WEBVTT 00:00:08.850 --> 00:00:23.649 And welcome to the very first edition of the 00:00:23.649 --> 00:00:27.370 Chatterbox Redux podcast with Nick and Sue. Our 00:00:27.370 --> 00:00:29.870 guest today is original Beatles drummer Pete 00:00:29.870 --> 00:00:45.340 Best. And now on Chatterbox UK, we're just lucky 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:48.060 enough to welcome Pete Best. Pete, how are you, 00:00:48.119 --> 00:00:50.640 sir? Welcome. Hello, Pete. Very well, thank you, 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:52.780 Nick. Thank you for inviting me on to Chatterbox. 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:58.079 It's great to see you. You are world famous, 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:00.960 I tell you. Everybody knows who Pete Best is 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:04.140 as well as the other four and we'll talk about 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:07.620 that in time. But let's talk about you, your 00:01:07.620 --> 00:01:10.920 early life and how you got into music. Was it 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:13.060 a musical home as a kid? How did you get to being 00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:16.200 a drummer, we know? Yeah, basically like most 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:18.780 kids in Liverpool when the skiffle boom happened. 00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:22.980 Okay, which was late 50s, mid 50s. I ran out 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:26.430 and bought a guitar. Like most kids in Liverpool 00:01:26.430 --> 00:01:29.790 did. You know, wanted to be Elvis Presley, stood 00:01:29.790 --> 00:01:32.069 in front of the mirror and shook my hips and 00:01:32.069 --> 00:01:36.090 all the other bits and pieces. I realised guitar 00:01:36.090 --> 00:01:37.909 wasn't for me. I never felt comfortable with 00:01:37.909 --> 00:01:42.090 it. OK. And then I was always banging pots and 00:01:42.090 --> 00:01:44.849 pans on the table, you know, sitting down to 00:01:44.849 --> 00:01:48.209 meals. And when my mother opened the Cavsburg 00:01:48.209 --> 00:01:52.760 Club, which was 29th of August, 1959. And of 00:01:52.760 --> 00:01:54.659 course, you know, the famous band which should 00:01:54.659 --> 00:01:56.519 have opened at the left, Stewart Quartet broke 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:59.579 up and they were replaced by the Quarrymen, which 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:02.500 ended up being John George Paul and Ken Brown 00:02:02.500 --> 00:02:06.519 and without a drummer. But it was actually absolutely 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:09.599 incredible because I watched on that particular 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:13.379 opening night. They didn't have a drummer. The 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:18.520 feedback and the... atmosphere I got from them 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:21.419 was absolutely fantastic. Little did I realize 00:02:21.419 --> 00:02:24.659 12 months later right I would be asked to join 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:27.759 play drums. What had happened in the meantime 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:31.360 the Corriemen broke up an argument over money 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:35.020 after playing the Casbah for about six weeks 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:38.879 and um Ken Brown came up and saw him and he basically 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:41.259 said to him now and said Preet Mohler's in a 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:43.439 bit of a predicament that's my mother Mohna right 00:02:45.139 --> 00:02:47.400 He turned around and said, I promised that I 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:50.180 would provide a band for her, okay, which you 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:52.639 know, play every Saturday night, because it was 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:54.620 going to be a residency and residencies were 00:02:54.620 --> 00:02:58.199 like gold in those days. So we had a situation 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:00.039 and I turned around and said, do you know anyone? 00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:02.539 I said, I happen to know a couple of guys, Chas 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:05.800 Newby and Bill Barlow, good guitarists, I'll 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:07.919 ask them what they're doing to form a band. So 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:09.419 went and saw them and he turned around, yes, 00:03:09.460 --> 00:03:12.099 it sounds good. Went back to Ken, turned around 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:14.629 and said, got the guitarist, Ken. So I turned 00:03:14.629 --> 00:03:16.310 around and said, fine. So I said, oh, you're 00:03:16.310 --> 00:03:17.870 going to get to play drums. And he said, oh, 00:03:17.949 --> 00:03:20.330 that single piece. He said, you're going to play 00:03:20.330 --> 00:03:22.430 drums. So I turned around and said, well, there's 00:03:22.430 --> 00:03:24.949 a problem there, Ken. I said, because I haven't 00:03:24.949 --> 00:03:29.650 got any bloody drum kits, right? So I went to 00:03:29.650 --> 00:03:33.110 see my mother, Mona, and my dad, John. And I 00:03:33.110 --> 00:03:34.770 explained the situation to him that I was going 00:03:34.770 --> 00:03:37.569 to form a little rock band called the Black Jacks. 00:03:38.889 --> 00:03:41.240 They turned around and said, OK. But we're not 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:42.960 going to buy you a full drum kit to start with, 00:03:43.020 --> 00:03:44.539 son. We're going to give you a snare drum and 00:03:44.539 --> 00:03:47.259 a cymbal and you go away and practice and bang 00:03:47.259 --> 00:03:49.780 and get yourself adapted to that. And when you 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:52.259 think you're okay doing that, then come back 00:03:52.259 --> 00:03:53.740 and see us. And that's basically what I did, 00:03:54.379 --> 00:03:57.319 Nick. Bashed away for about three months, got 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:00.340 myself up to playing speed on a snare drum and 00:04:00.340 --> 00:04:03.199 cymbal. And then the big day came, I went down 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:06.400 to Rushworth and Draper's, which was the biggest 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:08.740 music store in Liverpool at that time. Okay, 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:14.069 I'm talking about. 