Remember When The Beatles Fired Their Drummer

August 16, 1962

They had a record deal with EMI. They had built a reputation as a fierce live act with a gigantic repertoire. The Beatles were toughened by appearances in Hamburg, Germany, playing the Reeperbahn as well as performing shows around their hometown of Liverpool, England. As they grew, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison started to feel a divide growing between them and their drummer, Pete Best. They had played hundreds of shows and traveled many miles together. The foursome had recorded an audition for Decca Records on January 1, 1962, which was met with little enthusiasm. When they landed a tryout for EMI on June 6 that same year, producer George Martin was enthusiastic about three of them—but not Best.

Martin wrote in 1965, “I told [manager Brian] Epstein that I was not satisfied with the performance of their drummer, Mr. Peter Best, and as far as my recordings were concerned, I would prefer not to use him on the actual record but that I would use a session drummer.”

Best did seem to be “an odd man out,” and while the other three were very unified in their performance and enthusiasm, he did not seem to be a true part of the group.

McCartney would later say, “It had got to the stage that Pete was holding us back. What were we gonna do? Try and pretend he was a wonderful drummer? We knew he wasn’t as good as we wanted.”

The trio approached Epstein about replacing Best. The problem was the contract between Epstein and The Beatles. Epstein didn’t simply represent Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison. He represented Best as well. It wasn’t as simple as kicking the drummer out of the band. Legally, The Beatles would have to split up and sign another contract with Epstein as a new entity.

Seeking a Replacement

An invitation was extended to Bobby Graham, who played drums with Joe Brown & The Bruvvers. He declined. Next, the position was offered to Johnny Hutchinson, who played skins with the Big Three. Hutchinson had crossed paths with the trio a couple of years earlier when they auditioned for the pop impresario Larry Parnes. Hutchinson filled in on drums for the occasion. He was not a Beatles fan, so he also declined.

Ringo Starr was over 300 miles away, appearing at a holiday camp with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Lennon and McCartney took the band van and made the journey to feel out the situation and see if Starr was interested in joining The Beatles. The drummer felt it was too good to turn down.

Epstein met with his lawyer, David Harris. It was agreed that the approach would be to offer Best a position in another group, which Epstein would represent. If he had accepted the deal, there would have been no possible legal problems. If he declined, Best would be breaking the agreement, not Epstein.

Firing Pete Best

On the morning of August 16, Best was called into Epstein’s NEMS Whitechapel office. “I’ve got some bad news for you,” the manager said. “The boys and myself have decided that they don’t want you in the group anymore and that Ringo is replacing you.”

When Best pressed for a reason, Epstein deflected some of the blame, offering that Martin would not use him in the upcoming recording session. An offer to join another group was presented, and Epstein asked if Best could play drums the following two nights until Starr was available. Best declined the offer to join another Epstein group but agreed to play the remaining shows. At the same time as this meeting, a new contract was being prepared to include Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr). The agreement would be binding until 1967 and included the provision that a band member could be kicked out at the desire of two or more other members with Epstein’s approval.

As the reality set in, Best decided he would not play the shows in the interim. Hutchinson was brought in to fill the throne until Starr could return from the holiday camp. Rumors swirled throughout The Beatles’ fan base about why Best was being replaced. Surprisingly, there is no existing photographic evidence on the night of Starr’s Beatle debut. 

There were reports of fans chanting, “Pete forever, Ringo never.” There were also reports of “Ringo forever, Pete never.”

On August 22, the band was filmed by Granada TV performing “Some Other Guy.” It’s glorious black-and-white footage of a band, on one hand, experienced and seasoned, but on the other hand, reinvigorated and just starting out with their new timekeeper. Things seemed to be settling down, and the fans were accepting Starr. But on Friday, August 24, Harrison was involved in an altercation at The Cavern, resulting in a black eye.

The band ventured down to London to partake in their first recording session with the new lineup. They were greeted by producer Martin and set up to record two songs. The Beatles were not impressed with the song “How Do You Do It?” They were pushing Martin to record their own compositions. Martin was unhappy with Starr’s drumming as they worked on the song. 

When the band returned to the Abbey Road studios on September 11, they were surprised to see a drum set already assembled in the No. 2 studio. Martin had booked session drummer Andy White for the recording. Starr was heartbroken. When the decision was made to record a full-length album, Starr was included. He would go on to be included regularly.

On September 10, Best debuted with Lee Curtis and The All Stars. Ads ran saying, “WE’VE GOT THE BEST! YES – GREAT EX-BEATLE DRUMMER.”

Thirty years later, Ringo was asked if he felt sorry for Pete, “No, why should I? I was a better player than him. That’s how I got the job.”

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Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images