His attitude really seemed to turn around once he got the $1,000,000. And that's not meant as a criticism, he earned it for playing on the tracks and it's well deserved. Glad he ended up getting a portion of the pie that represented his contribution.
Not sure about how accurate that timeline is, but I could imagine there's truth in the idea that being rewarded with such a sum would 'mend' things. And just like you say, that has nothing to do with greed or capitalist corruption or whatever you may. It has to do with being recognized for your efforts and receiving your fair share.
Band members quit and get tossed all the time. One HAS to go with what they feel is the best fit. Ringo was the right fit. Pete was well compensated for that move.
Not sure about your money figures but one thing is sure. It’s a steady, reliable income source till the end of his days. Good for him. He did step up and go with to the the piss- bowl Hamburg gig when he was asked. Fir that, he was more than handsomely repaid.
As a drummer and a fan, Pete Best did not have good “time”, pure and simple! Ringo had the timing of a clock and was much more imaginative! He was just better and he made the band better!
Chad Channing was fired from Nirvana right before they hit it big with Nevermind! As a drummer, what's your assessment of Chad's drumming? Chad wrote the drum parts for "Nevermind" and you can hear his playing on the Smart Studios demo for what became Nevermind. How does it compare to Grohl's drumming on the finished record?
@@ThatOpalGuy Dragging, mostly. His EMI recording of Love Me Do is all over the place - but George Martin had told him to play a groove with more swing, and Pete was winging it. Martin probably did so to convince the Beatles a session drummer was necessary for the recording. Other recordings show Pete in better form, but he wasn't nearly as solid as Ringo. Pete's fills were rather bland, too. He didn't have Ringo's creativity and he relied on basic rolls far too much.
Pete would end up working for Job Center in Liverpool, eventually rising to regional director. His position would help people find new careers after losing their old ones. Quite appropriate, as Pete had a very good "I was fired from an awesome job" stories in history!
The job centre never helped anybody get a new career? They hindered rather than helped! "Take this shitty job or we will stop your money!" Never mind the job you've found but need help with PPE we have a new career for you collecting glasses in a pub!
Actually, he had a shitty job when he was fired. The Beatles hadn't achieved anything yet. He was just a mediocre drummer in an unknown band. That's hardly an "awesome job".
hit the nail on the head with this one. i’m terribly sick of those types of videos, as well as the clickbait titles/thumbnails they come with that never have anything to do with the video itself
Agreed, but the closed captioned was amusing. "Bols". Demonstrates the way the British drop the "T" sounds when speaking. A lot of great info, well done.
Yes Ringo was the better drummer but more importantly it was about the "beatle spirit", yk? Ringo possessed and shared the charisma, wit and humour of the other 3. It's staggering how naturally he fits with in the Beatles. Also an important point to note is Pete just didnt hung out with the other 3 and partook in their shenanigans after their shows in Hamburg, he preferred to be by himself. He was a loner. Its like George said, Pete was just a drummer but Ringo was a Beatle, last piece of the puzzle. Last point of the "Beatle square".
Ringo is lovable and never competed with any of the others, which made all of us love him. He just seemed like a happy guy with a ready smile, and he made it seem so easy!
I read about the rock solid marriage Pete Best had and he had loving children who respected and honoured him. His reputation is great. Who cares about being sacked from a band when you have been blessed so much. Pete Best, you have done great with your life.
Correct. He didn't make the grade as a Beatle and can't let it go. It's become he's meal ticket. A good life is all any of us wants. The Beatles were just an average band in a Hamburg dive when he left them. The future was in no possible way known to be the eruption it would soon become. They got a better a drummer and that was all. Happens all the time
The Beatles were a bunch a money grabbing narcissists, later Harrison realised the errors of his life and turned to religion but McCartney Lennon & Starr thought they were in some way important, they play pop music and not very well and sing about trash, they slept with other people wives and girlfriends, ALL of them, they even sang and wrote songs about it, ask anyone who came into contact with them, they had to hide their wives,
A million in royalties would certainly put a smile on anyone's face . Given the hundreds of millions the Beatles made it would have only been fair to have compensated him earlier.
