The BTS of the 1960s. They only lasted ten years, but they forged a legend that lasted forever in the world of music: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison were The Beatles, who need no introduction. Or, on the face of it, maybe they do. Because before this quartet dedicated themselves to triumph wherever they went, there were two other people who remained at the gates of stardom. Today we are going to talk about the two members of the most famous group in history that time forgot: Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe.
Before the star
When The Beatles began to emerge, even before they had their official name (they called themselves Beatlas or Silver Beetles, as a tribute to Buddy Holly’s group, The Crickets), the quartet was a quintet. Originally the bass player was none other than Stuart Sutcliffe, a personal friend of John Lennon’s who accompanied them in their first rehearsals and on their first tour of Hamburg bars in Germany… until he fell in love.
Between gigs, Sutcliffe met Astrid Kirchherr, a 22-year-old photographer with whom he fell madly in love. In fact, in just three months they were already proposed in marriage, he left The Beatles and devoted himself to studying art in Hamburg for the rest of his days. Which, sadly, were not many: on April 10, 1962, the fifth Beatle died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Kirchherr’s arms.
The photographer’s life never stopped being linked to The Beatles: she took the behind-the-scenes photos for ‘What a night that day’ and ended up married to Gibson Kemp, the drummer who replaced Ringo Starr when he left his original band (Rory Storm and The Hurricanes) to go with the beats of the day. But, by the way, who did Starr replace in The Beatles?
We go back to the Hamburg tour, when they were still a musical quintet… looking for a fifth member. And the fact is that none of the drummers they tried out worked out until, finally, they found someone who had the necessary qualities (to exist and to want to play with them): a certain Peter Best. If his surname said so, there was a reason, wasn’t there? Best joined The Beatles the night before their first concert in Hamburg and would accompany them for two years.
In fact, he was the only one who spoke German, so he became a key part of the team on that 1960 tour, especially since his mother served as semi-manager: she was the one who chose their accommodations from Liverpool and who got his equipment back after he stayed in a bar in Hamburg. How did they pay him back? Well… by kicking him out. Because his style was too noisy: during the recording of his first album, his manager decided to change his track to someone more experienced.
When the rest of the group found out what had happened, they got nervous and decided to ask their manager to fire him. And it cost him. Boy, did it cost him. Imagine the situation for a moment: Best was the most popular Beatle at the time, helped win fans and was absolutely charming. Of course, charming doesn’t mean dumb, and on the day of his last concert, August 16, 1962, he didn’t even show up.
What happened next you already know: Ringo Starr became the fourth Beatle and his success went beyond the stars. But what became of Best? The three members of the group have regretted several times the way they kicked him out and he, already in 1968 and after a suicide attempt, had no interest in talking about the group. In fact, he retired from show business and lived his life until twenty years later, in 1988, he founded the Pete Best Band. Now? He’s married to a Beatles fan, has two daughters, four grandchildren… and is happy. All you need is love.
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