1958, 59 now, and there was 00:04:14.069 --> 00:04:17.389 a lovely old man in there, a drum mentor, I call 00:04:17.389 --> 00:04:20.470 Mr. Swift. And I went and saw him and explained 00:04:20.470 --> 00:04:22.089 the position to him and said, basically, Mr. 00:04:22.269 --> 00:04:25.870 Swift, I am a budding novice drummer and what 00:04:25.870 --> 00:04:29.310 drum kit would you, you know, point me in the 00:04:29.310 --> 00:04:31.389 right direction on a song and make a success 00:04:31.389 --> 00:04:35.230 in my life? And he went, well, he said, there's 00:04:35.230 --> 00:04:36.910 a drum kit over there, he said, which I think 00:04:36.910 --> 00:04:40.019 would be absolutely ideal for you. And I looked 00:04:40.019 --> 00:04:42.160 at it, and it was the drum kit that I'd fallen 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.019 in love with when I walked in. I'd seen it out 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:46.860 the corner of my eye. And it was like, oh, God, 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:48.519 if ever there's a drum kit that I wanted to that 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:51.379 one. And that turned out to be the first drum 00:04:51.379 --> 00:04:53.639 kit I ever had, which was the Sky Blue Mother 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:58.600 of Pearl. So once I got that, and I started bashing 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:01.620 away on the drums, you know, the Black Jacks 00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:04.079 took over the residency at the Casbah. They started 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:07.420 to make my name in and around Liverpool. And 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:11.029 then all of a sudden, you know leap forward 12 00:05:11.029 --> 00:05:14.790 months and August 1960 about the fatal ball call 00:05:14.790 --> 00:05:18.509 of Paul McCartney which did change a few things. 00:05:21.790 --> 00:05:24.790 So with the you mentioned the Casbah club at 00:05:24.790 --> 00:05:27.370 the very beginning um was that the club that 00:05:27.370 --> 00:05:30.670 your your mum Mona started in the basement is 00:05:30.670 --> 00:05:33.930 that was that the Casbah club? That's right basically 00:05:33.930 --> 00:05:36.610 what had happened is she fell in love with the 00:05:36.610 --> 00:05:40.550 house in Eight Hamons Green Okay. And at that 00:05:40.550 --> 00:05:43.990 stage, I'm talking now about mid fifties, early 00:05:43.990 --> 00:05:47.709 fifties, my brother Rory had come back from school. 00:05:47.930 --> 00:05:50.189 He walked past this house, which had been an 00:05:50.189 --> 00:05:53.629 old conservative club in West Arby village. Very 00:05:53.629 --> 00:05:56.589 dilapidated, very rundown. She went and saw it 00:05:56.589 --> 00:05:59.829 and she fell in love with it. Okay. I nicknamed 00:05:59.829 --> 00:06:02.009 it at that time. It was like Dracula's castle. 00:06:02.389 --> 00:06:05.069 Okay. It was dilapidated, but she fell in love 00:06:05.069 --> 00:06:07.819 with it. She had this dream. So she went and 00:06:07.819 --> 00:06:11.540 saw my father John and she asked him, she turned 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:14.180 around and said she's in a lovely house, needs 00:06:14.180 --> 00:06:17.100 a lot of work doing on it, would you be interested 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:19.500 in buying it? And he basically turned around 00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:21.500 and said no, he said it's a big white elephant. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:25.139 So what she didn't tell us Nick, she went and 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:29.139 pawned all her jewelry and she bet it on a horse 00:06:29.139 --> 00:06:32.740 called Never Say Die, which was a rank outside 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:36.899 a 1954 Derby. being ridden by a novice jockey 00:06:36.899 --> 00:06:39.019 called Leicester Piggott. Okay, which went on 00:06:39.019 --> 00:06:42.839 to become world champion jockey. And the price 00:06:42.839 --> 00:06:45.939 on that was 33 to one. Now we're watching the 00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:48.560 1954 Derby and I'm watching my mother morning 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:51.660 and never say that it's coming up on the laps 00:06:51.660 --> 00:06:53.459 and it's lapping and it's lapping and it's getting 00:06:53.459 --> 00:06:55.120 ahead, getting ahead, getting ahead, getting 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:57.180 ahead. Anyway, never say that, shoots past the 00:06:57.180 --> 00:07:01.779 post. The winner, this cool, calm, flaccid woman 00:07:01.779 --> 00:07:04.839 suddenly became the screaming Banshee. running 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:07.420 around the kitchen, basically turning around 00:07:07.420 --> 00:07:11.639 and saying, I won my house, I won my house. Then 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:16.860 she told us what had happened. My immediate reaction 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:20.439 was, that's absolutely fantastic, Mum. What was 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:22.600 the other side of the coin? You know, that if 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.519 you'd lost and she went peace, I didn't even 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:29.100 think about it. I never thought about it. So 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:32.959 she acquired the house. We'd moved in. And she 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:36.000 was watching a program on the television about 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:39.259 the Two Eyes Coffee Club in London, which spawned 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:43.459 all the, you know, famous English rocksters, 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:46.339 Cliff Richards, The Shadows, Judy Sherrod and 00:07:46.339 --> 00:07:49.620 Wee Willie Russell. I could go on and on. And 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:51.319 she looked at me, she went, we've got sellers 00:07:51.319 --> 00:07:53.180 downstairs now, haven't we, Pete? And I said, 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:54.959 yeah, they run all the way underneath the house. 00:07:56.100 --> 00:07:58.279 So she said, how would you think about turning 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:02.000 the sellers into a coffee club? I said, sounds 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:05.660 absolutely fantastic. I said, when do we start? 00:08:05.740 --> 00:08:07.920 She said, tomorrow morning. I said, who's going 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:13.600 to be the builder? She said, you are. Myself 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:16.240 and a gang of friends, for the next six months, 00:08:17.100 --> 00:08:20.399 we blasted the cellars out. The back garden looked 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:22.860 like a construction site. We had wire in it, 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:25.740 we had cement in it, we had timber in it. you 00:08:25.740 --> 00:08:28.040 name it, it was getting dropped in there, sand, 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:31.939 slates, everything required to do the club. Eventually 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:35.600 it happened and that took us up to, you know, 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:37.679 a couple of weeks before opening time and then 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:39.919 that incredible thing happened where the left 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:43.299 -steer courts had broke open. They were replaced 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:48.500 by the Corrie men and, you know, by this time, 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:51.600 Mourneau was well on the scene as regards it 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:54.399 and she basically called him. the Casbah, because 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:55.799 we turned around and said, what are you actually 00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:58.919 going to call it, Monty? And she went, well, 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:01.259 let's keep it Eastern, let's keep it Eastern, 00:09:02.179 --> 00:09:05.200 because the whole theme in the Casbah, I don't 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:07.019 know if you've ever been Nick, but if you have, 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:08.759 or you haven't, then you've got to get yourself 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:11.259 down here, because it stands in its total originality. 