OH BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO BOO HOO HOO HOO FUCKING BOO HOO . Best had been peddling his stupid sob story for decades now. He could have been a Beatle! So what? The Beatles are nothing more than silly pop group.These days I'd be embarrassed to be associated with The Beatles. And this is coming from someone who used to actually like The Beatles.
Looking at the way Lennon treated the son he had with his first wife ( Julian ) , it is clear the man was a narcissist. Despite of all the peace loving , hippie image he loved to portray.
I'm happy to see Pete's doing well. I got to meet him once in the 1980s at a Beatles fan day in the NLs. Just a very charming, soft-spoken, gracious person.
I met Pete Best yesterday at the Casbah Coffee Club, 8 Haymans Green (Pete Best's mum's house), "Where it all really began!" He was setting up drums for a gig. Great guy. God bless him! As for being fired - well, that's show biz, he knows that. A true professional.
That was so cool but he was right, as producer he wanted to capture the best possible recording, which he knew he wouldn't have been able to do with Pete.
@@richardbrown1189 George Martin only said he wanted to use a session drummer 🥁 for the first recording session. He never implied or insisted that Pete would never record with the group or that he wasn’t good enough to play with them live.
7:42 John was being brutally honest about sacking Pete, not sugarcoating it at all. But he explained it about as succinctly (and accurately) as possible. Pete never really grew as a drummer. Watching him play in more recent years, his drumming just hasn’t improved much (if any). His timing is awkward and inconsistent, and he’s barely able to provide any imaginative fills. Pete simply could never have pulled off the interesting drum parts that Ringo played in songs like “Rain” and “A Day in the Life.” He would have held them back, even if they used a studio drummer for the records. John was totally right. Pete’s firing also had nothing to do with his popularity, as Ringo was often voted the most popular Beatle during the touring years… and nobody sacked him because of it. Listen to the Hollywood Bowl recording of “Boys” and you hear all the girls go totally apesh*t. It’s remarkable to hear. Lastly, Pete didn’t gel with the other three. He had a different personality and didn’t hang out with the others off stage. Ringo was “one of the guys,” someone who not only was a better drummer but more fun to be around. Having said that, Pete has been rewarded by having a decent life… outliving two of his band mates by decades, while still retaining his freedom to enjoy the little things in life without being mobbed. Fame was cruel to John, shot in the back when he was only 40. George was stabbed multiple times in the chest in his own home thanks to his fame. Pete can walk down the street and drink a pint in his local pub.
John was technically correct, but he could have been more human about it. John was a talented musician and performer, he could also be an absolute jerk.
Thousands have been dumped from bands in music history. Most became nothing but bar bands and so no hard feelings were had. Pete Best has had a great life and family and can now retire. God blessed him in other ways!❤
Nothing against Pete Best but this would not have been an issue if the Beatles did not become so successful. If they had become a mediocre band Pete would have just said yeah I played for them at one time. They had no idea they were going to get as big as they did.
You're missing the whole point. It was the fact that the band became the biggest on the planet that was the problem. Can you imagine trying to deal with that, let alone the media constantly hounding you for your story. Mental torture in indeed, I'm sure. Glad he got something out of it financially in the end to compensate for all that mental hardship I'm sure he'll have gone through. Especially the lads not giving him any credit. Lennon's take on it was embarrassing.
@@1blastman exactly Ringo was a self-taught left-handed drummer and I can say as a drummer myself his drumming added a whole different dynamic to The Beatles Pete best was a very good drummer but very generic with a cookie cutter style
How the hell do you come to the conclusion that he's "an amazing man" ?!!...what next "he's a legend" ? ...Lord help us ! he's a crap drummer who ended up getting lucky with an undeserved pay packet...get real you fool
Pete seems like a very very likable person and I’m very happy to hear he’s doing fantastic! Ppl saying he’s a terrible drummer and they’re glad he got kicked out is just uncalled for really. Him feeling the way he felt is only natural after getting kicked out of the band and told you’re a lousy drummer, he wasn’t the right guy so they got ringo who was absolutely the right person for the job.
He was a lousy drummer. I'm a guitarist, and I know what it feels like to play with a drummer who can't keep a beat. I don't hate Pete. I hate those idiots who insist that he was better than Ringo and that jealousy was the reason why he was fired.
