2008.03.25
Ex-Beatle Pete Best coming to Roanoke
He was the Beatles' drummer before Ringo Starr. And after all these years, he's still slapping the drums around. And you can catch Pete Best at Awful Arthur's, Towers Shopping Center, on May 28.
We'll get you more details as they come to us, and I'll be working on getting an interview with Best. But we may never get an answer to the big question -- why was he booted from the Beatles? According to the bio on his Web site, "Unfortunately, in circumstances still clouded in mystery
Pete Best was dismissed from the group he had played with for over 2 years."
Best has a heavy touring schedule. Get the info on this page, which includes information about Best's newest music.
And here's a piece about Best from the Liverpool Daily Post.
This should be an interesting show; I wonder what, if any, Beatles tunes he plays? Despite what his site may suggest, it really isn't any mystery why he was let go from the Beatles. The group's new producer at EMI, George Martin, didn't feel that his style would work for the recording sound that Martin had in mind. (Martin had heard Best's recorded playing on demos done for Decca that failed to get them a contract in '61). Brian Epstein and the others agreed, and Best was out, at the time accepting it goodnaturedly, though others have ignorantly tried to paint him as a schmoe.
He had not been their first drummer, but his mother allowed the Best' basement to become a teen hangout they called The Casbah Club, and he made the first trips to Hamburg with the band.
Less well known, but more important, is the circumstance that kept Pete Best close to his chum Neil Aspinall. Aspinall, former head of Apple who just died a few days ago, and was the true lifelong "Fifth Beatle" from grade school in Liverpool, lived with Pete Best at this time, and in fact began an affair with Best's mum Nona(!), resulting in a son, Vincent, whom the Best's raised while Aspinall continued as the closest Beatle aide. Aspinall reportedly even saw that Best got some royalties from the early tracks on "Anthology".
So Pete Best has in fact just lost both a close friend and the father of his own half-brother with Aspinall's death. Not that I knew this before, but his Times of London obit detailed it.
One more Pete Best anecdote: he appeared in an ad for Carling beer made to run during the Anthology television special in the UK. It seems he's still able to "make lemonade" from his status; good for him!
Comment by H. B. Oprah — March 25, 2008 @ 4:27 pm
H.B. -- always coming with the good, detailed info. Thanks!
Comment by Tad — March 25, 2008 @ 4:49 pm
Well, I wouldn't have known about the show this soon but for C&S. So thanks for that, and for the links.
From the link I see that his schedule lists a show in, coincidentally, Liverpool, Pennsylvania (There's also a Liverpool, Ohio), and one night after Londonderry, N.H. (Cue music: "The Londonderry Air", or as the joke goes, "london derriere").
Among the bottom page credits is a Roag Best, jr., who may be that half-brother by Neil Aspinall (or HIS son), and a Rory Best; could he have been named after Rory Storm, UK star who's band Richard Starkey left for the Beatles? (There's also a Dave Entwistle, but I don't know if he's kin to Who bassist John, although both Jason Bonham and Zak Starkey have sure done their part as dynastic drummers).
Comment by H. B. Oprah — March 25, 2008 @ 5:17 pm