Former Beatle Pete Best appears on the classic Howard Stern Show in New York, 1986. Original: • Howard Stern Beatles P... ================================================= Soundcloud: / lukibastard Instagram: / tomthiis
@@toms4442 a friend of mine went to see him in Atlanta around that time but the show started and ended unusually early and by the time dude got there the show was over.
We got to meet him after an All You Need Is Love Concert - Pete, his wife and cousin were sitting in Front of us - at Barbara B Mann Hall - Ft Myers Fl - We were joking around after the show!
Omg, these comments are baaaaad. He's just having a man to man conversation to him, and he says a couple things. Stern LOVES The Beatles, just listen to the audio of his show when Lennon died. He's a life long fan, yall need to CHILL!
There was a great interview with John about Pete. The guys had a chance to go play in Hamburg but they needed a drummer. So they picked up this guy just cause he looked ok. But he couldn't carry a beat. At all. And John said he never got any better. As soon as they could they dropped him. And as Pete admitted he never played again after '68. He didn't really play before that either. heh heh
In what universe does "as soon as they could" mean TWO YEARS LATER??? lol Lennon was full of schit in that interview, all pissed off because he'd been peppered with questions about why they sacked Pete, the most popular Beatle during his two years in the band. In more sober moments Lennon told Beatles historian, Tony Barrow, *"Pete was a better drummer, Ringo was a better Beatle."*
He's not lying. But don't take it from me. Here's what a contemporary drummer of Pete's said when he was asked in an interview what he thought of Pete's drumming: *"He was a genius. You could sit Pete Best on a drum kit and ask him to play for 19 hours and he'd put his head down and do it. He'd drum like a dream with real style and stamina all night long, and that really was The Beatles' sound, forget the guitars. I was amazed when they replaced him. I even thought about learning guitar so he could be the drummer in my band. The Beatles didn't hate Pete Best, but they didn't want to be outshone by their drummer. Ringo was a good drummer but he was more ordinary."* -- Chris Curtis, drummer for The Searchers, a great Liverpool band who scored a 1964 Top 3 Hit in the US charts with their classic, "Love Potion # 9". Chris saw Pete Best play many times in both Hamburg and Liverpool during Pete's two years as The Beatles' drummer.
Pete’s a real nice guy and really got screwed the way the Beatles handled his firing and once they made it big they should have thrown him some money. That said he was a local yokel drummer and they where great on the verge of making it big. He wasn’t in their league. Ringo is always rated as a top 5 drummer in rock history.
Ringo is rated that high mainly because of who he played with. He's not a bad drummer but whether he was better than Pete Best is debatable.According to Pete he was better than Ringo and said other local drummers would back him up on that.
@@mikereiss4216 it’s not debatable if you use respected musicians opinions. Pete Best was a wedding band drummer. Why didn’t all of the other super groups coming up grab him up if he was that good?
@@mikereiss4216 debatable? Really? Have you heard Pete play? Anyone that said Pete is on a same level or better than Ringo knows nothing about drumming. Howard said that he was better jut to provoke him. And the woman host, well, she's just a dumb. Everything she said in the interview is rubbish.
@@broskoone exactly! Ringo is one of the best, if not THE best, rock drummer in history. His musicality is actually mind boggling. Those that can't see his greatness do not understand music, groove composition, originality or soulfulness.
Yeah, but Ringo didn't pay his dues as a Beatle. The Beatles with Pete supplanted Ringo's band, Rory Storm, as the top band in Liverpool in Pete's first year, and a year later The Beatles got a record deal and Ringo's band was going nowhere, to the point he was going to quit. Ringo didn't deserve to just step in and snatch the fruits of Pete's 2 years of labor. Worse than than that, Ringo *conspired* to steal Pete's job, and he and Pete had been good mates (or so Pete thought). Hell, Ringo began conspiring with George to take Pete's job on the night when he sat in for Pete who was sick, and it was Pete who called Ringo to ask him to sit in for him! smfh What a backstabbing snake-in-the-grass.
