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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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copyright www.rexfeatures.com
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.
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Pete Best interview. Many thanks to
Pete for his help and kindness.
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