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Digger talks to original Beatles drummer Pete Best about his life, his philosophy and his current projects.

Pete, George, Paul and John

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Photograph above © Casbah Coffee Club and Pete Best

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Pioneer Beatles drummer Pete Best has a legacy and a family to be proud of and he wants the world to know about it. It was at the Best family home that, masquerading as The Casbah Coffee Club (at 8 Haymans Green, West Derby, Liverpool) the embryonic Beatles found a place to practise and a venue for their very early performances. Talk of the Cavern as being the birthplace of the band is clearly rather misguided. Pete's mother, Mona Best, was a philanthropist who encouraged the lads' ambitions and talents and imbued Pete and family with the same positive and creative approach to life.

Pete was the Beatles' drummer until that infamous day when Brian Epstein called him into his office and told him that his services were no longer required. No reason was given and none has been definitively proven since although the theories abound: 'Pete was too popular and the others were jealous', 'George Martin didn't think his drumming style was suited to the sound Martin was trying to achieve with the band' - the hypotheses go on and on. Drummer Bobby Graham, who had a number one at the time with Joe Brown & The Bruvvers (A Picture Of You), tells me he was approached by Epstein as a possible replacement  - "Why would I want to join an unknown band from Liverpool when I am with a group who are at the top of the charts?" was Bobby's predictable, although in retrospect flawed, analysis of Epstein's offer and so Ringo, the popular drummer with local Liverpool band Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, was famously recruited instead.

Pete continued to perform in various outfits and even left the music business for a long time, labelled cynically by the press as 'The Nearly Man'. With the release of the Beatles Anthology book, videos, CDs and accompanying paraphernalia, Pete at last received some recognition and remuneration for his, and his family's,  involvement in the early evolution of the world's greatest musical phenomenon. And this has given the Best family (for it is very much a family affair) an opportunity to set the record straight, for Pete and his band to tour and to spread the word. There is also a book The Beatles, The True Beginnings as well as Pete Best and Casbah websites and new album releases.

Pete today

Pete told me that, with The Casbah, the Best family has something to be very proud of and they want to make sure it is run properly. They have a number of ideas and the family are keen that these are handled properly and that their message is put over correctly. The family are very close, even by Liverpudlian standards. When I asked Pete what his biggest achievements were and what were his happiest memories he unhesitatingly mentioned his family first and foremost. After chatting to me he was off to visit his grandchildren who had just started at the local primary school that day and he was obviously excited at the prospect of seeing them on their important day. He is enjoying his grandchildren in a way he couldn't enjoy his own children. Having been, as is often the case, heavily embroiled in career, tours and making a living in those days he didn't have more of an opportunity to spend time with them until they were in their teens. Family and music (listening to it and playing live) are Pete's biggest pleasures.

I asked Pete about his current projects. The book is clearly a priority having just been released in the UK. He is attending various book signings and promotions up until Christmas and then it goes to America so the process will be repeated there. There is a documentary about The Casbah Coffee Club and Mona and Pete in the preparation stages and the Best family are steering this through so that it develops and is produced in accordance with their wishes. Two websites, www.petebest.com and www.casbahcoffeeclub.com are in the final stages of development. These are maintained by some fellow Scousers although Pete wants to get involved as much as he can, possibly providing forums for fans to conduct cyber discussions with Pete and others. A new album containing new Pete Best band material is also in the offing. Pete says that there is a lot of songwriting talent within the band and he has been keen to see this developed. Also on CD will be the early Beatles Decca recordings and their German material.

The Casbah

As for the Casbah itself, the house was recently 're-opened' to the public as the Casbah Coffee Club. Although it is destined to contain display cabinets, artwork and memorabilia within a month or so, Pete wants it to be much more than a museum. There will be key events held there, various bands will be invited to play, including those that were contemporaries of The Beatles.