Pete had his early years in India. I wonder if the Indian syncopation/beat is what was predominantly in his system. Curiously the Beatles , George especially took to the Indian flavour after a few more years later . Interesting also that George is the one depicted as the main motivator for getting rid of Pete . I don't think they wanted to discuss that scam Guru they adopted in later interview appearances.
@@ruelitocayamanda8162 People judge Pete by his "Love Me Do" EMI recording, but you gotta remember George Martin told Pete "I'm not happy with Love Me Do, play a beat with more swing"... on the day of the recording! Pete had no time to practice and was winging it. Very few people would perform well under those circumstances. There aren't that many recordings with Pete Best on them kicking around but from what we have I think it's fair to conclude Pete Best could hold a beat just fine but he wasn't particularly imaginative with fills and he didn't have the natural feel that Ringo did. Ringo was certainly a far better drummer. I'd say Pete was "okay". He wasn't _awful_ but he lacked natural talent; good enough for a bar band, not good enough for the big leagues. It's not surprising he never made it as a drummer after being fired from the Beatles.
He is an objectively bad drummer though. Nothing personal but I can hear it. His timing is all over the place. Others can get away with bad timing because you learn to just follow the drummer. The drummer can't. I don't care really, I won't say anything bad about him personally, but He was not a good Drummer that's just the fact of it.
@@rdrrr All I have to go on is the recordings we have and in those he had bad timing. He wasn't consistent. every time they switch sections his tempo would change, and he never seemed to maintain a constant tempo even in the sections. Just use a metronome on one song, you will see how off he gets. Bad timing is not a "I didn't get to practice it" sort of thing. You shouldn't have to practice maintaining a tempo as a drummer. It's something you should just be able to do. Thats what people mean when they say he was bad. He speeds up and slows down randomly. I can conclude that on those recordings he was an inexperienced drummer who probably never really had any lessons and couldn't keep tempo. It's no surprise to me that when George Martin heard this band his only thing was to change the drummer.
It's hard as a musician to see it when you've just turned twenty, but over time you put pieces together and realize, "Yeah. Ringo was the best around. Every band wanted him. How could they NOT snatch him up given the chance? I should have practiced more."
In the words of John Lennon when asked by a reporter if he thought Ringo was the best drummer in the world. Lennon's reply was "Best drummer in the world! He isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles...."
Yes, but this was the Beatles and just weeks before they made it big, Beatle big! It had to hurt, I mean they all worked very hard to get where they had a recording contract & then to get sacked, ouch!
Yeah, it's a consensual thing. At a certain point, the targeted band member would receive 'hints', but no formal warning, and then there's the "cross the line" act or performance which proves to be the final nail. Most of the time these people are quite young, relatively speaking, and somewhat brash, with inflated egos.
In middle school there was an announcement to sign up for the band. We lined up outside the band room to see what instruments we would get. I wanted the drums. When got in the room I asked for the drum…Bandmaster said just gave the last drum to kid in front of me (Arty Zandinkowski) Bandmaster says how’s about trumpet ? Later when everyone was starting garage bands nobody wanted trumpets…Not same as Pete but can relate to that feeling.🐇
It's as John said - they couldn't go to Hamburg without a drummer. They had approached Chapman and Moore who'd drummed for them before, but neither could or would go to Germany, and they only had a few days left. They knew about Pete from the Casbah Club so he was a last resort. Pete was a nice guy but he was never a great drummer, unlike Ringo. It was kind of inevitable he would end up out of the group.
You're missing the point. The fact the Beatles became so famous is why Pete went through what he went through mentally. If the band hadn't have gone on and done anything, then yeah there'd have been no media spot light on Pete. It wasn't just about the money, it was about being kicked out of a band that went on to be the biggest on the planet and having to cope with how that would affect someone mentally.
pete wasn't screwed by the other 3 beatles out of a life of success, wealth and fame. its not like john, paul and george sat down one day in 1962 and said - "we're on our way to historical prominence and to revolutionize music. lets screw pete out of it." they couldn't see into the future and had no idea just how successful they'd become. pete was let go from a small, little-known liverpool r&r band and replaced by someone its leader, john, thought was a better drummer. if pete wasn't replaced by ringo the likelihood that the beatles would've become the legends they became was probably very slim. ringo, for whatever reason, was the missing piece. and its the charisma and talent of all 4 of the beatles that was ESSENTIAL for this little liverpool rock band to become a worldwide sensation. thanks for the video.