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:14.799 We've still got the Aztec ceiling that Lennon 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:16.580 painted, we've still got the rainbow ceiling 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:19.100 that McCartney painted, we've still got the salmon 00:09:19.100 --> 00:09:21.919 ceiling that Harrison painted, the spider's web 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:25.159 in the band room I painted, Cynthia Lennon was 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:27.899 commissioned to paint John Lennon over the fireplace, 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:31.139 that's still there, and the stars on the ceiling, 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:33.519 the last time we had them valued because they 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:36.720 were painted by John, George, Paul, Ken Brown, 00:09:36.919 --> 00:09:42.250 Cynthia, myself. Ascender, right? Uncle Tom Copley 00:09:42.250 --> 00:09:44.970 and all. And it was very much a case of we had 00:09:44.970 --> 00:09:47.730 them valued about 10 years ago. And I was only 00:09:47.730 --> 00:09:49.610 talking to Rogue the other night about this and 00:09:49.610 --> 00:09:53.250 that valuation about 10 years ago. Each star 00:09:53.250 --> 00:09:56.549 on the sea line in the coffee bar area of the 00:09:56.549 --> 00:10:01.049 Casbah is worth about 2 ,500 or was 10 years 00:10:01.049 --> 00:10:05.649 ago. And there's about 150 close to 200 stars 00:10:05.649 --> 00:10:08.899 on there. so just that one particular ceiling 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:12.779 alone right is worth quite a few bob you know 00:10:12.779 --> 00:10:15.799 so uh you know we explain that to people and 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:17.799 people look at it and sort of basically can we 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:22.340 touch it you know are we okay hands off yeah 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:25.779 she called it the casbah and her dream was this 00:10:25.779 --> 00:10:28.940 you know the war cry was come to the casbah which 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:32.000 allegedly would be that old famous charles buoyet 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.659 film wasn't it from tangiers when he was alleged 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:37.110 to have said it whether he ever said it and God 00:10:37.110 --> 00:10:40.529 knows. But she had this dream come to the Casbah 00:10:40.529 --> 00:10:42.450 and that became the walk right for her and that's 00:10:42.450 --> 00:10:44.870 why we call it the Casbah Coffee Club. Love this, 00:10:44.990 --> 00:10:47.389 that's a great story Pete, thank you. Okay we 00:10:47.389 --> 00:10:51.669 get the phone call from Paul McCartney, fantastic 00:10:51.669 --> 00:10:56.129 phone call. Now was that an invite because they 00:10:56.129 --> 00:10:59.509 were going to Hamburg without a drummer or was 00:10:59.509 --> 00:11:01.169 there a load of stuff happened before Hamburg? 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:05.860 All it was, I knew that they'd auditioned for 00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:09.019 Larry Plants. They were calling themselves the 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:12.279 Silver Beatles then, and they ended up back in 00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:14.120 a singer called Johnny Gentle instead of Billy 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:17.220 Fury. And they went off to Scotland and they 00:11:17.220 --> 00:11:20.080 had a drummer called Tommy Moore, who was playing 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:23.559 with them at the time. The tour of Scotland with 00:11:23.559 --> 00:11:26.500 Johnny Gentle, from what I'm led to believe, 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:29.799 wasn't the tour that everyone expected. And at 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:32.860 the end of it, Tommy Moore was a little bit disappointed 00:11:32.860 --> 00:11:35.139 and he had a bit of a row with John Lennon and 00:11:35.139 --> 00:11:37.519 it ended up that he left and he went back to 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:39.659 Garston Bottle Works and jumped on his forklift 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:42.379 truck and disappeared into the wild, blew yonder 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:46.399 for a couple of years. So that left a gap. I 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:48.440 didn't know about it. And then I got the phone 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:51.840 call from Paul, which basically turned down and 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:54.100 said, Pete, we've got the offer to go to Germany 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:57.019 and you know, we need a drummer. We realize you're 00:11:57.019 --> 00:11:59.519 playing drums. you know would you be interested 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:02.559 in you know joining us and that was the question 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:04.740 Nick that's how it came about you know and it 00:12:04.740 --> 00:12:07.740 was very much a case of well yeah I'll go and 00:12:07.740 --> 00:12:09.460 check it with my own band and I went and checked 00:12:09.460 --> 00:12:12.179 it with Ken Chaz and Billy and they went please 00:12:12.179 --> 00:12:15.500 we don't want to be professional we want to make 00:12:15.500 --> 00:12:17.399 something of our lives we don't know we want 00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:20.919 to be a rock and roller so I went to some other 00:12:21.340 --> 00:12:23.840 and explained the position to her and she went 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:25.720 well if that's what you want to do Pete go with 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:27.360 our blessings and I looked at my dad sitting 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:30.779 in the corner hidden behind a newspaper and he 00:12:30.779 --> 00:12:34.519 went where are you going son and I said Hamburg 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:37.240 and there's only two words he said Nick he went 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:46.299 be careful McCartney turned round and said, OK, 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:49.059 come down and audition. I went down the following 00:12:49.059 --> 00:12:51.620 day, auditioned at the Wyvern Club, which became 00:12:51.620 --> 00:12:54.740 the famous Blue Angel Club. And about 10 minutes 00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:57.259 after playing about six numbers, just box standard 00:12:57.259 --> 00:13:02.539 numbers, we got into this little huddle in the 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:04.679 corner. Alan Williams came in, who was the manager 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:07.960 taking us out. And they basically turned round 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:10.320 and went, Alan, this is Pete, the new drummer. 