In the end it didn't matter, they couldn't hear themselves live and didn't like gigging, then stopped as a real band, dumping someone to sell your soul is never good,
Years ago, I was a Musician/Actor and portrayed John Lennon in a show that was running in Ft Myers, Fl called "All you need is love" and we played in this small stadium. One night we were surprised to have Pete show up to the show, so we asked him to sit in and the place went crazy when he sat on the drums during the Hamburg section of the show. We did "My Bonnie" and "Cry for a shadow" and "Some other guy". He was there with Roag ( his brother ) He played great! And I'm telling you I've played with many, many drummers over the years and he totally held his own that night. He's a great guy. we all went to dinner after the show and he was just as gracious as can be telling us some amazing stories about the Beatles that I have never heard! I'll never forget that night ! I asked him what was his favorite Beatles song and he told us it was "I saw her standing there".
Wow that is amazing! I can imagine the stories, I heard he use to hang out with John a lot in Hamburg and they would get shitfaced and bang hookers lol To this day the Indra club is still there. THAT is where the Beatles started. It's this shitty little club way way off the Reeperbahn that must have disappointed the hell out of them when they first went there in August of 1960. But can you imagine the hell Pete must have went through? They fired him August of 1962 and five months later Please please me hit #1 and kicked off Beatlemania in England and from there they got bigger and bigger which must have tortured the hell out of him. He said he did try to kill himself by putting his head in a gas stove
I love your story, and I'm not surprised Pete played great. He was a great drummer when he was a Beatle, too. Here's what a contemporary drummer of Pete's said when he was asked in an interview what he thought of Pete's drumming: *"He was a genius. You could sit Pete Best on a drum kit and ask him to play for 19 hours and he'd put his head down and do it. He'd drum like a dream with real style and stamina all night long, and that really was The Beatles' sound, forget the guitars. I was amazed when they replaced him. I even thought about learning guitar so he could be the drummer in my band. The Beatles didn't hate Pete Best, but they didn't want to be outshone by their drummer. Ringo was a good drummer but he was more ordinary."* -- Chris Curtis, drummer for The Searchers, a great Liverpool band who scored a 1964 Top 3 Hit in the US charts with their classic, "Love Potion # 9". Chris saw Pete Best play many times in both Hamburg and Liverpool during Pete's two years as The Beatles' drummer.
And even John said “Pete was a lousy drummer who we only allowed to tag along because we needed a drummer for hamburg” now I will say the band should’ve done the firing themselves instead of hiding behind Brian but it is what it is
@@Thisusernameisnttaken Ringo used 6 drums and cymbals. Here's Neil Peart's setup: andrewolson.com/Neil_Peart/drums/images/r40/r40-mod-md-copy.jpg Now tell me who's better. Pretty much every drummer in rock music history had a bigger kit than Ringo, he was just a guy that got lucky by being in the Beatles
So many people say that Pete was THE Beatles drummer but that was rubbish. He was their third drummer. Pete only picked up the job because Tommy Moore the regular drummer quit suddenly and they needed someone who could travel to Hamburg. He only joined 3 days before they left for Hamburg.
Absolutely true. People seem to follow 'the popular opinion' rather than research the truth. Lennon/McCartney were witty, quick, amusing, creative people. To put it in a kindly way: Pete best does not quite seem to fit in.
Delusional Pete Best. At 4:11 he says he was a better drummer than Ringo. He was fired because he sucked (John Lennon's words not mine). Ringo sat in with the Beatles in Hamburg, Paul said the moment Ringo started playing they all looked at each with wide eyes (this is what it is like to play with a real drummer).
Pretty (intentionally) mean spirited interview if you ask me,weird hearing Howard slate Paul and Ringo considering how much he kisses their arses nowadays when he interviews them.
Stern would bad mouth God if he was interviewing Satan. His angle was always create controversy and he would be a "Friend' of his interviewee and try to get them to bad mouth someone else. Pete seems a nice enough guy and doesn't quite fall for the techniques.
Howard Stern talks bad about Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Starr. Kisses up to Pete Best and later on in the years interviews McCartney and kisses up to him and he talks about Scot Muni?
To set the record straight since there still seems to be confusion: Pete Best was a weekend bar band quality drummer. Ringo was an excellent drummer, that's why a few fairly talented people chose, and kept him, in the band. The choice was not difficult. The whole Ringo sucks thing is made up by fans of progressive rock showoffs in the 70's and perpetuated by people who have never picked up a set of sticks to this day. Ringo knew how to hit the drums and had excellent time and feel, these are important to actual musicians, and it's not a lie or a joke. Ringo good. Pete Best not good. May God have mercy on your souls.
