You said that George Martin suggested The Beatles change their drummer, and that is a patent falsehood. He merely said that he'd be using a session drummer on their first record because Pete wasn't polished enough yet for the studio, but that he was fine for live performances and there's no reason why he shouldn't remain The Beatles drummer. He also said that he was surprised when he learned Pete had been sacked because Pete was the most marketable member of the band.
I was lazier with the research of this video and did little to no cross checking of facts, so mistakes like this happen alot as a result. I also love your name!
Dick Rowe, Head A&R man at Decca Records - January 2, 1962 - "I'm sorry Mr. Epstein....but groups of guitars are on the way out. We'll have to pass on the Beatles." -- Oops. LOL!!!
In other documentaries they describe Pete Best' Mom as being overbearing and a big of a control freak for the band. It was her club in which they gained so much fame in Liverpool. So Epstein and others wanted her out, and booting Pete was the easiest way to do so. I personally consider this a more compelling explanation of why Pete was fired. The explanation that Pete's drumming skill was lacking is just a lie, he was very good. It is true he was the favorite with the girls, and they would often feature his drum kit front and center in the Hamburg days. But being fired for being popular does not make any sense to me. At this time the band was still trying to make it and ANY advantage is a good thing. I'm convinced Pete's mom was the deciding factor.
I agree, the narrative concerning his mother is much more intriguing. I can relate to any factual complaints against this video as I made this in what feels like forever ago and I can really see its age. When I wrote this I wouldn't go very in-depth with my research for my videos which is a mistake that marrs their rewatchablility on my part, and is something that I want to correct in new videos I'm working on. With Best though, I think the story is less two dimensional then any one explanation can give - what I mean is that saying that there's only one reason for his firing from the band is a mistake most Beatles historians, including myself, have made. He wasn't kicked out for any onereason, moreover for a mix of reason. Personally, I'm not a fan of his drumming, especially compared to Ringo, but it's passable enough to serve a live act, but it's not surprising that when presented with a record deal as just The Beatles, and not as a backing group, he was let go, but again that doesn't seem to be the only reason. Thank you for your comment though! I love ones that make me rethink certain parts of my videos and have me consider new ideas!
Your theory doesn't hold water because Eppy fought JP&G to change their minds and keep Pete in the band. Eppy even enlisted Beatle friend and Cavern DJ, Bob Wooler, to plead with them to keep Pete, which Wooler did (to no avail). However, I do agree with you that the reason for JP&G turning on Pete had nothing to do with his talent, as he was a great drummer. Pete was betrayed simply over petty jealousies of his leading-man looks, and immense popularity with both the fans and the press. Here's what a contemporary drummer of Pete's said when he was asked in an interview what he thought of Pete's drumming: *"He was a genius. You could sit Pete Best on a drum kit and ask him to play for 19 hours and he'd put his head down and do it. He'd drum like a dream with real style and stamina all night long, and that really was The Beatles' sound, forget the guitars. I was amazed when they replaced him. I even thought about learning guitar so he could be the drummer in my band. The Beatles didn't hate Pete Best, but they didn't want to be outshone by their drummer. Ringo was a good drummer but he was more ordinary."* - Chris Curtis, drummer for The Searchers, a great Liverpool band who scored a 1964 Top 3 Hit in the US charts with their classic, "Love Potion # 9". Chris saw Pete Best play many times in both Hamburg and Liverpool during Pete's two years as The Beatles' drummer.
It’s widely agreed upon that Pete Best’s inadequate drumming was the issue. The Love me Do recordings show that clearly. There were other engineers/producers before Martin that observed this. At the same time I would say Best is a decent man who feels he was hard done, which I don’t believe was the case. Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison had to make a hard professional decision regarding the future of the band, which involved securing a record contract. When Martin wanted a session drummer, this would have negatively affected the dynamic of the band. At the same time, Pete deserves to be called a Beatle. He was there at the early formation of the group, but he simply wasn’t a good enough drummer to play in any rock/pop band. Playing a basic 4/4 beat, on occasion out of time and without the necessary flair would not pass when you are recording songs in a studio. Any weakness will be evident and exposed and this affects the recording. Pete has got on with his life, but to this day he still believes he was a better drummer than Starr, which was/is simply and objectively untrue.
Where is part 3? I like this series and I want to know what happened to it.
I'm planning a few other videos that will be coming out in a month or so but I haven't decided if I want to continue this series - we'll see!