00:13:11.009 --> 00:13:13.149 And Alan Williams turned around and said, oh, 00:13:13.149 --> 00:13:14.970 glad to meet you, Pete. He said, I've seen you 00:13:14.970 --> 00:13:18.929 playing before. So I said, that's great. So I 00:13:18.929 --> 00:13:21.330 said, there's one question, Alan, one question. 00:13:22.110 --> 00:13:23.990 OK. So he said, what is it? So I turned around 00:13:23.990 --> 00:13:26.690 and said, why did you make me audition? You know, 00:13:26.769 --> 00:13:29.389 I've never auditioned before. You know, we changed 00:13:29.389 --> 00:13:32.169 drummers and all that. Well, simple reason for 00:13:32.169 --> 00:13:35.149 that, Pete. He said, we made you audition just 00:13:35.149 --> 00:13:38.690 in case you asked for more money. And that was 00:13:38.690 --> 00:13:43.690 the reason for that. A couple of days after that, 00:13:43.710 --> 00:13:47.090 Nick, we were on this incredible journey. So, 00:13:47.110 --> 00:13:50.210 Hamburg goes ahead, you scraped some of the charts, 00:13:50.389 --> 00:13:52.909 I believe, in your day with My Bonnie, I think 00:13:52.909 --> 00:13:57.629 that's you on that, I believe. Even a German 00:13:57.629 --> 00:14:01.250 version was done, which did well in the charts, 00:14:01.269 --> 00:14:04.610 and I think it just scraped here. you know prior 00:14:04.610 --> 00:14:07.490 to Love Me Do It, My Bonnie I believe, if you 00:14:07.490 --> 00:14:10.450 go right down to nearer 50 or something, yeah 00:14:10.450 --> 00:14:12.570 they've been a hit here with you on the drums 00:14:12.570 --> 00:14:15.210 and everything else. A lot of people overlook 00:14:15.210 --> 00:14:19.730 that one. Let's move to the, I mean obviously 00:14:19.730 --> 00:14:23.789 Hamburg was a massive thing for you and the Beatles, 00:14:25.370 --> 00:14:29.389 but let's get to the Decker auditions which you're 00:14:29.389 --> 00:14:32.769 on as well. Tell us a bit about the Decker auditions. 00:14:33.839 --> 00:14:36.879 Well, when Epstein took over as manager, okay, 00:14:36.940 --> 00:14:41.600 and I'm talking now about October, October 61. 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:45.379 And he'd seen us at the cabin, talked to Bob 00:14:45.379 --> 00:14:48.240 Wooler, mentioned to Bob, who was the cabin DJ, 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:51.100 he wanted to basically see us. And we went and 00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:52.700 saw him and he turned around and said, got a 00:14:52.700 --> 00:14:55.620 business proposition to put to you guys. He said, 00:14:56.059 --> 00:14:58.820 thinking about becoming a manager. Okay, would 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:00.899 you let me manage it? He said, I'm making it 00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:03.529 quite clear. He said, I've never managed a band 00:15:03.529 --> 00:15:06.750 before. Okay. And we knew Brian from NEMS, he 00:15:06.750 --> 00:15:10.929 was the record manager there. So we turned around 00:15:10.929 --> 00:15:12.570 and said, yes, he said, I'm being quite honest. 00:15:12.590 --> 00:15:15.730 He said, this is the deal. He said, I'll manage 00:15:15.730 --> 00:15:18.309 you. If it doesn't work, I'm not happy with you, 00:15:18.309 --> 00:15:21.210 I'll walk. And he said, that sounds fair. And 00:15:21.210 --> 00:15:22.889 he said, if you're not happy with me, you walk. 00:15:23.090 --> 00:15:26.289 Okay. So that was a consensus of opinion. Cut 00:15:26.289 --> 00:15:28.730 a long story short, Nick, we eventually ended 00:15:28.730 --> 00:15:31.950 up agreeing to let him be the manager. But the 00:15:31.950 --> 00:15:36.009 condition was the main condition that we took 00:15:36.009 --> 00:15:38.590 him on as a manager. We had a record contract 00:15:38.590 --> 00:15:41.429 with Polydor and we wanted out of that because 00:15:41.429 --> 00:15:43.750 it was so uneconomical for us to keep going to 00:15:43.750 --> 00:15:46.809 Germany to record. We wanted an English record 00:15:46.809 --> 00:15:51.929 contract. So Brian and his wisdom went to the 00:15:51.929 --> 00:15:54.129 biggest record company in England at that time, 00:15:54.350 --> 00:15:57.350 which was Deca. Mike Smith, who was the head 00:15:57.350 --> 00:16:00.990 and then came up to the cabin, saw us at the 00:16:01.700 --> 00:16:05.659 um the cavern uh dinner time session loved what 00:16:05.659 --> 00:16:09.000 he saw and the date was arranged for january 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:14.000 the first 1962 new year's day okay we always 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:16.879 say man and ask brian why did he pick new year's 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:21.679 day 1962 the reason he gave was start of a new 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:25.440 year you know new outlook new record company 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:28.850 what a way to kick the air off okay we were looking 00:16:28.850 --> 00:16:31.370 at it as much as you're sending us down to London 00:16:31.370 --> 00:16:35.970 on New Year's Eve, right? Yes. The kept talk 00:16:35.970 --> 00:16:39.669 he gave us before we went down was, listen lads, 00:16:40.090 --> 00:16:43.850 you've got the biggest record audition in your 00:16:43.850 --> 00:16:47.129 life, right? On New Year's Eve with the biggest 00:16:47.129 --> 00:16:49.049 company, I've got the biggest company in England 00:16:49.049 --> 00:16:52.090 interested in you. Behave yourselves on New Year's 00:16:52.090 --> 00:16:55.590 Eve, right? I like it. At two in the morning, 00:16:55.990 --> 00:16:59.210 Nick, needless to say, We are drunk as skunks 00:16:59.210 --> 00:17:06.210 in the middle of Trafalgar Square. But the saving 00:17:06.210 --> 00:17:08.309 grace was Mike had been on the other side of 00:17:08.309 --> 00:17:10.289 Trafalgar Square as well so he was late for the 00:17:10.289 --> 00:17:14.809 audition as well. But we got it off and as history 00:17:14.809 --> 00:17:18.910 portrays now unfortunately Mike Smith opted to 00:17:18.910 --> 00:17:20.569 sign a local band called Brian Poole and the 00:17:20.569 --> 00:17:23.349 Tremels. Yeah I wonder what happened to them 00:17:23.349 --> 00:17:28.990 as well. Okay so um I don't think it's that I 00:17:28.990 --> 00:17:32.109 mean obviously in 1962 we get to the stage we 00:17:32.109 --> 00:17:35.730 get nearer and nearer to Love Me Do. Now I heard 00:17:35.730 --> 00:17:38.109 a version with you playing which causes obviously 00:17:38.109 --> 00:17:41.910 anthology which we talk about nearer the end 00:17:41.910 --> 00:17:47.529 um but what happened uh you know the famous question 00:17:47.529 --> 00:17:51.250 is what happened Pete how did you how did you 00:17:51.250 --> 00:17:57.019 get The booth, yeah. I wish I knew. It's still 00:17:57.019 --> 00:18:00.380 a grey area, but it's something I've well put 00:18:00.380 --> 