@@jayclarke6671 You're doing exactly what I pointed out in my comment, thanks for proving the premise. Zeppelin above the Beatles? How so? Not in sales or lasting cultural significance, to be sure. Playing more notes, louder? sure, Zep's got 'em there. Glenn Campbell had more musicianship and physical ability in his pinky finger than both bands combined, yet I'm not about to argue Led Zeppelin would have been better with Glenn Campbell on guitar and vocals. How about appreciating that the right guys were in the right band? Edit to add, Bonham and Ringo were friends in real life, there was no actual rivalry amongst the players, just the fans.
@@NickWeissMusic Glenn Campbell....lol. Zeppelin epics are unmatched in terms of songwriting structure and performance. The Beatles did outsell Zepp and everyone else but my conservative mother bought a Beatles album, she would never even have conceived of buying a Zepp or Stones album. That's the difference. In terms of the music itself, Zepp still sounds relevant and fresh today with their recent remastered series, whereas much of The Beatles music sounds ancient and out of date with the exception of Abby Road which admittedly is a masterpiece.
@@jayclarke6671 yes, Glenn Campbell, played on more hits than both bands combined, huge hits with Jerry Reed, the Monkees, Beach Boys, Elvis, Righteous Brothers, Frank Sinatra, more vocal range than McCartney, thankfully didn’t shriek like Plant lol. Finished out his last tour in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, couldn’t speak to the audience but it didn’t affect his playing or singing. More of a Bach level talent, as opposed to Bonham level. Again, you’re citing marketing driven, fan based hype. The band that invented the rock concept album (Paul credits Zappa for influencing btw, but the Beatles made it #1), isn’t as good at creating songs or an album as Led Zeppelin? Sgt. Pepper was released before zeppelin was formed lol. Come on now. I’m a big fan of both bands, Bonham is my favorite reason to listen to Zeppelin and a truly great rock drummer, but he wasn’t even the most technically proficient rock drummer of the day, Mitch Mitchell could swing circles around him.
I have heard interviews with Paul and he blames Pete's personality more than anything, Ringo had the same sense of humor, which is huge, if you can't get along...
@@toms4442 there is also an interview with John Lennon in RU-vid and he says that Pete was a lousy drummer, they took him on as they needed urgently a drummer to go to Hamburg, but they intended to dump him as soon as they found a better drummer…
There is audio of John Lennon telling it straight why he was booted out. Basically he says he was a lousy drummer . They got offered work in Hamburg and needed a drummer desperately in order to take up the work. They had heard about a local guy who had a kit but he wasn’t great but they trained him to keep a solid four to the bar but beyond that he was useless. It was always the intention to get rid of him as soon as they got back from Hamburg. He said all the stuff about Paul being jealous of his looks etc was complete rubbish. That sound like the truth of it. They were just spineless the way they dealt with him.
