful of Noise."  I don't remember why.  It was a short book.  I would have to re-read it in order to remember why I didn't like it.  I will rephrase this a little:  "I didn't enjoy it and it didn't engage me."
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 26, 2021, 07:18:53 PM
Moogmodule.  I think you made a good point.  With the demand for streaming services, niche movies can be made.  Without them, they would need investors to bankroll their budgets.  Also, I don't think there's any star powered actor you could call upon to play Brian or George.  Also, the investors from the pre-streaming era would ask:  "How many people will pay to see this movie?"  Answer:  "Only diehard fans.  Oh, Okay, Forget it then.  Let's move on to something else, maybe something full of adventure, sex and violence.  Yep, that's the ticket!"
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on July 26, 2021, 09:03:43 PM
Normandie:  I didn't care for Brian Epstein's autobio, "A Cellarful of Noise."  I don't remember why.  It was a short book.  I would have to re-read it in order to remember why I didn't like it.  I will rephrase this a little:  "I didn't enjoy it and it didn't engage me."

I read A Cellarful of Noise years years ago.  It wasn't a short book by any means but described Brian Epstein's relationship with The Beatles until 1964 when the book was published.  Derek Taylor was the ghostwriter.  I think events were covered very well from Brian Epstein's standpoint and there is certainly value in that.

Perhaps a better book to read would be In My Life: The Brian Epstein Story by Debbie Geller published in 2000.  This, from Publishers Weekly:


Brian Epstein's death by drug overdose in 1967 cut short a career marked by scandalous secrets and phenomenal success. As manager, Epstein cleaned up the Beatles, gave them cute haircuts and promoted them tirelessly, telling anyone who would listen that they would be "bigger than Elvis" until, surprisingly, they were. Born to an upper-middle-class Jewish household and pushed into joining the family business, Epstein transformed his father's furniture store first into the best music store in Liverpool, then into a music empire. All the while, he struggled with loneliness and unhealthy relationships, forced to hide his homosexuality from the public and always insecure about the motivations of others. This new look at his life (the first since Ray Coleman's 1989 bio, The Man Who Made the Beatles) was culled largely from interviews presented in the award-winning BBC documentary The Brian Epstein Story, directed by Anthony Wall and produced by Geller. The interviewees include people who worked with Epstein, family members and musicians, including Gerry Marsden (of Gerry and the Pacemakers) and Paul McCartney, as well as Beatles producer George Martin and '60s Britpop scenester Marianne Faithfull. Also excerpted here is Epstein's 1964 autobiography, Cellarful of Noise, along with extracts from his unpublished diaries and writings. The anecdotes, presented without commentary in documentary-style quotations, present a complicated, intimate view of his life and the lives he affected. Persistent rumors, such as those suggesting a sexual relationship with John Lennon, are alternately denied and confirmed, leaving some mysteries while shedding light on Epstein's life as a whole. B&w photos. (Dec.) Forecast: This title should get a small boost from the current wave of interest in all things Beatles, particularly from the bestselling Beatles Anthology. The BBC documentary on which this book is based has been featured at several gay and lesbian film festivals this year, which could also increase interest in the book.

Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Unlike A Cellarful of Noise, Debbie Geller's book is inexpensive in either hard or soft cover used editions.

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Moogmodule on July 26, 2021, 09:13:31 PM
Moogmodule.  I think you made a good point.  With the demand for streaming services, niche movies can be made.  Without them, they would need investors to bankroll their budgets.  Also, I don't think there's any star powered actor you could call upon to play Brian or George.  Also, the investors from the pre-streaming era would ask:  "How many people will pay to see this movie?"  Answer:  "Only diehard fans.  Oh, Okay, Forget it then.  Let's move on to something else, maybe something full of adventure, sex and violence.  Yep, that's the ticket!"

To be fair Loco a bio of Brian could have its share of sex and violence…
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 26, 2021, 09:18:26 PM
Hello Goodbye:  You said "it wasn't a short book by any means."  I wonder if we're talking about the same book.  My Kindle version is 148 pages long.  It seemed like a very short read to me.

I will definitely re-read it soon to see if my assessment of it changes in any way.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 26, 2021, 09:26:28 PM
Moogmodule.  Quite true - that.  But I wouldn't want to see the sordid parts of his life.  Also, people who were directly/intimately involved with him would be the ones qualified to write that type of biopic.  Would any of them really want to?  And how many of his contemporaries are still alive today?  He'd be 86 going on 87 in September.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Normandie on July 26, 2021, 09:28:35 PM

Loco Mo, Moodmodule, and Barry, thanks for your input on this. I was not aware of Debbie Gellar's book; that's yet another title to add to my Amazon list.

Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on July 26, 2021, 11:12:59 PM
Hello Goodbye:  You said "it wasn't a short book by any means."  I wonder if we're talking about the same book.  My Kindle version is 148 pages long.  It seemed like a very short read to me.

I will definitely re-read it soon to see if my assessment of it changes in any way.

I read it a long time ago, Loco.  It was ~250 pages in paperback.  I wish I still had my copy.  It's worth a fortune today.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on July 27, 2021, 03:06:15 AM
Loco Mo, Moodmodule, and Barry, thanks for your input on this. I was not aware of Debbie Gellar's book; that's yet another title to add to my Amazon list.




Kathy, here's The Brian Epstein Story (1998) directed by Anthony Wall and produced by Debbie Geller referred to in the Publishers Weekly excerpt I posted...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apKqMVej1cw# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apKqMVej1cw#)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Normandie on July 28, 2021, 01:25:28 AM


^^^

Thanks, Barry; when I get caught up I'll have to watch that, along with The Birth of the Beatles.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on July 28, 2021, 06:45:00 PM
Since we were discussing Brian Epstein's A Cellarful of Noise, this is a good time to watch Petula Clark perform I Know a Place...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE6eqgZKy10# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE6eqgZKy10#)

She was 33 years old at the time but it made no difference.  I had a big crush on her.  What a cutie-pie!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on July 28, 2021, 07:49:36 PM
Hello:  The "Place" sure sounds like the Casbah to me.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on July 28, 2021, 08:08:37 PM
Peut être, Loco...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjZmj2q2YOg# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjZmj2q2YOg#)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on July 29, 2021, 11:41:10 PM
Hello:  The "Place" sure sounds like the Casbah to me.


Both were cellar clubs...


(http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/12600000/Beatles-at-the-Casbah-Club-the-beatles-12610547-760-604.jpg)


(https://www.beatlesource.com/savage/1962/62.04.05%20cavern/01.jpg)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpT-QE6Sm-0# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpT-QE6Sm-0#)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Normandie on August 11, 2021, 10:58:45 PM
There was a film announced last year, Midas Man, about Brian. It had a director announced and filming was supposed to begin.  It seems it’s still in pre production. Which suggests it’s been shelved.


https://deadline.com/2021/07/brian-epstein-midas-man-pre-sells-signature-uk-aus-france-1234802134/ (https://deadline.com/2021/07/brian-epstein-midas-man-pre-sells-signature-uk-aus-france-1234802134/)

Yay!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on August 12, 2021, 03:38:19 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mczuM105fLk# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mczuM105fLk#)
14 March 1965


I just wanted to watch Petula Clark sing I Know A Place again.  This was her first time on The Ed Sullivan Show.  Her flight arrived 45 minutes before the show started and she performed without rehearsing.

That night she also sang Downtown...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SsuPw0tqCE# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SsuPw0tqCE#)

 icon_good
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Normandie on August 23, 2021, 11:16:10 PM
[url]https://deadline.com/2021/07/brian-epstein-midas-man-pre-sells-signature-uk-aus-france-1234802134/[/url] ([url]https://deadline.com/2021/07/brian-epstein-midas-man-pre-sells-signature-uk-aus-france-1234802134/[/url])

Yay!


I posted this TODAY, not sure why it's dated August 11 and got bumped.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Hello Goodbye on August 24, 2021, 01:22:45 AM
I posted this TODAY, not sure why it's dated August 11 and got bumped.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhKiqo-nqm0# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhKiqo-nqm0#)
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Loco Mo on November 06, 2021, 08:16:19 PM
I saw a post on another page which asked if the Rolling Stones should consider hiring Pete Best to replace Charlie Watts.

What do you all think about this?
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: nimrod on November 06, 2021, 10:25:14 PM
I saw a post on another page which asked if the Rolling Stones should consider hiring Pete Best to replace Charlie Watts.

What do you all think about this?

I was thinking The Stones have no Bass player or drummer.
Should they get Paul & Ringo, thats all the Beatles have left, should they join ?

As for the Pete idea, Id love to see it but it'll never happen.
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Moogmodule on November 06, 2021, 10:37:28 PM
I was thinking The Stones have no Bass player or drummer.
Should they get Paul & Ringo, thats all the Beatles have left, should they join ?
.

Inspired idea!
Title: Re: Pete Best
Post by: Normandie on June 03, 2022, 04:11:47 PM
Unlike A Cellarful of Noise, Debbie Geller's book is inexpensive in either hard or soft cover used editions.

A Cellarful of Noise has apparently been re-released, likely in anticipation of Midas Man (?). I just got it on Amazon for ~USD14.00.