Pete Best

Ever heard of Wally Pipp? He played first base for the New York Yankees a long, long time ago. In 1925 Wally decided to take a day off ,and a young kid by the name of Lou Gehrig stepped into the lineup. Gehrig went on to play the next 2,130 straight games and became the most heralded first baseman in the history of baseball, while Wally Pipp…well, you know. Ever heard of Pete Best? Pete Best played drums for the Beatles from 1960-62, and bears a tale of both triumph and woe that makes Wally Pipp look like chicken shit.

    Let’s go back to 1959, to the West Derby Village of Liverpool, England. Eighteen-year-old Pete Best lives with his family at the cavernous Victorian residence of 8 Hayman’s Green. At Pete’s request, his mother, Mona Best, agrees to transform their unfurnished basement into a coffee shop/live music venue for local talent. Shops of this ilk were commonplace in the cultural hub of London, but atypical to the sea-faring, blue-collar city of Liverpool. A friend of Pete’s by the name of Ken Brown helped build the bar, and was promised a gig with his group, the Les Stewart Quartet (featuring George Harrison), at the club’s opening in return for his help. By evening of curtain-raise, The Casbah, as it came to be known, was packed to the brim with frenzied teenagers thirsty for a taste of the burgeoning rock ‘n’ roll scene.         But a disagreement came down between Brown and his mates, and the group canceled last minute. In a mad scramble to save grace, Brown caught a bus to summon two of his musical compatriots, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Alongside George Harrison — but without a drummer — the four lads were known as the Quarry Men, and proceeded to knock the audience dead with fervent three-part harmonies. Quite smitten by his first impression of the group, Best recalls, “It was Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, and the Righteous Brothers.”

    Not until the summer of 1960 did the Silver Beatles (yes, the Silver Beatles) find a drummer. Walking into the Casbah on an average August night, the group caught a glimpse of Pete Best behind the kit with The Blackjacks. He was hard hitting, and capable of hammering out the steady beats that were essential for rhythm and blues. The next day Best received a phone call from McCartney asking if he would join the group; The Beatles had just secured a gig as the house band at a bar in Hamburg and needed Best immediately. After a quick consultation with his mates in The Blackjacks, the deal was set: Best was in.

    Within four days of Best’s union, the Beatles were off to Germany. Hamburg at the time was Europe’s modern day Amsterdam, wrought with drunken sailors, miscreants and prostitutes. Their new home was a raunchy dive called the Indra, smack in the heart of Hamburg’s red-light district, St. Pauli. Cast into the fire, the Beatles would now be expected to play four-hour sets, six- to seven-nights-a-week. Initially, club owner (and known crime lord) Bruno Koschmider was displeased with their flat stage demeanor, though it wasn’t long before the group dispelled cold feet. It was simply a matter of building confidence and chemistry, says Best.



The Indra began to enjoy a larger and larger draw on a nightly basis. Best tells of the skunked Irish, American, British and Canadian sailors that made up a large portion of the constituency. The band adapted quickly to the new lifestyle — hardly sleeping, living off a diet of booze and amphetamines readily supplied by the Indra management, while shamelessly indulging in call girls. The boys also shed the torn and tattered suits of months past and hooked up with crooning heartthrob Tony Sheridan to get a batch of fresh leather duds.  

    The Indra, however, fell victim to neighborhood complaints and was abruptly shut down before the conclusion of the Beatles’ contracted stint. Koschmider simply moved the group down the street to his hottest club, the Kaiserkeller. Here, The Beatles joined forces with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, trading off sets as the hours went by, leaving the stage as a catastrophe in waiting. Best described the rickety frame as incentive to play with more fury, as Koschmider would then have it rebuilt. The intensity and passion of their performances was paying off — the group built a legitimate fanbase in a matter of months. By the time they returned home to Liverpool in December, the Beatles were a well-oiled machine.   

    Soon after, the Beatles exploded within Liverpool. Harnessing a regular gig at the Cavern, as well as cutting a record backing Tony Sheridan, local NEMS Record Store owner Brian Epstein gained curiosity of the surging foursome. Arranging a meeting with the boys at the Cavern in October of ‘61, he proposed himself as the band’s manager. The group agreed, and Epstein began one of most aggressive promotional campaigns that music has ever known. Radio spots, magazines, constant touring, demos and a clean-cut image — little was left to the imagination. By June of ‘62 the Beatles had managed to secure a recording session at Abbey Road studios for the Parlaphone division of EMI. Producer George Martin was at the helm, and Best recalls the experience as awe-inspiring, if not a bit overwhelming. Truth be told, Martin found Best’s level of talent sub-par, and made no bones to Epstein about the necessity of his dismissal from the group if the Beatles were to be signed.



    On August 16th of 1961, Best was summoned to the NEMS office to find Brian Epstein alone and particularly nervous. The verdict came down that Best was out and Hurricanes drummer Ringo Starr was in. The dismissal came as a complete shock to Best, who had always been popular with fans and was known as “one of the best drummers in Liverpool.” He left Epstein’s office in a state of emotional shock and even to this day is “not really sure why” the decision was made. The Beatles, of course, were the biggest celebrities in the world by 1963, and went on to become far and away the most famed and influential pop rock group that has ever existed. For Best, the wound was deep, and took a long time to heal. But these days, Best finds comfort in asking the question, “Why look over my shoulder after all these years?” Despite his royal sacking, Best is an integral part of rock ‘n’ roll history, and played as a Beatle during their most formative and guttural stage. If nothing else, Best can take comfort knowing that he lived countless moments that millions upon millions of fans wish they could have witnessed just one time.

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