This is what happened- Ringo joined later but as history shows , he was the drummer of the Beatles- Pete was never really a Beatle - they just needed someone to hit the drums in Hamburg and took anyone - always wanting Ringo but he was in another band . He is no more a Beatle than Stu Sutcliffe who was only there cause he was johns mate and couldn’t play bass anyway
Jumping in a year later - but I jump in when EVER this anti-Pete garbage comes up. John also was a liar. You want to know how many times he's flipped flopped on history? Start with Rolling Stone interviews and then Playboy. If he was a lousy drummer what was John? A sucker who did multiple tours woodshedding in Hamburg with a lousy drummer? Seems he had more than a year and literally thousands of long sets to fire him but noooo. Then after THAT Brian shops them around to every label with still a lousy drummer ?? So, THEN they get a CONTRACT with EMI - with that lousy drummer - a drummer with an EMI contract way before Ringo smelled fame. He was the only Beatle pictured on Merseybeat front page when they got their EMI contract; by far the number one fan favorite on and on. Oh, if you think Ringo was better at THAT point just dig up some '62 Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and behold the suckitude of Ringo. After Ringo joined - they did lousy 30 minute sets for every Live show until the end in '66 about 3 years after Pete. The lousy drummer played more than 8 hours a day almost every day hammering it out - forging the Beatles. Even Ringo knew they could "pull a Pete" on him when he got tonsillitis and Jimmy Nichol filled in at height of fame - what do YOU think "pull a Pete" means and mind you Pete and Ringo were friends before the firing - obviously Ringo wasn't saying he'd be fired for SUCKING right? Meaning "pulling a Pete" meant GETTING JOBBED. Ringo's words. Listen to the Decca audition - it sucks but it doesn't suck because of Pete; it sucks because the songs are ridiculous - Besame Mucho? 3 Cool Cats? and George was lead singer all over the pitch and John and Paul were no better. No drummer could've saved that mess. Everything I said is fact and can be checked - mixed in with me asking leading questions. Either Lennon was a weak-ass amateur pushover or I'm correct and what he said was typical bullshit Lennon crap. Again, see "Lennon Speaks" in Stone and the famous Playboy interviews to witness liar boy in action. "telling it straight" my ass. ☮
Lennon saying he was lousy was tactless . He simply could have said we preferred ringo Or we felt we could find a better drummer....but to be so callous. ...lennon was a heartless !@#$
People under 30, do you listen to classic rock from 1955-1980? That was 60 years ago! For an experiment, ask people that grew up then, if they were listening to music from the 1890s, and watch the looks they give you.
Howard and Robin ruined this interview. They interrupted Pete, they talked over Pete, asking Pete sexual questions about the others. WTF? I would have really liked to just hear Pete tell his story.
this is hilarious. Howard and Robin are kinda setting him up. John Lennon said it best: Pete is a drummer. Ringo is a Beatle. Pete's sacking was hurtful and cowardly but Pete didn't fit in to the band, he didn't have the beatle personality, wit, charm, humor etc. And George Martin , a music man of a high order, said Pete wasn't a good drummer. If he was great, he would have had an amazing career playing with great musicians like Clapton, etc. But it never happened. Ringo was the best drummer the Beatles could have had. The proof is in the pudding. And the music without Pete, but with Ringo will last forever.All said, Pete suffered and is a decent guy.
After seeing numerous interviews with the band members...... How the band was formed was; John chose Paul, Paul chose George and George chose Ringo. No one chose Pete he was just available when they needed a drummer to go to Germany. John thought Pete was a lousy drummer and he wasn't improving with the rest of the band. Paul thought the band just sounded better when Ringo filled in for Pete. George's view on it was Pete was a drummer but Ringo was a Beatle.
I think he interviews well, he answers the questions - he avoids snarkiness and he’s occasionally funny even though you know the subject matter might still be painful for him.
I was one of the opening performers when Pete and his band toured the states in 2005 at Hartwood Acres outside of Pittsburgh. Got to meet him backstage and had a picture taken with the other opening acts, plus he signed 2 drum heads for me. He is a very kind person who you just want to hug ❤.
The book Pete Best refers to in this interview "Beatle:The Pete Best Story" is a fantastic book. He is sort of a national treasure as a right there witness till basically the first Beatles hit.
Pete may have been a good a drummer as Ringo BUT, the missing ingredient was the chemistry. The humor that jelled between the three and with Ringo was a key factor in their success. Charisma, was appealing to the fans and the media. And on the verge of world fame, a desicion had to be made. And it was the right one. Ringo sang in the song Boys and Yellow Submarine. Pete, I don't know if he could sing.
Technically and artistically, Pete was not a very good drummer. Could you imagine Pete on such time-tricky Beatles songs as "Rain", "She Said She Said", "Come Together", "Day Tripper", or "In My Life"?
He wasn't even in the same league as Ringo who is widely considered as among the best of that era. Best wasn't better than your average garage band drummer.
@@danielgolus4600 No, I could not. Or, on A Day in the Life. Ringo's drumming was creative and innovative for the time. And, yes, the band 'chemistry' required Ringo, to really work. No, offense to Pete, he seems like a decent fellow.
Pete was a gentleman about it, but Ringo was a great drummer. Once Ringo joined, the magic and miracle of the Beatles came together. Pete wasn’t as good a drummer as Ringo.
..so when Howard interviewed Paul McCartney years later...I bet Pete' Best was not to be mentioned ...I'd really love for Paul to speak about him and the early days...
