Pete Best was the original drummer of The Beatles. He became a member of the band on August 12, 1960, just one day before they were to leave for Hamburg, Germany to play a series of shows there.
Two years later, on August 16, 1962, he was dismissed from the group but was never given a satisfactory explanation why. The only reason manager Brian Epstein gave was, “The lads don’t want you in the group anymore”. Although there were probably a few reasons why the lads were wanting to replace him, Pete’s fate was sealed when producer George Martin indicated that he wanted to use a session drummer instead of Best for their studio recordings. The other three Beatles asked Epstein to fire him and replace him with Ringo Starr, who had occasionally sat in with the band when Pete was unavailable.
— Here’s a few quotes from the Beatles about Best’s firing:
“We were always going to dump him when we found a decent drummer.” – John Lennon
“We were cowards when we sacked him.” - John Lennon
“I was quite responsible for stirring things up. I conspired to get Ringo in for good; I talked to Paul and John until they came round to the idea.” – George Harrison
“We weren’t very good at telling Pete (Best) he had to go.” – George Harrison
“I never felt sorry for Pete Best. I was not involved.” – Ringo Starr
“I felt I was a much better drummer than he was.” – Ringo Starr
“It was a strictly professional decision. If he wasn’t up to the mark… then there was no other choice.” – Paul McCartney
“I do feel sorry for him, because of what he could have been on to.”- Paul McCartney
Related post: Who was the original bass player of The Beatles?
Related article on BeatlesLane.com: Whatever happened to former Beatle Pete Best?
Paul McCartney was the sole Beatle wearing a beard during the recording and filming of the ‘Let It Be’ album and movie. Ironically, he was the only Beatle without a beard on the cover of ‘Abbey Road’, which was recorded the same year as ‘Let It Be’ (1969).
In birth order (as seen in the photo, L-R); Ringo Starr was born on July 7, 1940, John Lennon on October 9, 1940, Paul McCartney on June 18, 1942, and George Harrison on February 25, 1943. All four were born in Liverpool, England.
Incidentally, former Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe was born on June 23, 1940, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Pete Best on November 24, 1941, in Madras, British India.
John Lennon was the first Beatle to marry when he wed Cynthia Powell on August 23, 1962, at the Mount Pleasant Register office in Liverpool. They decided to marry after finding out Cynthia was pregnant with Julian. For a while, John hid the fact that he was married and had a child, fearing there might be a backlash from female fans knowing their idol was “taken.” As it turns out, when his status as a family man was revealed it didn’t affect his popularity with fans.
John and Cynthia would later divorce in 1968.