00:18:02.599 behind me many, many years ago. There's so many 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:06.000 conspiracy theories as to regard to what it was. 00:18:07.779 --> 00:18:09.819 Even though I've stopped worrying about it and, 00:18:09.900 --> 00:18:11.779 you know, my life's gone on a completely different 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:14.119 way, when it happened, I'll be quite honest, 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:17.380 it was life changing, it was gut wrenching. It 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:19.220 caused me a lot of hardship and embarrassment, 00:18:19.259 --> 00:18:21.759 but it's like everything else. You've got to 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:25.599 There comes a time when you've got to basically 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:28.319 come to terms with the situation of what it is 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:31.660 and you suddenly realize it's pointless reflecting 00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:34.960 about what happened you know that's out of your 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:37.799 control because of the you know the circumstances 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:40.740 and the way it happened and it's like forget 00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:43.599 about that it's not about that you keep thinking 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:45.660 about that you're going to end up very bit twisted 00:18:45.660 --> 00:18:48.779 and it's more about today and tomorrow and once 00:18:48.779 --> 00:18:53.680 I came to To terms with that situation Then life 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.039 took on a new adventure for me. You know, it 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:59.720 was very much a case of okay Yeah, I agree. You 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:01.980 know, I'm gonna reinvent myself. It's about today 00:19:01.980 --> 00:19:05.400 and tomorrow if people want to allude to me a 00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:07.720 Concern of the dismissal in my history with the 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:12.920 Beatles fine. Yeah, okay. Yeah, sorry Pete best 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:16.000 a new person. Okay, which is leading his own 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.910 way. Yeah, there is I mean, obviously fans say 00:19:20.910 --> 00:19:23.849 one thing or another but of course with the anthology 00:19:23.849 --> 00:19:27.089 coming out and we got we all know the love me 00:19:27.089 --> 00:19:28.789 do the got in the charts and of course there's 00:19:28.789 --> 00:19:31.789 your version now on youtube people can listen 00:19:31.789 --> 00:19:35.930 to just the drumming of Ringo and yourself individually 00:19:35.930 --> 00:19:39.690 and on that particular song it's the only one 00:19:39.690 --> 00:19:44.849 I've done Ringo keeps his rhythm all the way 00:19:44.849 --> 00:19:47.960 through just the same the same. However, with 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:50.099 you, because there's parts in Love Me Do where 00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:53.299 it actually stops, as in the song, for a split 00:19:53.299 --> 00:19:55.980 second, then chorus kicks in and stuff, makes 00:19:55.980 --> 00:19:59.380 it sound great. I believe your version, you're 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:02.380 speeding up and bringing the tempo up when that's 00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:05.619 kicking back in after that little gap when I 00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:09.549 think this John and Paul sit like together but 00:20:09.549 --> 00:20:12.289 yeah i know you know the bit but it seems like 00:20:12.289 --> 00:20:14.089 your drumming stops as well and then it's just 00:20:14.089 --> 00:20:16.329 then you speed up which is the right thing to 00:20:16.329 --> 00:20:18.349 do in my mind that's what happens on your version 00:20:18.349 --> 00:20:21.869 yeah because basically what people forget um 00:20:21.869 --> 00:20:25.170 until that was the arrangements that that was 00:20:25.170 --> 00:20:28.509 the arrangement we took down to ami when we played 00:20:28.509 --> 00:20:31.859 it for george martin and ron rigid And it was 00:20:31.859 --> 00:20:34.480 very much a case of, you know, George Martin, 00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:36.440 basically at that stage, basically turned down 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:38.240 and said, OK, let me think about what I'm going 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:40.779 to record. He ended up being, love me, doing 00:20:40.779 --> 00:20:42.859 P .S. I love you, but he changed the format of 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:45.880 it, OK? Oh, yeah, yeah. Basically, what happened 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:50.099 was we had rehearsed it. So it wasn't a, you 00:20:50.099 --> 00:20:53.160 know, a drop beat or a skip beat or a miss beat 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:55.140 or something like that. There was a definite 00:20:55.140 --> 00:20:58.660 change in drum pattern to elevate the song. It 00:20:58.660 --> 00:21:01.089 was brilliant. Yeah, yeah, OK. and it and it 00:21:01.089 --> 00:21:03.650 was that was the whole idea behind it so you've 00:21:03.650 --> 00:21:05.750 got yes so yeah i suppose in a way nick you've 00:21:05.750 --> 00:21:07.509 got two camps you've got some people who look 00:21:07.509 --> 00:21:09.190 at it and turn around and say always dropping 00:21:09.190 --> 00:21:11.630 beach left right and center you've got other 00:21:11.630 --> 00:21:13.470 people who are looking at and listening to it 00:21:13.470 --> 00:21:15.250 and basically turn around saying no that's a 00:21:15.250 --> 00:21:18.950 great blues version of love me do well it's which 00:21:18.950 --> 00:21:21.730 camp you fall into you know i personally and 00:21:21.730 --> 00:21:23.490 i'm not just saying this because you're here 00:21:23.490 --> 00:21:27.470 i personally prefer your version because the 00:21:27.470 --> 00:21:31.430 tempo i do i really do you know listen to that 00:21:31.430 --> 00:21:34.289 more than once but including recently knowing 00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:37.910 you were coming on anyway got to the stage pete 00:21:37.910 --> 00:21:41.849 best got the boot you reinvented yourself but 00:21:41.849 --> 00:21:45.390 i do if i just make a statement here as opposed 00:21:45.390 --> 00:21:48.549 to a question i believe you pete are a great 00:21:48.549 --> 00:21:51.529 ambassador for anyone with depression or going 00:21:51.529 --> 00:21:53.950 through a rough time because I don't know how 00:21:53.950 --> 00:21:55.950 the hell you got through it but what an amazing 00:21:55.950 --> 00:21:58.349 guy you are that reinvention and you must have 00:21:58.349 --> 00:22:01.869 had hard times and real downers but wow I look 00:22:01.869 --> 00:22:04.349 up to you amazing how you how how you got through 00:22:04.349 --> 00:22:07.329 it even you know it's one of those things you 00:22:07.329 --> 00:22:11.650 know whether people use me as an inspiration 00:22:11.650 --> 00:22:14.349 you know it's it's very flattering okay if I'm 00:22:14.349 --> 00:22:16.890 