Ringo was a established professional drummer and was playing with Rory Storm and the hurricanes. John and Paul both said Pete couldn't keep up when playing at the Caverns. Pete never tried to get better. Also Pete wanted to stay a Teddy and not go the Mop top direction which was a clean look also to get rid of leather jackets. They all said Ringo was a better Beatle. There are times when you are faced with doing everything you can to get better. I was a basic drummer in the late 70's into the mid 80's. I knew I would have to go more than all in to get better. We opened for a soon to be big 80's band that is still touring today and poof we broke up. I think it was over a girl between the guitarist and our singer? I was also called up 2xs for a minor league baseball team. Reality hit when a rehabbing MLB player hit a grounder by me and it hissed and I knew I was good but not that good. I was told if I grew another 2-3" and put on some weight I would get signed. Then a agent would harass me and my family to sign but I knew I ...........was out of my league.
I know that Pete did get a giant payday in 1996 BUT bear in mind that it was 30+years later. I personally don't think I could have dealt with the fame but no money for so long
I'd have tracked down the three little pigs and had it out with them. He should have fought for his position, it makes me angry just thinking about how cold and mercenary those three little pigs were.
They were jealous little pricks. Pete was the far and away most popular Beatle with the fans, the club managers, and the press -- and The Threetles couldn't handle it. Check out this story from Bill Harry, the editor of Mersey Beat magazine, and the man who wrote the article announcing the record deal Pete, Paul, John and George got with EMI. Bill said, *"Pete was so popular with the girls that DJ/promoter Bob Wooler suggested something unprecedented -- place Pete and his kit in front of the other three members of the group. This unusual stage line-up was presented only once -- at the St. Valentine's Dance on 14 February 1961, at Litherland Town Hall. Only once because the stage was mobbed when the girls surged forward and almost pulled Pete off into the crowd. This never happened when John, Paul and George were in the front line."*
Pete Best is the only guy I know - who made a living off of getting fired. Today, Pete doesn't feel so bad. He made an estimated 9 Million dollars royalties from the Beatles Anthology in 1996. Poor Pete. His retirement and family estate was instantly funded, and The Beatles saw to it that Pete got paid. That's not bad money for 2 yrs drumming live at Hamburg Clubs, but that's not all he did. Pete's mother, Mona Best, built a Coffee Bar in the basement of her large home, so her 2 boys (and their friends) could play their music. John, Paul, and George soon came to play. They even painted and decorated the place. Beatles then manager, Alan Williams, secured them some work in Hamburg, but the deal breaker was, they had to have a drummer. Pete Best was who they chose. Without Pete, they could not have honed their craft in Hamburg. Remember that John Lennon said this: "Our best work was in the early days. but it was never recorded". WHO was the Beatles drummer in the early days? Pete Best. I would venture to say, without Pete Best, there may not have been a Beatles.
You are misquoting Lennon's statement. He specifically says, "We were four guys. . . . I met Paul and said, ``You want to join me band?'' Then George joined, and then Ringo joined. We were just a band that made it very, very big, that's all. Our best work was never recorded. " In fact, he never mentions Pete Best once in the entire interview. He was upset about their "best work" because he liked it more raw. . But it had nothing to do with Pete Best.
The Beatles Anthology was produced by Neil Aspinall (head of Apple, at the time), who just happened to be the father of Pete's half-brother, Roag. So, of course, Pete got his pay-off. Oddly enough, the medals John wore on the Sgt Pepper album were from Pete's grandfather, and John had asked Pete's mother to borrow them for the cover shoot. Afterward, a polite thank-you note to Pete's mother. That last bit, about the medals, were from Pete himself.
The answer is simple, ANY other radio show is just weather/traffic reports & shit music, Howard doesn’t play any music and doesn’t report news or weather but he has made the most exciting content on radio for 40 years.
Pete Best sucked as a drummer. His claim to fame is he was dumped by the Beatles. The Greatest Band of our time knew what they were doing. Ringo was great, Pete not so much.