@@kaylubproductions4517 you should continue the series. I enjoyed the two “Early Days” videos you put out
You said that George Martin suggested The Beatles change their drummer, and that is a patent falsehood. He merely said that he'd be using a session drummer on their first record because Pete wasn't polished enough yet for the studio, but that he was fine for live performances and there's no reason why he shouldn't remain The Beatles drummer. He also said that he was surprised when he learned Pete had been sacked because Pete was the most marketable member of the band.
I was lazier with the research of this video and did little to no cross checking of facts, so mistakes like this happen alot as a result. I also love your name!
@@kaylubproductions4517 Cool, thanks.
Dick Rowe, Head A&R man at Decca Records - January 2, 1962 - "I'm sorry Mr. Epstein....but groups of guitars are on the way out. We'll have to pass on the Beatles." -- Oops. LOL!!!
One of the biggest mistakes in history. At least for Rowe, for the Beatles him passing them up definitely helped them out 😄
In other documentaries they describe Pete Best' Mom as being overbearing and a big of a control freak for the band. It was her club in which they gained so much fame in Liverpool. So Epstein and others wanted her out, and booting Pete was the easiest way to do so. I personally consider this a more compelling explanation of why Pete was fired. The explanation that Pete's drumming skill was lacking is just a lie, he was very good. It is true he was the favorite with the girls, and they would often feature his drum kit front and center in the Hamburg days. But being fired for being popular does not make any sense to me. At this time the band was still trying to make it and ANY advantage is a good thing. I'm convinced Pete's mom was the deciding factor.
I agree, the narrative concerning his mother is much more intriguing. I can relate to any factual complaints against this video as I made this in what feels like forever ago and I can really see its age. When I wrote this I wouldn't go very in-depth with my research for my videos which is a mistake that marrs their rewatchablility on my part, and is something that I want to correct in new videos I'm working on. With Best though, I think the story is less two dimensional then any one explanation can give - what I mean is that saying that there's only one reason for his firing from the band is a mistake most Beatles historians, including myself, have made. He wasn't kicked out for any onereason, moreover for a mix of reason. Personally, I'm not a fan of his drumming, especially compared to Ringo, but it's passable enough to serve a live act, but it's not surprising that when presented with a record deal as just The Beatles, and not as a backing group, he was let go, but again that doesn't seem to be the only reason. Thank you for your comment though! I love ones that make me rethink certain parts of my videos and have me consider new ideas!
Your theory doesn't hold water because Eppy fought JP&G to change their minds and keep Pete in the band. Eppy even enlisted Beatle friend and Cavern DJ, Bob Wooler, to plead with them to keep Pete, which Wooler did (to no avail). However, I do agree with you that the reason for JP&G turning on Pete had nothing to do with his talent, as he was a great drummer. Pete was betrayed simply over petty jealousies of his leading-man looks, and immense popularity with both the fans and the press. Here's what a contemporary drummer of Pete's said when he was asked in an interview what he thought of Pete's drumming: *"He was a genius. You could sit Pete Best on a drum kit and ask him to play for 19 hours and he'd put his head down and do it. He'd drum like a dream with real style and stamina all night long, and that really was The Beatles' sound, forget the guitars. I was amazed when they replaced him. I even thought about learning guitar so he could be the drummer in my band. The Beatles didn't hate Pete Best, but they didn't want to be outshone by their drummer. Ringo was a good drummer but he was more ordinary."* - Chris Curtis, drummer for The Searchers, a great Liverpool band who scored a 1964 Top 3 Hit in the US charts with their classic, "Love Potion # 9". Chris saw Pete Best play many times in both Hamburg and Liverpool during Pete's two years as The Beatles' drummer.
It’s widely agreed upon that Pete Best’s inadequate drumming was the issue. The Love me Do recordings show that clearly. There were other engineers/producers before Martin that observed this. At the same time I would say Best is a decent man who feels he was hard done, which I don’t believe was the case. Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison had to make a hard professional decision regarding the future of the band, which involved securing a record contract. When Martin wanted a session drummer, this would have negatively affected the dynamic of the band. At the same time, Pete deserves to be called a Beatle. He was there at the early formation of the group, but he simply wasn’t a good enough drummer to play in any rock/pop band. Playing a basic 4/4 beat, on occasion out of time and without the necessary flair would not pass when you are recording songs in a studio. Any weakness will be evident and exposed and this affects the recording. Pete has got on with his life, but to this day he still believes he was a better drummer than Starr, which was/is simply and objectively untrue.
Ml