a role model for someone and you know that can 00:22:16.890 --> 00:22:19.609 help them possibly restructure their life then 00:22:19.900 --> 00:22:22.079 Good, you know, I've achieved some good in my 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:25.460 life, you know, for people who need help. I think 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:28.079 you have to many people. I really have. You're 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:31.640 a great example of it. OK, so your life, you 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:34.140 reinvented yourself. What was Pete Best doing 00:22:34.140 --> 00:22:37.700 in the 60s and 70s? How are you earning your 00:22:37.700 --> 00:22:40.839 money and, you know, what do you do for a living 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:43.779 and keep your head above water? Yeah, well basically 00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:46.519 like everything else, you know, you had your 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:48.400 bride, you'd been kicked out the best band in 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.700 Liverpool, which is going to become, you know, 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:55.359 the biggest thing in musical history. You had 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:57.240 to basically prove to people that, you know, 00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:00.299 you were capable, you know, you're a musician 00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:02.140 in your own right. That's what I did. I stayed 00:23:02.140 --> 00:23:05.660 in music up until about 68. And then by that 00:23:05.660 --> 00:23:07.720 time I was married, I fell in love with a beautiful 00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:10.650 Liverpool girl, Cathy. who I've been married 00:23:10.650 --> 00:23:13.630 to for 61 years, very proud of that fact. Very 00:23:13.630 --> 00:23:17.490 good. And, you know, I've got two beautiful daughters 00:23:17.490 --> 00:23:19.490 and four wonderful grandchildren, which I've 00:23:19.490 --> 00:23:21.990 spoiled the backside out of, and I always will. 00:23:23.430 --> 00:23:26.390 But, you know, they're old enough now whereby, 00:23:26.890 --> 00:23:28.569 you know, when they were younger, I looked after 00:23:28.569 --> 00:23:31.970 them. Now they're of the age 25, 26. It's like, 00:23:32.029 --> 00:23:34.069 yeah, come on, Pop, we look after you. You know, 00:23:34.089 --> 00:23:36.130 so it's my turn now to be chaperoned around, 00:23:36.269 --> 00:23:42.640 right? But going back to it. Yeah, when I opted 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:45.960 out of show business, I realized that the only 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:47.660 way I could do it, Nick, and this has been quite 00:23:47.660 --> 00:23:50.059 honest, and a lot of people look at it and sort 00:23:50.059 --> 00:23:51.740 of turn around and go, oh, no, that's a little 00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:53.859 bit skeptical. That's a little bit skeptical. 00:23:54.980 --> 00:23:57.299 I had to basically turn around and say to myself, 00:23:58.200 --> 00:24:00.519 I'm waking up, I'm finishing with show business, 00:24:00.619 --> 00:24:02.839 and I'm going to become a regular guy and get 00:24:02.839 --> 00:24:07.279 a regular job. And that was the mindset at that 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:11.460 time, OK? I didn't realise it would be so difficult 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:14.779 to basically establish myself. I had the educational 00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:17.079 qualifications, I hadn't gone to high school. 00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:21.140 I had five GCSEs, you know, which would walk 00:24:21.140 --> 00:24:24.259 me into any job, because before getting into 00:24:24.259 --> 00:24:27.220 rock, I was going to be a language teacher. And 00:24:27.220 --> 00:24:31.099 it was very much a case of I went and applied 00:24:31.099 --> 00:24:33.440 for jobs and I'd sit down, the person I was supposed 00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:36.039 to be sitting there and I'd walk in and go. Oh, 00:24:36.059 --> 00:24:38.039 Mr. Best, what have you done for the last eight 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:44.759 years since you left school? Oh, yes, yes, yes. 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:46.700 Well, yeah, we will be in touch with you, Mr. 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:48.660 Best. We will be in touch with you. Yes. Yeah. 00:24:48.819 --> 00:24:50.619 Thank you for the audition. Thank you for the 00:24:50.619 --> 00:24:54.160 interview. So I ended up a bit desperate, you 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:55.920 know, I was getting letters of rejection left, 00:24:56.099 --> 00:24:59.140 right and center. So a friend of mine saw me, 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:01.599 there was work on manual work down in the bakery, 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:05.220 Taylor's Bakery down in Walton. So I opted off 00:25:05.220 --> 00:25:07.599 down there, right, got a job in the Taylor's 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:11.099 Bakery, slinging bread, loading the vans, and 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:13.700 I stayed there for 12 months and proved to people 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:16.680 I'd tend to order a new leaf, right, and then 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:19.960 I had the offer from the Civil Service, which 00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:22.420 is quite funny actually because it was only when 00:25:22.420 --> 00:25:25.660 I joined the Civil Service I realised how many 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:28.880 ex -musicians were actually in the Civil Service. 00:25:29.659 --> 00:25:32.740 So, you know, it tended to be the graveyard for 00:25:32.740 --> 00:25:36.380 ex -musicians, but it was great because I'd be 00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:38.200 getting phone calls from people turning around 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:39.819 and saying, oh, you're one of us now, are you 00:25:39.819 --> 00:25:42.240 Pete? Well, we used to be, you know, so, you 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:44.960 know, welcome to the club. So I stayed with them 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:47.460 and I got the promotional angles, became a trainer, 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:50.619 manager for the Northwest of England. And then 00:25:50.619 --> 00:25:52.960 like everything else, I took early retirement. 00:25:54.019 --> 00:25:56.799 Enough was enough. And then I didn't realise 00:25:56.799 --> 00:26:01.970 that my tapestry, my calmer, was pointing me 00:26:01.970 --> 00:26:03.950 in the direction of going back into shield business 00:26:03.950 --> 00:26:07.190 again, which is what I did in 1988. Wonderful. 00:26:07.890 --> 00:26:12.230 And yes, the Pete Best band, you're still very 00:26:12.230 --> 00:26:16.150 well known around Liverpool and the north west 00:26:16.150 --> 00:26:19.109 in general, I believe. You get packed houses 00:26:19.109 --> 00:26:22.670 in the venues you go to. What's that like? I'm 00:26:22.670 --> 00:26:24.289 sure you get a little bit of screaming still. 