Why was Pete rated as one of the best drummers in Liverpool at the time if he sucked? Why would The Beatles bother taking him to two major label recording tests if he sucked? Why did some local Liverpool bands have drummers purely because they could play like Pete if he sucked? Why did several local Liverpool groups ask Pete to join them when he was kicked out if he sucked? Why don't any surviving 60s Liverpool musicians who saw him back in the day have a bad word to say about Pete's drumming if he sucked? Why doesn't he play as badly on his other Beatles and post-Beatles recordings like he did on 'Love Me Do', including 'Besame Mucho' from the same session? Makes you wonder
@@TheMerseySound1 Everyone says he sucked because John said he sucked. Personally I don't believe John, among other things he was a liar, and said most things sucked. He even said the only thing Paul did was "Yesterday". I think they would have done the same with Best, Ringo is good but he really didn't add anything to the music honestly, he was good but not extraordinary. He was replaceable, unlike a Bonham, Peart, Moon, etc. Yet people think he was instrumental to the music like the other 3.. But you know how people see the Beatles with rose tinted glasses and say all 4 were the best musicians ever. I strongly feel that the person who was the best with their instrument was George, but I'll get off of my soapbox..
@@benjamins9121, you're just quoting a song lyric of his. John complimented lots of Paul's songs in interviews. None of them have ever had much good to say about Best as a drummer, who certainly was not in high demand when The Beatles sacked him. As for George being the best musician in the band? There's a strong argument that he wasn't even as good a guitarist as Paul, who was clearly the band's best musician.
@@benjamins9121 Beatle fans quote the same few eye-witnesses who saw Pete at the time who said he was bad (John Lennon, George Martin and Tony Sheridan). However, the number of local musicians and fans who saw Pete play at the time saying he was good vastly outnumber them. Even Paul McCartney said he was a good drummer in the Anthology book
John Lennon said this: "Our best work was never recorded... because we were performers - in spite of what Mick [Jagger] says about us - in Liverpool, Hamburg and other dance halls. What we generated was fantastic when we played straight rock, and there was nobody to touch us in Britain. " WHO was their DRUMMER at that time? PETE BEST
He’s the luckiest guy with no talent of all time. He made something like 8 million for the anthology release in 95’. If invested properly at that time he could have quite the nest egg for doing next to nothing. His mother taught him the squeaky wheel gets the grease
In those days NO ONE in Mainstream Hollywood wanted to do an interview on his show because he would bring up anything embarassing. He Sold Out when he made the movie Private Parts to become an accepted member of "Society".
1. Pete seems like a great guy. 2. The way The Beatles dumped Pete and didn't talk with him again was very immature; even The Beatles seemed to regret it later in life (they didn't regret dumping him, but they regretted the way they did it - i.e. without facing him). 3. Having listened to the Decca audition several times, Ringo was simply a much better drummer for the band. The Beatles probably would have been somewhat successful without Ringo, but even that's a question mark since Decca rejected them when they had Pete. 4. Pete Best is well-known to all Beatles fans, not because of his drumming talent but because of the subsequent success of The Beatles. In fact Pete is the best known "almost was" musician in history. He's far better known that Doug Sandom (an early drummer with The Who), or Henry Padovani (The Police guitarist before Andy Summers), or even Ian Stewart (the keyboard player with the Rolling Stones, who actually continued to play live and on albums with the Stones for 23 years - until he died - after being "kicked out"; he just was no longer named as a "band member" after 1962). 5. The other Beatles were what made the band great, Pete was just a guy who could play "ok" drums and happened to be in the right place at the right time. 6 Pete should consider himself a lucky guy for all of the above, including that he can supplement his income from Beatles fans by sharing stories of their time together. 7. Howard is an idiot to say he'd "kill himself" if The Beatles kicked him out, just before the worldwide fame; obviously that's not true but he shouldn't even joke about that, considering how emotionally some people act when disappointed.
For your information, The Beatles were signed by George Martin's Parlophone label at EMI (Abbey Road) with PETE as their drummer. Get your facts straight before coming on here and posting nonsense. smh
I recently read an article that in 1966 Pete Best put out an album out that had no Beatles music on it called "Best of the Beatles", that had an early photo of the Beatles on the cover with a circle placed over Best's head and a lot of people bought it thinking it was a Beatles greatest hits album.
At the time this interview was recorded nothing with Pete Best’s drumming had been officially released by the Beatles so they owed him nothing. When they finally released some old recordings featuring him in 1995 he got his payday.