Nonsense, they sacked Pete out of petty jealousy, nothing more. Pete was the far and away most popular Beatle, and they couldn't handle playing second fiddle to him.
This kind of stuff happens in a professional business situation whether it’s a music group or actors and directors being replaced in the movie business. Life is all about performance end of story
@@dfreeman120 100% agree mate! Best was given the flick because he couldn't cut it in the recording studio...and that decision was made by George Martin! Martin didn't say "Sack best" but he did say I want another drummer on the recordings sessions. So whats to decide? Drop best and find another drummer who can do the job...indeed.....end of story.
SINCE JIHN I N D E E D W A S DEAD AGAINST YESTERDAY?! HOW COME? WHY DIDN'T HE / JOHHNY WRITE A SINF, TITLED AS TOMMORROW?? JOHN CONSTANTLY CHEATED ON THE ACUSTICTS - ON THE MUSICAKL INSTRUMENTS! HE TRYED TO BLAST THE BEATLES, NUMEROUS TIMES, UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF YOKO!
In the late 70’s I left a band I co-started to join a band I really liked. After a year or so I got fired from that band (that went on to do absolutely nothing). It was tough at the time- I remember it like yesterday. I think we both thought we could do better with a move, but both proved wrong.
The Beatles ended up not liking to carry on 8 years later and never reunited. So did Credence Clearwater Revival. So did Ozzy's bandmates bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake. The drummers seem especially to get left out like with Black Sabbath's Bill Ward and AC/DC's Phil Rudd in recent reunion albums.
History says the girls loved Pete Best. He was the most popular Beatle by leagues. That's why George got punched in the eye when Ringo came in. They were that mad that Best was replaced. You just have to look at the dude and see he was easily the best looking out of the lot of them. You just have to read Mersey Beat, and get a real story about Pete Best's POPULARITY. He had the star power. It was the drumming that let him down, but he's not a bad drummer. He can keep a beat. Unlike McCartney! PS - Stuart Sutcliffe NEVER turned his back on the audience. Klaus Voorman LEARNED Bass from Sutcliffe, because everyone knew Stuart was a good bassist. Even McCartney seemed to know it back in the 60s, calling him great! By the 90s, he's believed the beatles mythology so much, he claims Stuart didn't even know what notes were. (he still has to explain how he purchased a left handed hofner, when back in the day, you had to special order direct from hofner to get a left handed instrument. they weren't a shelf item, and he didn't "flip it" from a right handed version, because it's very clear it's a left handed hofner. ) (pronounced HOAFner, like LOAF. german)
There's even correspondence between George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe, where Harrison asks Stuart TO COME BACK TO THE BAND, after staying behind in Germany, because Paul on Bass ain't exactly working out like they hoped at that time. (cue people saying mccartney??? not know how to play bass??? harrison is a jerk) (have you seen the instruments mccartney was playing before he bought that hofner?) (just because you play guitar does not give you carte blanche over bass. you're going to sound like a guitarist playing bass. which is not what bassists do.)
@DrTomoculus Just because he had good looks didn't make him a star. He didn't have the personality to go along with it. His drumming couldn't compare to Ringo's, all you have to do is listen to the two side by side. Best was a mediocre bar room drummer.
@@Melcop1886 He was dark and moody. When you're dark and moody, THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR PERSONALITY. They're too busy imagining all the mysteries within. He was massively popular with the ladies with his "no personality". His drumming did not compare to Ringo's. But he was the most popular Beatle in Liverpool.
Its not that he did not take what it had to be a Beatle it is he did not stoop that low to be a Beatle. Mr Best had class the others were just grown men who acted like teenagers, talented but emotionally arrested.
What a beautiful video. It fully gives Pete Best credit for all that he did, and how he finally forgave them. I saw that very resentful interview with David Letterman at the time, and I felt so sorry for him, but was struck by how bitter he had remained. They did nothing wrong initially, but no-one likes getting fired. It was their later treatment of him that was really bad, and all but John freely admitted it. But it does state that they were very young and inexperienced in business. Would you or I have done it better? I doubt it. I'm so glad Pete finally got money and credit for his time with the Beatles.
