Pete Best Question

I'm going to a Question and Answer thingy with Pete Best tomorrow. I'm trying to think of a really great question to ask him. A question that won't make him feel uneasy...also something that he hasn't been asked a billion times.
Any suggestions?

One question I'd ask Pete if I could is how his relationship with Neil Aspinall changed after Pete was dismissed from the Beatles. Neil was the father of his half-brother, but it's a story that's rarely told. I don't know if you'd feel comfortable asking him such a personal question, though.
Perhaps you can also ask him how he felt once his drumming was finally released into the official Beatles catalog, when ANTHOLOGY 1 came out in 1995.

Thanx, John. I think I'd like to stay away from the Neil Aspinall questions.
Maybe he'll sign my Anthology 1...

I'd ask him to tell a good Hamburg story.

Maybe he's been asked that a lot, I dunno... I'd still like to hear one!

Ask him how happy he is at this point in his life. That's always a thought provoking question. Don't mention the Beatles. He probably deals with that every day. Something out of the ordinary.

Is it true that he and Paul were at sword's points with one another? And how well did Pete and Ringo know each other? What did George think of Pete's sacking and were Pete and George friends?

I was under the impression that of all the Beatles it was George who was most in favour of Pete being sacked. Or was it just a coincidence that it was George who ended up with a black eye after being thumped by a Pete Best fan?

Well, we saw Pete Best today. He was quite interesting to listen to. I was going to ask him how he felt about his "Moody and Magnificent" moniker; but they ran out of time before I was able to.

Pete was gracious and funny. We got his autograph.

Thanx for the suggestions.

Who's Pete's favorite Beatle?

Actually, someone asked him that question. He answered that it's John because he loved John's sense of humor.

I was fortunatel enough to meet him and talk to him a few times. As someone else said here, he is a very graceous person, and really easy to talk to.

The second time I saw him, I was having a smoke behind the venue where his band was to be playing, he happend to pull up in a mini van got out and I said Hello Pete, thanks for coming here to play! Instead of walking into the club, he turned and walked over to me, we chatted for about 2 or 3 minutes, until he was spotted........ He kind of started chuckling and said I better be getting on inside now mate!


Nice guy......... smokin ass drummer!

If you ever get a chance to see him and his band, DO IT!! They will rock you silly!

Originally Posted by valerieinthegallery

I was under the impression that of all the Beatles it was George who was most in favour of Pete being sacked. Or was it just a coincidence that it was George who ended up with a black eye after being thumped by a Pete Best fan?

That's always the way "official" Beatles lore has it, that it was mostly George who pushed for Pete's removal. I've always wondered about that, since George was definitely the most junior member of the band. It's hard for me to swallow that his opinion would have been the deciding factor in those days -- or later, come to that. From reading everything the others have said over the years, it seems to me that it was a general consensus among John, Paul and George that Pete just didn't fit in with the rest of the band -- and that Ringo was a better "mate". And when George Martin decided he didn't like Pete's drumming, that was the last straw.

In any case, I was really happy to learn that Pete finally received some recognition -- and some money -- when the Beatles included the Decca audition tapes, featuring his drumming, on ANTHOLOGY 1. It seemed only fair that, since he was a part of their early success in Hamburg and Liverpool, that he should be compensated fairly.. even if it was many years late.

I was under the impression that Paul and Pete were at sword's points and that Paul was delighted to see Pete get sacked.

I felt sorry for Pete to receive the news in the manner he did. Not that I am blaming anybody - I'm not. I'm just saying that it is unfortunate, that's all.

Pleased you enjoyed it Es. Sounds like it was interesting.

I would LOVE to know about his relationship with Neil but yeah like you, I'd probably avoid asking since it is so sensitive. When I spoke to Rory Best at The Casbah, he spoke about Neil with respect and affection - he even referred to him as "the late great neil". I wonder if Pete feels the same?

Yes, I'm glad that Pete was able to make a few quid from "Anthology". It can't be much fun being a footnote to history!

Or being generally viewed as a tragic figure.

Poor Pete has for more than 4 decades been viewed as the poor soul who was sacked when the group was just a breath away from fame. He became very bitter; fell into a depression and went through some bad times. In 1993 he disclosed this on Oprah! Fans I've met throughout the years bandy his name about as a cautionary tale as what NOT to be if you are in a group. The poor dude's name has become a sad byword for failure in many Beatle circles.

Years ago, I knew 4 fans who met up at a fest. Three were musicians and clicked more readily than the 4th, who was a beginning musician. The 4th was viewed by the other 3 as a "Pete Best." One fan was a George fan; the other preferred Paul and the 3rd liked John the best. The 4th fan was into Ringo. Since the 4th fan did not fit in with the others, they referred to that person as a Pete Best and one member of that group later made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with that 4th person ever again.

In Pete's case, it sounded as if he ran into some of that.