TOWNSEND — For the first time since Paul McCartney played Dover’s Firefly Music Festival in 2015, a former member of The Beatles is set to perform in Delaware.
Drummer Pete Best, known as the “Fifth Beatle,” will bring his band to the Weekend at Bertha’s music and arts festival at Fire Base Lloyd on July 26 at 7 p.m.
They will play a mix of originals, music of the 1960s and tunes Mr. Best performed with The Beatles.
“We’ve good vocals, solid sets, big sound. And we’re hoping we’re going to pin the ears back on people when they come to Weekend at Bertha’s,” the drummer told the Daily State News on Wednesday, during a phone interview from Liverpool, England.
Mr. Best’s story is legendary for Beatles lovers and music historians. He was the original drummer for the band from 1960-62. Before that, the group had just four guitarists.
During that period, they played four months around Hamburg, West Germany, which started to establish The Beatles on the international scene. Some recording followed, included the Decca sessions, in which the music company turned The Beatles down for a contract.
However, in August 1962, after the group signed with EMI, Mr. Best got word through manager Brian Epstein that he was being replaced by Ringo Starr.
There was ensuing speculation that he was dismissed because of poor drum skills or his growing popularity over his other bandmates, but Mr. Best said he has never received a direct answer as to why he was fired, nor has he talked to any Beatle since.
No hard feelings
Despite missing out on worldwide fame and all that comes with it, Mr. Best has maintained no ill will over the situation. In fact, last month, on Mr. McCartney’s 82nd birthday, he posted a message to the music legend on X.
“Happy Belated Birthday. Not far behind you,” the 81-year-old Mr. Best wrote. “Reach out if you’d like me to open for you in Manchester. Imagine. Now that would be something.”
Predictably, Mr. McCartney hasn’t responded. “If I did hear back, I’d be the most surprised person in the world,” Mr. Best said with a laugh.
“It was a bit of a publicity stunt. A bit of humor. We’re all getting on in years, but we still laugh and joke. And, you know, if it did happen, great. If it doesn’t happen, well, we gave it a shot.
“There’s no foreboding on my part. If I got a phone call, or Paul wanted to hook up, whether it be privately or secretly, just to talk about, not what happened, but just to basically catch up, we’re both elder statesman now. We’ve got grandkids. We’ve lived 60 years since we trundled the boards together — so just to basically talk about old times and life in general. And, if we’re lucky, then swig a couple of bottles of Scotch down while we’re doing it.”
Following his firing from The Beatles, Mr. Best joined Lee Curtis and the All-Stars. That band ended up opening for The Beatles twice, but Mr. Best said he never got to speak with band members either time.
“We were like two ships that passed in the night. We walked off stage, while they walked on stage,” he said.
“To be able to support The Beatles during that time was great. It showed the prowess of our band. But, yeah, it was one of those things. Nothing was ever said. And, unfortunately, because of circumstance, their lifestyle and my lifestyle, and the way we live and the way they live, we never got to talk again. It was simple as that.”
He said any hard feelings likely come from others.
“The only people who seem to continue the ill will are the fans themselves. What was done was over 60 years ago. Life’s gone on. We’ve all lived different lives. We’ve all matured. We’ve got different outlooks in life and different beliefs,” Mr. Best said.
“Who would have thought that they would have gone on to become the musical gurus of the world? I’ve gone a different direction, but I’ve got my own notoriety, if you like to put it that way. It’s just the best way of explaining it.”
Mr. Best said he thinks The Beatles’ success came as a surprise, even to them.
“But they were competent enough to change musical direction and stay ahead of the field and show the world what a great band they were and what great musicians and songwriters they were,” he said.
“I’m sure it’s the same in America as the rest of the world. Every new generation that comes along discovers The Beatles. It’s uncanny. Will it ever end? Will we still be talking about The Beatles and playing Beatles records in another 60 years? The way it’s going at the present moment, most probably, yes. I’m not going to be around, but others will.”
Some recognition
In 1995, The Beatles released “Anthology 1,” an exhaustive compilation of their early music. On it are 10 songs in which Mr. Best played, including an early, never-before-released version of the hit, “Love Me Do.”
Their former drummer was reportedly paid close to a million dollars when “Anthology” came out. But Mr. Best said the acknowledgment of his work was more important than the monetary compensation.
“There were 10 tracks. I’d like to think that the 10 tracks were a little bit of a thank-you for the hard work which we put in the early years. It could have been one track, but it ended up being 10. Of the tracks on that set, 10 out of 60 isn’t bad.”
Mr. Best left the music business in 1968 and did civil service work around London for 20 years. In 1988, he appeared at a Beatles convention in Liverpool and performed with his brother, Roag Best.
Then, at the urging of his wife and mother, Mr. Best got back into playing music, with the Pete Best Band, sharing the drumming with Roag.
He said it’s been over a decade since they have played in the U.S. During this trip, they also have gigs lined up in Maryland and Ohio.
The present day
At an age where he could sit back and reflect on his life, Mr. Best said he still enjoys getting out there to play.
“If I didn’t still enjoy it, you wouldn’t be seeing me. I still get a buzz out of it,” he added. “I’ve got a great band. I’m very keen to let the band impress people. That’s what they do. And I’m hoping they’re going to make a lot of new fans when they’re out there. There will be some old fans, and also, make some new fans, as well.”
After the tour in America, Mr. Best and his brother are returning to Liverpool for the Aug. 1 grand opening of the Casbah Coffee Club Suites, available through Airbnb.
The Casbah Coffee Club — which was below the Best family home — was where The Quarrymen, who later became The Beatles, first played and where Mr. Best first met the other members.
“We’ve converted the rooms into five suites — McCartney Suite, Lennon Suite, Harrison Suite, Starr Suite and the Best Suite. And it’s unique in that sense, simply because of the fact it’s where The Beatles rehearsed. That’s where The Beatles played. It’s where The Beatles slept. It’s where they womanized and where they frolicked. You name it, we did it here,” he said.
It all began in summer 1959, when his mother, Mona Best, opened a club in her cellar and offered the Les Stewart Quartet a residency if they would help fix up the space.
George Harrison and fellow quartet guitarist Ken Brown, however, missed a show, causing Mr. Stewart to fire the two and drop the residency.
“George and Ken explained what had happened. But they turned around and asked a couple of former bandmates who weren’t doing anything at the present moment. And, lo and behold, when they came down the next day, they turned out to be John Lennon and Paul McCartney,” Mr. Best remembered.
“So, my mother asked them, ‘What are you going to call yourselves?’ And John said, ‘Well, we used to be called The Quarrymen.’ So, Mona basically said, ‘The Quarrymen be it then.’ So, the 29th of August, 1959, The Quarrymen, which was later to become The Beatles in a different format, took the stage that night. And what an incredible night that was.”
An inspiration
In 2008, Mr. Best had a cameo in the comedy film, “The Rocker,” about a drummer fired from a band right before the group makes it big.
Those kinds of performances and what he has said about the Beatles’ dismissal have made him an inspiration for those who may be unlucky in life. He said that, if he has assisted such individuals, he is grateful.
“It’s very flattering for people to say they’ve been inspired by how I’ve dealt with my own life and my own short bearings and bad breaks, so to speak, and how you overcome them. (If) it’s inspiring to other people, and you use me as a flagship, thank you,” he said.
“It’s very inspiring for me to continue to do the same thing. And, if someone basically turns around and says, ‘I have been inspired by you,’ then thank you, and I hope long may it continue to be. And, if other people are inspired by what I’ve done, then thank you and thank them, as well.”
For tickets and more information about Weekend at Bertha’s, visit weekendatberthas.com .
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