00:26:24.369 --> 00:26:26.910 I'm sure you do. Oh, I get a blast out of it. 00:26:26.910 --> 00:26:28.710 Don't get me wrong. We've just done a mini tour 00:26:28.710 --> 00:26:32.430 of America. We got back to you, Greg, which is 00:26:32.430 --> 00:26:34.210 a complete hoot because we haven't been to the 00:26:34.210 --> 00:26:36.650 States for quite some time. So it's nice to go 00:26:36.650 --> 00:26:38.869 back there and shred the boards. But, you know, 00:26:38.869 --> 00:26:44.710 I've got a great band. I put a CDL, which is 00:26:44.710 --> 00:26:47.150 my anthology. When the Beatles anthology came 00:26:47.150 --> 00:26:49.230 out, you know, my band turned around and said, 00:26:49.369 --> 00:26:51.269 OK, we're going to answer that anthology with 00:26:51.269 --> 00:26:55.059 your anthology. Okay, yeah. And that was, hence 00:26:55.059 --> 00:26:58.980 you say that the album was Heyman's Green, okay, 00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:02.720 and because of the famous ripping of the heads 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:07.220 on Anthology 1, you know, the cover of my anthology, 00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:10.180 Heyman's Green, was that particular head, the 00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:13.980 missing piece. Yes, oh yeah. You get it now? 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:18.900 Yeah, that's perfect. Okay, well that showcased 00:27:18.900 --> 00:27:22.039 how good my band was as regards being songwriters 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:23.839 and being able to, you know, provide their own 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:26.900 material. And we got greater acclaim from that. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:29.359 And, you know, it's been wonderful that, you 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:33.099 know, we tour, we're, you know, down to a rock 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:35.859 and roll band. But, you know, we do play numbers 00:27:35.859 --> 00:27:38.099 from Hayman's Green and they're very well received 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:41.279 by the crowd. Brilliant, brilliant. My understanding, 00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:43.200 I'll bring you in a sec, because then we'll close 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:45.460 it up to where we are. Now we're painting this 00:27:45.460 --> 00:27:49.559 latest venture. But let's go back a second now. 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:54.440 Obviously, knowing we were going to have you 00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:56.460 on chat box, I looked at various interviews, 00:27:56.920 --> 00:28:01.140 TV interviews and radio interviews from the 80s 00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:03.160 onwards, Letterman comes to mind, great interview. 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:07.140 But I understand that one day out in the blue, 00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:09.779 Paul phones you up, says, we're bringing out 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:13.509 this anthology. offers you or gives you a nice 00:28:13.509 --> 00:28:15.450 wad of money, quite a few noughts, and I'm not 00:28:15.450 --> 00:28:18.329 interested how many noughts because that's not 00:28:18.329 --> 00:28:21.289 anyone's business. But I think everybody, myself, 00:28:21.589 --> 00:28:24.250 any fans, anyone in the music business, including 00:28:24.250 --> 00:28:28.170 three messages just to me, everyone believes 00:28:28.170 --> 00:28:31.769 you deserved every last penny. You deserved it. 00:28:32.490 --> 00:28:34.369 But how many noughts? You deserved it because 00:28:34.369 --> 00:28:37.250 that was a hard old time, I guess. So good that 00:28:37.250 --> 00:28:39.250 came around, you know, just to have you on the 00:28:39.250 --> 00:28:48.130 end. Okay. Yeah, that's been okay. Thank you 00:28:48.130 --> 00:28:50.430 for that. I don't know where that's come from 00:28:50.430 --> 00:28:53.009 because quite a few people that have had interviews 00:28:53.009 --> 00:28:54.869 with Sam and I said, oh Paul made the approach 00:28:54.869 --> 00:28:56.970 as regards to the anthology and it wasn't, no 00:28:56.970 --> 00:29:00.930 it wasn't, it was made actually. Makes it even 00:29:00.930 --> 00:29:04.730 better. Before we get up to the present day, 00:29:04.789 --> 00:29:07.589 any questions for Pete? Hi Pete, have you had 00:29:07.589 --> 00:29:10.049 from your fans ever chucked anything unusual 00:29:10.049 --> 00:29:16.119 at you when you've been singing? Unusual as regards 00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:18.900 what, apart from knickers and briefs and brassiers 00:29:18.900 --> 00:29:21.160 and all the other bits and pieces. Oh wow, that 00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:24.839 was just a moment. Well not really, you know, 00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:27.559 I'll get the odd occasional jelly bean, you know, 00:29:28.599 --> 00:29:31.500 the odd spanner, you know, hammer every one again, 00:29:31.779 --> 00:29:34.359 few bricks. But yeah, the usual stuff, you know. 00:29:35.509 --> 00:29:38.329 Wow. Brilliant, I like it. I've got one listener's 00:29:38.329 --> 00:29:39.609 question. Well, they're two listeners because 00:29:39.609 --> 00:29:43.390 they're married. Norman and Linda Peacock from 00:29:43.390 --> 00:29:48.109 Stockport. They would like me to ask you, do 00:29:48.109 --> 00:29:52.289 you wish that you had all the fame that the Beatles 00:29:52.289 --> 00:29:55.029 had or are you actually okay with the way it's 00:29:55.029 --> 00:29:57.869 all turned out? I'm happy with the way it's turned 00:29:57.869 --> 00:30:00.789 out. That's nice. It's lovely to be part of it 00:30:00.789 --> 00:30:04.700 and reflect back on it. Looking at the sacrifices 00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:06.960 they've had to make because of the fame and fortune, 00:30:07.819 --> 00:30:10.559 I've still got my own notoriety, I've still got 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:13.299 my own little brand of fame, but I'm still in 00:30:13.299 --> 00:30:15.680 a position where I can walk into a pub on a Saturday 00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:20.119 night and have a pint, okay. I can lead a normal 00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:23.819 life, so I can mix both aspects of being a rock 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:27.720 star and inspiration, being a family man, and 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:29.500 also being able to go for a pint on a Saturday 00:30:29.500 --> 00:30:32.279 night, if and when I wanted. I get that but I 00:30:32.279 --> 00:30:34.460 think the whole world knows the name Pete Best 00:30:34.460 --> 00:30:36.440 as well so it's great to be able to have it from 00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:40.539 both angles. The Casbah is still there as it 00:30:40.539 --> 00:30:45.279 was and the business side to Pete Best, there's 00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:48.039 something happening there, I've got something 00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:51.059 about the Casbah Coffee Club Suite so tell us 00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:54.680 