I wonder how Ken Brown feels about missing out. I seem to remember that Ken Brown was kicked out my McCartney because Mona Best let him work the door one night (he had an injury) and still payed him as part of the band. McCartney felt Mona should have paid him out of her expenses.
Ken wasn't kicked out; he quit. But yes, those were the circumstances. When the others backed Paul, he realised he wasn't respected or even considered to be a real member of the group.
So Pete Best was a bad drummer, but he was 2 years in the band. Heard Pete Best invented the Atom beat which every drummer in that area tried to copy. I heard him play on some early recordings sounded ok to me.
Doubtless there were occasions when Pete would "click" and allow the Beatles energy (a lot of it thanks to Lennons intimidating right hand technique - he was a formidable rhythm guitarist) to carry him into a more assertive and aggressive (in a good way) mood. Doubtless it was the Pete fans who came up with the "Atom beat" thing, and claim that all the other bands copied it. Just like all these other mysterious scouse drummers with no names that Pete brings up in interview who apparently "confirmed" that Pete was the best drummer in town.
As a musician and Beatles fan for 40 years now, I can confidently wager that Pete invented NOTHING that other bands couldn't emulate. Nothing technically advanced and no emotional fire. What is likely is that, on good nights where the other Beatles were on fire, some of those extra special performances Pete might just have risen some way to the task, carried along by the other's. The overall effect was probably awe inspiring. And of course the Pete fans came up with this "sexy Pete n his atom beat" nonsense. Its funny how a little badge of affection pinned (inaccurately) to the groupies favourite band member, in the murky distant past, has acquired a weird life of its own. The Beatles had to learn to gel with no drummer so they compensated with a strong guitar based sense of drive and momentum. (Apparently, whenever asked about having no drummer, they used to reply "the rhythms in the guitars, man"). Lennon, being the rhythm guitarist, developed a right hand style that is downright awe inspiring in its power, authority and also its interesting fluidity (Norwegian Wood and A Day In The Life are good eg's). In the future, this unstoppable momentum allowed Ringo to play slightly behind the beat, creating interesting tension and a wonderful distinctive feel to their music. Hope I made sense!
The Atom beat? What a load of shit😂😂😂 The only real recordings of Pete Best are his feeble attempts at Decca and his lousy and thankfully only session at Abbey Road. He was crap. Accept it. Especially from someone who has heard him play live several times over the past thirty years.
@@uberbeast113 Your ignorance on this topic is staggering. Pete absolutely invented The Atom Beat, which revolutionized rock drumming. And yes, drummers throughout Liverpool and Hamburg tried to copy it, including Ringo. One bandleader, Faron of Faron's Flamingos kept firing drummers because "they couldn't sound like Pete Best". The Beatles were not just occasionally having "good nights", you nitwit, they were the top band in the entire Liverpool-Hamburg circuit, and even officially named so in the 1961 Mersey Beat Top Band Poll, in which they knocked Ringo's band, Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, out of the top spot. And that was largely because of Pete, as The Beatles were the worst band in Liverpool the day before they hired him. Even George Harrison said, *"We were just awful before we went to Hamburg. But when we got there we became as tight as a band can be. And then later when we got a recording contract, we were never able to get to that level again."* John Lennon agreed, *"The Beatles were at their best when we were wearing our leathers and playing the clubs and dance halls of Hamburg and Liverpool, but it was never recorded so the world never got to hear it. No one in England could touch us."* Ringo himself acknowledged their greatness during Pete's tenure. It was not just random "good nights" they were having: *"My band, Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, got to Hamburg about two months after The Beatles had arrived. We played on the same bill a lot, so I was always running into them. I'll never forget the first time I heard The Beatles play, they were already great. The were the only band I would go see on my time off."* Pete's drumming chops and revolutionary sound were real. But hey, if you don't want to take it from me, then listen to this eye/ear witness: Here's what a contemporary drummer of Pete's said when he was asked in an interview what he thought of Pete's drumming: *"He was a genius. You could sit Pete Best on a drum kit and ask him to play for 19 hours and he'd put his head down and do it. He'd drum like a dream with real style and stamina all night long, and that really was The Beatles' sound, forget the guitars. I was amazed when they replaced him. I even thought about learning guitar so he could be the drummer in my band. The Beatles didn't hate Pete Best, but they didn't want to be outshone by their drummer. Ringo was a good drummer but he was more ordinary."* -- Chris Curtis, drummer for The Searchers, a great Liverpool band who scored a 1964 Top 3 Hit in the US charts with their classic, "Love Potion # 9". Chris saw Pete Best play many times in both Hamburg and Liverpool during Pete's two years as The Beatles' drummer. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@Cosmo-Kramer any good musician knows that a band has good nights and bad nights. It doesn't make a difference to their position as top band or wherever they rank. You're clearly not a musician and if you think Pete was a good drummer...never mind what people said or were said to have said ..use your ears...if you can't hear it...the total lack of power and enthusiasm in any recording of Pete (and to this day he's still terrible lol)...then it's pointless arguing. Your long argument for Pete is all either moot or hearsay.