1/I don't get the impression the guys ever criticized Pete's playing to his face, or encouraged him to improve. They just figured they'd get a better drummer when they could. He probably thought he was doing fine. Maybe not good enough for the world's most successful band, but good enough for the band at the time. 2/With fans calling him the best looking member, he'd be unlikely to change his hair to look more like theirs. 3/He couldn't fit in. He just wasn't as clever. Few people are. Four guys in the same band being so 'on top of it' is a one-off.
@@guntertorfs6486Show some respect to Ringo Starr. He was absolutely the magic touch especially in the isolated tracks you can tell Ringo is all about the technicality not the flashiness and a human metronome
@@KimberleeT25He's not showing disrespect. He is telling the truth. Even Ringo himself has said several times that he is not a technical wonder. He's a decent drummer with good stamina. That's it.
@@KimberleeT25 some other commenter said that they wanted three drummers before ringo and all of them refused. Is that true? If it is then you might be suffering from default bias.
7:36 Lennon's infamous clip must be put into context. By the time he made this comment John was rather embittered by the entire situation. The Beatles had long since broken-up. John had seen Pete sue the Beatles (and Brian) for 'breach of contract' and Ringo for 'libel'. He also saw Pete put out an album called THE BEST OF THE BEATLES. John was sick of the 'Pete situation'! However, during Pete's tenure as a Beatle, John and Pete were friends. They hung out a lot. The Beatles reached many milestones with Pete as their drummer from 1960-1962. If he were really as terrible as John describes in this clip, they would have replaced him MUCH earlier.
@@JustPlainSteve5372 Not just "implying", John clearly said that once they got signed they fell apart as a live band. Well, as soon as they got signed they sacked Pete and hired Ringo. Harrison echoed Lennon's thoughts saying that they became such a tight band in Hamburg and that they never got back to that level after they got a record deal.
ive listened to their early stuff, pete did alot of rolls, and was spot on, which I love. Ringo had an uncanny knack for hitting the spot. they were lucky to get him .for all their immense talent they were lucky: Epstein/ george martin. Sullivan, Shea. its like a moon shot. Im glad I was around then, they were that good
The Beatles wouldn't be the same without Ringo. He was the missing ingredient that completed the potion for their magical spell. There's no one else that could've completed the mixture to make "The Beatles". They were all perfect for each other. It's not what he played, but what he DIDN'T play, and HOW he played. That's an important distinction that gets overlooked. John Bonham, for example, was an incredible drummer. If he was with the Beatles, it simply would NOT work. Simple ingredient, timeless magic. #teamRingo
Ringo's personality was just as important as his drumming. During their Beatlemania phase, Ringo was always good for some funny one liners, and had a way about him that was very appealing to Beatles fans.
@@guntertorfs6486 It's a very entertaining thought that a random average drummer that would have been found in any random amateur band could have ended up in the most successful band in history, by pure fluke, and managed to fake it as a very innovative drummer that even many great drummers today name as their greatest influence. Not saying that it was the case, but it's funny to think about it.
"for Pete Best life wasn't so great". But the Beatles didn't enjoy their every waking minute in the spotlight. Harrison said it stopped being fun once they became famous and that Hamburg was the best of times.
When i was 17 I was a cashier at Kroger. However, despite slaving for 2 years during high school I was replaced because I had to go to college. Within a few months my old store became the #1 grossing Kroger location in the state. So, I know exactly how Pete Best feels.
Pete always seems like a kind and gentle soul. He wasn't a really good drummer -- and Ringo was much better -- but it's hard not to feel a bit sad how it all played out. Glad he finally got his royalties owed him.
He wasn't owed any royalties until the Anthology was put together and when they did that they made sure he got he was owed from sales of the Anthology. They weren't buddy buddy with him and probably weren't in contact but they knew that if they sold recordings he played on they owed him money.
Best might've been reliable, but Ringo has a metronome in place of a heart, he is incredibly creative, playing fills that not only Pete couldn't play, but neither most drummers, and even more importantly, he had the personality and charisma to be part of the cultural phenomenon the Beatles were
Ringo definitely didn’t play anything that most drummers couldn’t play. His drum parts are fine to learn even for beginners. He is a brilliant drummer though, for his groove and how he arranged his parts.