Pete maintains a refreshingly positive approach to life. When asked what his biggest disappointments are he tells me that he doesn't have any. "Everything happens for a reason and eventually you tend to discover what that was," he says. He is a firm believer in fate and karma. As for the myths that have grown up around the Beatles story and his involvement, he says that most of these are due to plagiarism by the media and that seems to be part of his current quest - simply to make sure that the truth as told by the Best family is represented fairly.

So what of Pete's musical influences and tastes? He tells me he was heavily influenced by the American rock and rollers - Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Emile Ford. But he says his tastes are quite universal, loving music from a broad spectrum including Glenn Miller and the big bands, jazz (particularly of the New Orleans variety), country music, rock and roll and enjoying several modern bands including Space and Cast. When questioned he even expressed an interest in Atomic Kitten, although I suggested that this might be something to do with their Liverpool origins. Does he have many Beatles albums in his collection? Well, yes, he has all of the 'main' albums although he doesn't see himself as a big collector, not going for the rarities and special CD issues. But he is a Beatles fan, counting Revolver as his favourite album. As for heroes, he doesn't see film or music stars as worthy of that title - he respects their accomplishments and enjoys their work, but saves that distinction for mother Mona, his father, brothers and wife. He idolised Mona, as did the rest of the family, and his brothers have supported him through life's ups and downs as has his wife who has remained loyal throughout.

We discussed the changing face of Liverpool, which Pete thinks is generally for the good. He says that the council have at last recognised what they have got in terms of variety of architectures, vistas and views, particularly at the Albert Docks, and they are mainly getting it right. It's a fascinating and great city and although it has lost many venues it has gained many more good ones. Live music is back and there is a vibrant scene again after some doldrums in the seventies and eighties. But he stresses that there's a lot more to Liverpool than just the music. And on the subject of change, I asked him about the changing face of music and the influence of technology and the Internet on music and our lives. Pete was predictably up-beat about it, seeing computers as a tool to move us forward and to potentially create great things. He didn't see recorded music or computerised music as a substitute for live music which was still the ultimate in his view.

The Casbah

Why were the sixties so creative, in Liverpool and in Britain generally? Pete suggests that this creativity was, and probably is, always there but that something - some unknown factor - sparked it at that particular time to make it extra special. It could have been one or many of several factors - I propose to Pete that one such event could have been American promoter Sid Bernstein's phone call to Brian Epstein to book The Beatles in America. Was that the one small event that triggered the biggest musical revolution and a cultural explosion? Pete doesn't disagree, although we both agree that this is all theoretical. Pete tells me that mass communication and the advent of travel at around that time certainly contributed to the possibilities of making things happen. He mentions that Liverpool and the big provincial cities were all 'back doors' into the country, musically speaking, but he saw the influence of American music on the British music scene as just another development in the evolution of popular music. After all, American popular music was an amalgam of African and European influences, including English folk music. Pete sees this as an on-going process. While not particularly looking back, Pete is still in regular touch with his old friends from the early days - Gerry Marsden, Lee Curtis, Howie Casey. Their paths are always crossing.

What advice would Pete give to aspiring musicians or, indeed, any youngsters trying to succeed these days? (I remind Pete that I am 45 years old and so qualify for this advice too!) "Practise long and hard, take every opportunity and don't be discouraged," says Pete. And as for the best and worst things about being Pete Best? Well, as one might expect, there is no worst angle in Pete's eyes, but the best things are that he can be himself and still enjoy the company of others, even though he does enjoy a certain amount of celebrity wherever he goes. He loves this balance that he has reached and sees it as important to chat to fans, sign autographs and to show the fans some respect in return for what they give him.

A souvenir book of The Casbah Coffee Club - The Beatles, The True Beginnings, is published by Spine Books and Faber and Faber and is available at £25. It is packed with great photos and reminiscences from those early days and is a must for Beatles fans and collectors.

Two websites, www.petebest.com and www.casbahcoffeeclub.com are available.

Pete Best interview. Many thanks to Pete for his help and kindness.

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