Pete Best, born on this date in 1941, is an English drummer who is most notable for being the drummer of the Beatles immediately before they achieved incredible fame, where he was fired and replaced by Ringo Starr.

Best's mother opened the Casbah Coffee Club in the cellar of the Bests' house in Liverpool. The Beatles (at the time known as the Quarrymen) played some of their first concerts at the club. The Beatles invited Best to join the band on 12 August 1960, on the eve of the group's first Hamburg season of club dates. Ringo Starr eventually replaced Best on 16 August 1962, when the group's manager, Brian Epstein, fired Best at the request of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison following the band's first recording session. Over 30 years later, Best received a major monetary payout for his work with the Beatles after the release of their 1995 compilation of their early recordings on Anthology 1; Best played the drums on a number of the album's tracks, including the Decca auditions.

Following his departure from the Beatles, he tried touring without them, however he met not nearly as much success from his tours as the Beatles did

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and this led him to fall in to a state of depressiveness and attempted suicide, which he was saved from by his mother)

and he retired from music in 1968, taking a 20 year hiatus until 1988 where he formed the Pete Best band, and he still plays to this day.

There has been lawsuits and anger from both ends towards the other, particularly nastiness from the side of the Beatles, which led to a lawsuit from Best for defamation, which he ended up winning. He was initially to be let go only for studio sessions not live tours, however they just fired him from both. His reason for firing was lack of innovation in his drumming style, and his issues with socializing with John and George.

Today is also the birthday of my homophobic/transphobic brother. wahoo how exciting.

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