@@ShawnKennedy-w2i He's a competent drummer, and knows what he's doing, but compared to someone like Billy Cobham or Steve Gadd he can barely play at all. Those guys are what you call top drummers.
Fantastic bit of music history that I never knew! Thanks for making this mini-documentary on Pete Best and his contributions to the Beatles and the overall story!! ~ Victor
In my younger days I was an athlete. Many teams got better after I was replaced. Until I saw this video I never even considered that I may have been too good looking for these teams.
Lennon was nasty, just ask her his firsf wife. He got away with giving his wife pennies after he took up with Yoko Ono. She was so hard up that she sold her most precious memories in the form of letters and drawings John had sent to her. Days after the sale, she received a package, and all the letters and drawings were returned to her and had been put in frames. Paul had bought them and included a note saying these are precious memories for you to keep
Indeed. The way he treated his son Julian was horrible. Despite all the fake love and peace hippie image he loved to portray , the man was a clear narcissist. Musically very gifted , but a complete ahole.
She should have had a bonfire party of the lot of it. If sentimental Paul didn't like that idea she should have sold it back to him for as much as she could. Suppose it was Yoko who told John 'You don't need to give her anything much, she always can sell your old drawings and stuff if she wants.'
@@jillfryer6699 It's touching what Paul did, but seriously, who wants their exhusband's crap lying around? Especially if it's worth money! If not sold it would have gone in the garbage anyway.
I think if Pete has dug his heels in and stood by his guns, legally, Brian and the other three Beatles would have had a very tough time giving him the push, because all five (including Brian) were locked into a legal contract at the time of Pete's sacking. Of course, we all know that if you're not wanted somewhere and you know it, it's hard to slog it out day by day, in that sort of atmosphere; however, they and Pete may have been able to work it out in time, and when you're as successful as The Beatles were, you make it work for the sake of the music and the fans. That said, Ringo was the perfect fit as The Beatles drummer, and the rest, as they say, is history. I guess most of us know much of the Pete Best story, but, this was still a fascinating video and very enjoyable - thanks for uploading.
The same thing happened to me , i was the lead guitarist in a band but i didn't get kicked out for playing bad , they said i partied too much so they kicked me out and hired some guy named Keith Richards.
Keith wasn’t the lead guitarist in the Rolling Stones when they began, that was Brian Jones and then Mick Taylor, Keith only became lead when they got Ron Wood.
It's 10,000 hours of deliberate practice that is required, not just doing something over and over. Deliberate practice means identifying an issue that needs improving and focusing on that until one does it correctly without thought or effort.
When it comes to the medals on the Sgt. Pepper cover John most likely asked their road manager Neil Aspinall who was in a secret relationship with Pete Best's mother Mona for years. They even had a son together.
If you search on YT, someone has put a metronome over Pete's version of Love Me Do. It's all over the place timing-wise. John always said they wanted to get rid of him as soon as they returned from Hamburg.
@@Heisrisenthemusicalyou need to hear it for yourself. I have and the difference is much greater than other popular drummer variance. We all like an underdog story, but this is not it.
@@ironchimpo Baloney. Pete was good enough to do a few Hamburg tours of 5PM to 1:30 AM gigs 6 days a week. Ringo never played longer than 30 minutes EVER. Listen to the Hamburg tapes. Then listen to Ringo at same time (and place) with Rory Storm and he's WORSE than Pete all day long. Jump forward to their first Live gig in USA at Washington Colosseum and dig Ringo jacking up the BPM like mad, same at Shea stadium. John and Pete actually got along well, so did Ringo and Pete. John is just a liar as usual when he tries to make up excuses about Pete. Both J&P were jealous he was THE most popular Beatle in Liverpool. When they signed to EMI ONLY Pete's photo was on the front page of Mersey Beat. The irony was J&P were pissed when it became Ringo was the most popular Beatle in the USA ! Hence Ringo always thought they's "pull a Pete" on him. Carries that chip to this day, being replaced twice. People tend to think Ringo in the studio after hundreds of takes and cutting and pasting tape together to make a take is the same as banging it out in '63 in a rotten club. LOL Just dig up Rory Storm in Hamburg, and drink your shut-up juice. 🥁
Nobody played to a metronome and until drum machines/sequencing/MIDI and time code in early 80s nobody played to a click. ALL music classical, jazz fluctuates BPM, especially Rock - music breathes it's not a lockstep march but it all got ruined when everybody locked into BPMs on DAWs and drum machines. Early 70's LPs like Close To The Edge could not be done today if you used a click. 👀
Okay, so the guy's good looks brought in the screaming girls when the Beatles first got started. But the most telling point was made by George Martin, who was the Beatles' big chance-if Pete Best is the drummer, I'm bringing in a studio drummer for the record. The change had to be made. I'm glad Pete finally cashed in with that anthology payment, though.
