Pete Best: The Fifth Beatle – The Full Story

On 16 August 1962, Brian Epstein summoned Pete Best to his office at NEMS Enterprises in Liverpool and told him he was no longer the drummer of The Beatles. Ringo Starr — who had been playing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes — would replace him. The Beatles were about to record their first single for Parlophone. Pete Best would not be on it.

It is one of the most discussed decisions in rock history. Why was Pete Best fired? What really happened? And what became of him afterwards?

Who Was Pete Best?

Peter Randolph Best was born on 24 November 1941 in Madras, India (now Chennai), to Mona Best and Donald Best. The family moved to Liverpool in 1945. Mona Best was a formidable woman who would play a significant role in the early Beatles story: she opened the Casbah Coffee Club in the basement of the family home in West Derby in 1959, and it became one of the first regular venues for the Quarrymen — the skiffle group that would evolve into The Beatles.

Pete Best joined the group in August 1960, just days before they were due to depart for their first Hamburg residency. The band needed a drummer; Best had a drum kit. He was in.

The Hamburg Years (1960–1962)

Best played with The Beatles through three Hamburg residencies — at the Indra Club, the Kaiserkeller, and the Top Ten Club — and through hundreds of performances at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. He was, by all accounts, a solid and reliable drummer, and he was — with his dark, brooding good looks — arguably the most conventionally handsome member of the group. Female fans adored him.

The Hamburg years were formative. The band played for hours every night, developing the tight, powerful live sound that would eventually conquer the world. Best was part of that story. He was there for the sessions with Tony Sheridan in Hamburg in June 1961, produced by Bert Kaempfert, which produced the recordings that would later be released as The Beatles' first commercial recordings.

The Decca Audition (January 1962)

On 1 January 1962, The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records in London. Pete Best played drums. Decca famously passed, with A&R man Dick Rowe reportedly saying that guitar groups were on the way out. The audition tapes — fifteen tracks recorded that day — were eventually released and remain a fascinating document of the pre-fame Beatles. For the full contractual story of this period, see The Beatles Early Contracts (1959–1965).

The EMI Sessions and the Question of His Drumming

When The Beatles signed with Parlophone and began recording with George Martin in June 1962, questions arose about Best's drumming. Martin has given varying accounts over the years — in some interviews suggesting he was not satisfied with Best's playing and had planned to use a session drummer for the recordings; in others being more equivocal.

What is clear is that when the band recorded Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You on 4 September 1962, Ringo Starr was already the drummer. Best had been fired three weeks earlier.

Why Was Pete Best Really Fired?

The official reason given at the time was that George Martin preferred a different drummer for the recordings. But the full picture is more complicated.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison had, by the summer of 1962, decided they wanted Ringo Starr in the band. Ringo was a better drummer — more inventive, more musical, more attuned to the band's developing sound. He was also a friend: the three had known and admired him from the Hamburg days, when he had played with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.

Brian Epstein was given the task of delivering the news. He later said it was one of the most difficult things he ever had to do. Best was devastated. He had not seen it coming.

There was also, reportedly, a social dimension: Best had never fully integrated into the inner circle of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison. He did not share their sense of humour, their drug use (amphetamines were common in Hamburg), or their increasingly tight bond. He was, in some ways, always slightly outside the group.

The Aftermath: What Happened to Pete Best?

The timing was, of course, catastrophic. Best was fired in August 1962. By February 1964, The Beatles were on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by 73 million Americans. By the end of 1963, they were the biggest act in Britain. Best missed all of it by three weeks.

He suffered a severe depression in the years following his dismissal. He attempted to continue in music — forming the Pete Best Four and later the Pete Best Combo — but without success. He worked in a bakery for a period in the late 1960s. He attempted suicide at least once.

The situation improved in the 1990s. When the Beatles Anthology project was released in 1995, Best received a royalty payment for his contributions to the early recordings — a sum reported to be in the region of £4 million. He formed the Pete Best Band and has continued to tour and perform, speaking openly about his Beatles years and his subsequent life.

He has said, in numerous interviews, that he has made his peace with what happened. He has a family, a life, and a career. He is, he says, happy.

Pete Best's Legacy

Pete Best's place in Beatles history is unique and poignant. He was there for the Hamburg years, the Cavern Club years, and the Decca audition. He was part of the story that made The Beatles — and then, three weeks before the story became legend, he was gone.

The question of whether he was a good enough drummer is, ultimately, beside the point. Ringo Starr was not just a good drummer — he was the right drummer for The Beatles. His feel, his musicality, and his personality were perfectly matched to the band. That is not a reflection on Best's ability; it is simply the truth of what The Beatles became.

What remains is the human story: a young man who was part of something extraordinary, who was removed from it at the worst possible moment, and who spent decades coming to terms with what might have been.

Key Dates

24 November 1941 — Pete Best born in Madras, India
August 1959 — Mona Best opens the Casbah Coffee Club
August 1960 — Pete Best joins The Beatles, days before their first Hamburg trip
June 1961 — Records with The Beatles and Tony Sheridan in Hamburg (produced by Bert Kaempfert)
1 January 1962 — The Decca audition
6 June 1962 — First EMI session with George Martin
16 August 1962 — Brian Epstein fires Pete Best
18 August 1962 — Ringo Starr officially joins The Beatles
4 September 1962 — Ringo records Love Me Do with The Beatles