You Must Be There Too!

 

August 19, 1961 

Carry these in your wallet

 August 2, 1961 

Cavern gig

 July 26, 1961

Litherland Town Hall

 July 24, 1961

I know it isn't Beatlemania years but still -- it seems a bit crazy that girls were allowed to sit on the stage while the Beatles were performing.  Best seat in the house! 

Outside the Cavern

 June 19, 1961 

Now I Can Reveal My Secrets (Pete Best 1964)

 Now I Can Reveal My Secrets

By Pete Best

Rave Magazine

May 1964

How we stormed the cavern. "My mother got us our first date there. She phoned the boss, Ray McFall. He tried us out one Wednesday afternoon, the shops were closed, and we played a packer. The result: a long list of bookings.

Bottom of the bill. Litherland Town Hall was the scene of many of the Beatles' triumphs. A report in his scrapbook says "The curtain opened, and the Beatmakers exploded on an astonishing crowd with the sound bigger than the Guns of Navarone." Adds Pete, "The cause was actually the Beatles and the Pacemakers together. Freddie Marsden had his drums on stage. I had mine. We went to town on numbers like 'What I'd Say'."

TV didn't want to know. Pete's mother had written to Granada TV and received the above reply from producer David Plowright. Recalled Pete, "The Beatles never appeared on TV during the two years I was with them, nor for quite some time after that."

We played through the fights. Pete's eyes gleamed as we turned to this handbill. "In those days, you could see the Beatles for half a crown," He grinned. "'The sensational Beatles' they called us, but you'd pay a tanner more if you come after 8pm. We used to play there once a week, and the crowd's favorite request was 'Hully Gully'. This used to go down well, perhaps too well. For some reason, it usually started a free fight. We just used to play on."

John's start as an author. One of John Lennon's earliest stories was published in Mersy Beat, edited by his college friend Bill Harry. The story is a light-hearted look at the beginnings of the Beatles. Said Pete, "John's way of humor always gave us a lift if we ever felt down."

 Jazz and rock mixed. Pete remembers this all-night session at the cavern as a great time. "The bill was half jazz, half rock. The band room was about six foot by six with half a dozen groups all trying to change. " He told me Kenny Ball was hemmed in one corner and occasionally struggled free and let rip on his trumpet. 

The break we strived for. The Beatles were in Germany when news of their recording contract came through. "We celebrated like mad that night," recalled Pete, "As we read about it, in Mersey Beat, I had no idea I would never be a part of the international Beatles."

    By August 1962, The Beatles, stars in Hamburg as well as Liverpool, were poised to break nationally. They had a disc contract. Then came the decision that brought Pete Best's whole world tumbling down. "Brian Epstein asked to see me-- ordinary, routine business, I supposed. Hadn't a care in the world as I went in," Pete recalled.  "And seconds later, he was saying I wasn't with The Beatles anymore. It didn't seem real."

     Aimless days followed. "At times, I felt like quitting show business. Offers poured in. I finally took one with the Lee Curtis All-Stars, and I was back in action. I felt a million times better. 

    Now I have my own group, and I'm pitching into the disc scene for all I'm worth.  The Beatles? Sure, I've seen them several times since. At first, there was an atmosphere, but we're good friends now. A little success with my own group is 100 times better than worrying about what might have been.  After all, does that get you? 

Drummed Out Beatle Suing Old Chaps for $50 Million (1965)

 

Drummed Out Beatle Suing Old Chaps for $50 Million

By Gary Blonston

The Miami Herald

November 28, 1965

    Just imagine, a bare stage in a hard red spotlight. Two clusters of drums and two mop top silhouettes. Drumsticks at 20 paces. The musical confrontation of the age.

     In this corner, Ringo Starr, the champion. And then the other, Peter Best, 24, the first man in history to try to regain the fame and fortune that go along with the title, Beatle drummer. 

    It hasn't happened yet, but Pete is ready anytime. Ringo hasn't responded to the challenge.

     Meanwhile, Peter Best, who slammed and kicked and pounded the Beatles to British fame in the early 60s, is seeking satisfaction in court-- $50 million worth. 

    Pete sat in a Miami radio studio Saturday and vowed convincingly that he doesn't dislike Ringo or the Beatles at all. He'd just like to sit in again. 

    There was a time five years ago when a scruffy Liverpool guitarist named Paul McCartney got Pete on the phone and said his group needed a drummer for a musical tour of Germany.

     Yeah, yeah, yeah, said Pete, thereby becoming the Beatles' drummer for two years. It was a good life. Pete was making about £65 a week, about $150, "a lot of money in England", he said.

     Then Beatle manager, Brian Epstein, lowered the boom. "It happened so fast. There never was one specific reason," Pete said. "Epstein said, I was not good as a drummer." Pete recalled. And Ringo picked up the sticks. 

    "Later, I learned of other reasons. There were personality clashes," he said, looking down at his cuffless houndstooth pants. "As far as I was concerned, we were one big, happy family."

     But others said the Beatles' establishment didn't like the attention Pete was getting from the fans; they shrieked at him quite a bit, tore at his clothes, and made other affectionate gestures.

     When Pete was booted, Liverpool aficionados demonstrated against Epstein and the Beatles. One sign said, "Pete forever. Ringo never." Epstein got a black eye and hired a bodyguard.

     But Pete contended that he got worse. Besides the considerable loss of revenue, Pete said he got a black eye in a national magazine that interviewed Ringo. He said he also received lots of bad mouthing from other beaties.

     More than a dozen suits are in progress in England and in New York. Pete's manager, David Rolnick, said they could make Pete a wealthy young Liverpudlian. And even if they don't, they'll clear the air about a lot of things.

     Pete said he has a considerable interest in his reputation, for he has put together a hairy five-man combo now awaiting immigration clearance to perform in the States. He is visiting Miami disc jockey Tom Campbell while the clearance is completed. Then he'll take his gang on a tour on national television. "I'm not trying to cash in on the Beatles' popularity or money", said Pete, "if I could be 1/20 as popular, I would be happy."

The Fab Five

 August 17, 1960

For Evermore

 August 16, 1960

Pete and his Mum

 February 1964

There aren't a lot of photographs of Mona Best -- she was such a beautiful woman. 

The Beatles at the Cavern

 

What song do you think they are performing?  

Back from Hamburg

 

Have you all seen these Cavern photos?  I did not locate these photos.  I have been seeing them a lot on Facebook and I just took them from there. 

What the fans are saying is that the shots had to have been taken after The Beatles returned to Liverpool from Hamburg in 1961.  Things to notice is that they are wearing regular shirts but leather pants.   Their hair is starting to grow out, and George is playing his Futurama guitar.  

Pete at the Star Club

 

Looking sharp in suits

 July 29, 1962

Tower Ballroom

 

July 27, 1962

Royal Iris

 

July 6, 1962 

Playhouse Theater

 June 11, 1962 

The Star Club

 April 24, 1962 - The Star Club in Hamburg

On Air: Live at the BBC

 March 7, 1962  

Hello Madame!