@@lazur1 Okay, it wasn't unusual at the time to use a studio drummer for the record. On the other hand, it's not a ringing endorsement of Pete's drumming skills either.
Ringo did later play the third version. Martin didn’t know Ringo, and so, first used a trusted session player after Pete’s didn’t cut it. The Ringo version is better.
It's been reported (I got it from another video on the topic) that George Martin didn't mean to replace Pete Best in the band, just hire another drummer for studio recording only. However it's unclear if the other Beatles as well as Brian Epstein, who were not familiar with the fact that session drummer were often hired, misinterpreted G.Martin's request as "Pete Best is not good enough, he has to be fired". For George Martin, hiring a session drummer was common practice and didn't mean that the band's drummer was bad, just that they were not up to the very high standard that is demanded for studio recording.
I had heard this before about Mona Best keeping in touch with the beatles.. I find that very bizarre tho as the beatles first got to be known to the Liverpool public by performing in Monas club the Casbah... And as a mother you would think she would be annoyed with the band for kicking out her boy Pete Best
mona, had more connections to the beatles than alot of pepole probably realize . she was the mother of Neil Aspinall's child with her, and Neill in the beatles hierarchy was about #6 , after the boys and brain. so she was part of the "circle" that always surrounded the beatles either directly or vicariously. other notables are the german crew, Astrid, Jurgen, Klaus, the first beatle wives. mal evans, magic alex (later), eric clapton. the rolling stones.
It's not too weird that Pete's mother would have had contact with the Beatles in some way, since Neil Aspinall and Pete's mother had a child together, Roag, who now does lots of Beatle-related activities in Liverpool.
I grew up in the 70's and dad was a drummer, so I took it up as well. I never saw much to learn or copy from Ringo's drumming, but I do hear that he was much better than most people give him credit for. That's the thing about being a musician, it's all about what you can do. You can be a real jerk and super talented and still make it, but you can't as often be a super nice person who is average at your craft and get anywhere.
I also,wrote a song for Alice Cooper. It was called,( my mules out for the summer) he changes the words to schools out for the summer and makes a killing. I also wrote,(got a black magic marker) Carlos Santana changes to black magic woman and makes a killing! Nothing but bad luck for me.
@@Primus54: Too many others, like G.Martin, and sundry engineers, described his playing as inadequate. In that context one could describe him as incompetent. Admittedly, my knowledge is lacking in this regard, but I know of no other successful band that he was a part of and Ive never heard him suggest to people to listen to any recordings he´d been on.
@@Philip-hv2kc: From what little I´ve gathered, (though not my particular focus) he, indeed was incompetent, and he was aware of it and quit his position of bass player in about July of ´61 in favor of pursuing art, (his forte) and living with Astrud.
Pete coming in was a desperation measure, as to go to Hamburg, they needed a drummer. Finding a singer, a bassist or a guitarist isn't that hard, even in 1960...but a drummer? That's expensive kit. Pete could keep a reasonable 4-in-a-bar tempo for a couple of minutes - he was in...but, and it's a big BUT. According to John, George, Paul, King Size Taylor, Tony Sheridan and Gerry Marsden, he never improved, not enough anyway. Neither Bert Kaempfert nor George Martin rated him or wanted to use him. Ringo was rock steady, played to the song and didn't like 'showy' drummers. Ringo sat in with the Beatles in Hamburg, when Pete wouldn't turn up for one reason or another (usually his girlfriend), and the boys noticed the difference. In the end, there was the other matter, despite John thinking 'it was shitty' they way they handled Pete's departure (John was closest to him), he would go on to state, 'Ringo was the better drummer, but just as importantly, he was also the better Beatle'.