I've been obsessed with researching about Pete Best and his story. What I have to say is: There was no better drummer than Ringo, no better bassist than Paul, Guitarist than John, and Lead Guitarist than George. BUT I think Pete Best was the best person to have been kicked out. He's absolutely respectful and states facts, doesn't give rumors or lies, he says it how it happens and still makes sure that no lies are told about how it happened. He doesn't try to make it seem like a "I broke up with them" story, but rather says how it happened, but makes sure other rumors that would make Pete look good, are not lies. At 7:55 Howard tells Paul that Epstein didn't get kicked out of the group, and only Pete did because he was not gay or said yes to his offer of staying. Howard says that Epstein then gave the other members "some" (sex, love) but then "Pete says well, that amounts to your own opinion." Before that at 7:50 he says "I don't know if it's true or not, I'm not the guy to tell that" Pete is respectful and I love that if anyone got kicked out, it was him. Imagine it was someone else, would they be as respectful and truthful as another member? Say Paul? What if Paul remained bitter and said lots of lies if he got kicked out and he was being interviewed years later. Pete respects the Beatle's legacy, because whether he was a part or not, he has respect for it and accepts that they are amazing. Instead of a bitter person saying "they suck anyway. " We all know that's true. Love you Pete, glad you still got famous and are FOREVER tied with the Beatles, unlike most of us, we will never be. Just listen at 9:57 to what its said and what Pete replies with. Just golden. Respectful.
Epstein said that Best's mother kept interfering with his plans for the Beatles, so the only way to get rid of her was to get rid of Best...Best will never come out with the truth becoz he will never disrespect his mother with any blame...cant blame him........that said, he will still hang on to the Beatle name to make what he can, when he can...he eventually got what he wanted with the Anthology Album
The unsung Beatle? More like the untalented Beatle. Not to mention delusional. The producers and technicians all said that he sucked, couldn't keep a beat. I suppose none of them knew what they were talking about. Sour grapes Mr Best. 🍇
My goodness that whole "clapping at every sentence" shtick really really gets on my nerves. Whoever thought that was a funny good idea needs to be kicked in the head. Truly nothing but irritating
I would say john had a Strong personality who wanted to lead the band with Paul an agreeable leader also in the early days . Ringo was a nice guy who could gel well with the guys … this guy Pete had a strong personality and not a lot of talent . It was the right decision to let him go otherwise the tension would of been that great we never would of had the Beatles taking over the world 🌎…. Sting and the police had endless stress because if that big mouth American drummer 🥁…. People need to fall in and support a leader to be great
Make that 2 YEARS, you numbskull. And in those two years Pete played WAYYYYY more hours than Ringo ever did as a Beatle. As for George Martin, he never said to sack Pete, he just wanted a studio-experienced session pro for the first record. Martin said, *"Pete had a sullen charm, and I was surprised to learn that he had been replaced. He was the best looking Beatle, and the most marketable among them."* Furthermore, when Ringo showed up for his first session, Martin rejected his drumming as well, and hired session pro Andy White to replace him the next week. So get your facts straight, woman, before coming on here and spouting nonsense.
He was like this in the early days, at least he’s starting to lose his nasally “radio” voice here. Later on, he felt more comfortable I think and became an incredible interviewer. The dick jokes and fart humor continued however.
![Beatle Pete Best HILARIOUS Interview on Howard Stern [1986]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