5:39 One must ask, how bad of a dummer could Pete have been? In December 1961, John, Paul, George & Pete signed a Partnership Agreement. They were the first Liverpool Group to do so under Brian's direction. This tied them together as a Partnership, as a group! So certainly, they were not concerned about his drumming at that time or about replacing him. Everyone must realize that in technical legal terms, Brian Epstein didn’t have the authority to “fire” Pete. Brian was the employee of Pete (and John, Paul & George). They had the authority to fire Brian, not the other way around. David Harris, Brian’s lawyer advised Brian that Pete had to leave the band voluntarily. John, Paul & George did not have the authority to “fire” Pete either. Brian convinced Pete that he was “sacked” without technically “sacking” him. In fairness, Brian still represented Pete. You are correct David; Brian did offer Pete a job in his new group the Merseybeats. The Merseybeats were prepared to dismiss their current drummer and thrilled at the idea of Pete joining them. The Merseybeats went on to have six Top 40 Hits! Personally, I feel Pete made a mistake not taking that gig but understand why he turned it down. Pete was 20 at that time, and I believe the average age of each of the Merseybeats was 17 or so.
Could David Letterman have hit him harder in the gut!? OUCH! "So you were tossed out of the most famous band in history? That's gotta sting a little, no?"
How could you handle what Pete had to deal with? I think he has overcome this huge obstacle. I’m glad he received his due with the Beatles’ anthology. Well done Mr. Best!
John didn't appear to have any flair for diplomacy. He was just a blunt instrument. Paul on the other hand was all diplomacy. When George passed he answered a question from the media as cold and unfeeling as he possibly could have, and that was just the unflappable, stoic, measured Paul. No offense meant, Paul just kept it all inside
Pete's mother Mona had a kid with one of the roadies, Neil I think, and Mona provided the rehearsal space so the Fabs could get their act together. This is a huge foundation for their success. Pete may have been a one-trick pony, but he plays on my favorite track, Cry For a Shadow, which is also the only composition by George and John.
It's not that Pete Best was a bad drummer, it was because he didn't fit in. If for example The Beatles employed Ginger Baker, John Bonham or Neil Peart three of the best drummers of all time.....none of those would have fitted in either, often it's about charm, humour, character and compatibility, the three Beatles certainly had that......and so did Ringo.
Thank you for this video. It is truly a bittersweet story. Fame and fortune unparallelled slipped through Mr. Best's fingers but he found his own way after all.
I met "Pete Best" in N.Y.C. at a book signing / selling event @ the night club "Tramps". His "Band" actually performed using vintage gear & wearing matching suits. "Pete" had a younger drummer playing onstage with him. The Mersey Beat Lives.
He was never intended to be their drummer. He got the job because he had a drum kit, but he couldn't really drum, he was expedient. He was very bitter about it all, claiming he was the better drummer, but if you listen to his drumming on Beatles tracks, in isolation, he drops the beat all over the place. If you listen to his drumming in recordings he's done since, same thing.
@thesixthbeatle Mocking him, but the answers where what the public wanted and Best was fine giving the answers, so who won out if letterman's intention was to embaress/mpck? I think Best came out with more respect from the public than he went into that interview with.
@thesixthbeatle It's not that hard to figure out. Every human being has the capability to read situations and come to reasonable conclusions. Same way you know Letterman was intentionally mocking him and that Best Knew. It's called discernment. It's not even that much of a stretch. You know you lost when you have to resort to the you can't know how I feel because you're not me argument. Pathetic. Pete Best timing was horrible. If you can't hear it for yourself in the records listen to someone analyze them. His timing is all over the place.
Surprised no one has mentioned the Liverpool Beatles Museum (formerly the Magical Beatles Museum) near the Cavern replica in Liverpool. Pete and, esp., his brother Roag started the museum and for me it was the best experience I had visiting there. Thanks to Neil Aspinal's relationship with Mona and their son Roag, Roag had access to the entire Beatles paraphernalia legacy. And then the house Pete lived in and Roag grew up in has the Casbah in the cellar, and Mona and Pete save all that stuff! I really thank the Best brothers for putting so much of that history on display.