all about that Pete, what this latest thing is. 00:30:55.079 --> 00:30:58.200 Yeah Rogan and I have gone into We're in partnership 00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:02.000 with a lot of things. Rogue and I own the property, 00:31:02.359 --> 00:31:04.880 which is the old family house, which is Heyman's 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:07.920 Green, which is directly above the Casbah Coffee 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:12.960 Club. And what we've done, we've changed the 00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:17.900 rooms in the house above the Casbah. And we called 00:31:17.900 --> 00:31:20.400 it the Casbah Coffee Club Suites, and we've nicknamed 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:22.819 the suites. the McCartney suite, the Leonard 00:31:22.819 --> 00:31:25.980 suite, the Harrison suite, the chocolate suite, 00:31:26.380 --> 00:31:29.059 and of course the best suite. And the reason 00:31:29.059 --> 00:31:33.079 for that is what people don't know is the Beatles 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:36.859 played here, not just in the cow spa, in the 00:31:36.859 --> 00:31:41.460 house as well. They partied here, right? They 00:31:41.460 --> 00:31:44.099 brought their girlfriends here, they slept here. 00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:46.799 Now we've made that available to the public, 00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:50.660 okay? It's on Airbnb. We have been officially 00:31:50.660 --> 00:31:53.359 opened from August 1, which even we are open 00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:57.200 for business now. OK, so look at it this way, 00:31:57.319 --> 00:32:00.519 Nick. It's unique. People can stay where the 00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:05.079 Beatles partied, slept and played, right? They 00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:08.579 can go around, feel the atmosphere, be in the 00:32:08.579 --> 00:32:10.619 rooms where they did all those little attics, 00:32:10.819 --> 00:32:12.839 right? Feel it for themselves. We've decorated 00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:18.460 it. The decor is absolutely wonderful. It's another 00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:20.980 Beatle experience, okay? We've got the museum 00:32:20.980 --> 00:32:24.019 in town, the Liverpool Beatles Museum. This is 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:27.740 our next venture, okay? And we're looking forward 00:32:27.740 --> 00:32:30.880 to it. And it's available on Airbnb at the present 00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:33.700 moment. And we'd love to see everyone down here. 00:32:33.720 --> 00:32:35.759 All you Beatle fans, which are out there listening 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:38.799 to the next show, chatterbox, get yourselves 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:42.380 onto Airbnb, book yourselves into the Casper 00:32:42.380 --> 00:32:44.599 Coffee Club Suites, and we will entertain you 00:32:44.599 --> 00:32:47.779 royally when you get down here. And that creates 00:32:47.779 --> 00:32:50.779 you, Nick, and you believe me as well. Absolutely, 00:32:52.119 --> 00:32:53.940 absolutely. We'll be there, don't you worry. 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:56.079 That's absolutely brilliant, Pete, I love it. 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:58.779 And always love a happy ending, a happy ending 00:32:58.779 --> 00:33:01.799 to such a story because it's an amazing life. 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:04.759 Pete, I mean, you've probably done this years 00:33:04.759 --> 00:33:08.539 ago. Autobiographies, any autobiographies or 00:33:08.539 --> 00:33:11.160 self -penned stuff by you? Yeah, there's three 00:33:11.160 --> 00:33:14.380 books out there. The first one I ever got involved 00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:17.380 with was with a dear friend of mine, Pat Doncaster. 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:19.460 He used to be a Daily Mirror writer, if I remember 00:33:19.460 --> 00:33:25.500 right. And that was called Beetle. And our last 00:33:25.500 --> 00:33:27.980 escapade, I was involved with Rogue, and that 00:33:27.980 --> 00:33:33.259 was The Beetle's The True Beginnings. Which is 00:33:33.259 --> 00:33:35.619 available, you know, they're all still available 00:33:35.619 --> 00:33:38.660 on Amazon, so people go out there. you know, 00:33:38.779 --> 00:33:41.019 they still blow a few dust off the copy jackets 00:33:41.019 --> 00:33:42.920 there, you know, they're still out there and 00:33:42.920 --> 00:33:44.500 they're still good reads, you know, we're still 00:33:44.500 --> 00:33:47.119 getting good reports on it, yeah. Fantastic. 00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:49.640 So, anything else for Pete? Not at the moment. 00:33:49.839 --> 00:33:52.140 Well, we're just going. We've got other interviews, 00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:54.960 yeah. I'm going to ask a question, this is going 00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:57.380 to sound so silly. How did they come up with 00:33:57.380 --> 00:34:00.240 the name The Beatles? Oh, that was long before 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:03.359 I joined them. Sorry to ask that question. From 00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:07.460 what I can make out, they were very impressive, 00:34:07.480 --> 00:34:10.619 Budioli and the Crickets, OK? So they wanted 00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:15.159 something which was insect -wise. They came up 00:34:15.159 --> 00:34:20.519 with beetles. Initially, it was going to be... 00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:22.920 They didn't want it to be spelled B -E -E as 00:34:22.920 --> 00:34:25.349 in the, you know, the... Colorado Beatle or the 00:34:25.349 --> 00:34:28.369 normal Beatle. It was a play on the word beatle. 00:34:31.289 --> 00:34:34.610 They were the Silver Beatles when I joined them, 00:34:35.909 --> 00:34:38.469 but transcribing what happened on our way over 00:34:38.469 --> 00:34:41.170 to Hamburg, they decided that they were going 00:34:41.170 --> 00:34:44.449 to drop the Silver, which they played with, you 00:34:44.449 --> 00:34:47.510 know, under the Johnny Gentle regime, and they 00:34:47.510 --> 00:34:49.889 were just going to become the Beatles. So that 00:34:49.889 --> 00:34:53.000 was, you know, It's trying to be like the crickets 00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:55.940 but also a play on the word beat because we were 00:34:55.940 --> 00:34:58.940 a rock and roll band as well. Perfect, I like 00:34:58.940 --> 00:35:01.579 it. I knew about the play on the words and many 00:35:01.579 --> 00:35:05.000 groups have followed by having fragmented spelling 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:08.579 just to be in with the Beatles. Monkeys as well 00:35:08.579 --> 00:35:10.739 but I don't know what a monkey on ease is like 00:35:10.739 --> 00:35:14.440 but there you go. I wish you all the best of 00:35:14.440 --> 00:35:17.239 luck with this B &B adventure, it sounds amazing. 00:35:17.760 --> 00:35:19.860 Oh you have to come down, you have to come down 00:35:19.860 --> 00:35:22.730 okay. catch my coffee club suite make a point 00:35:22.730 --> 00:35:26.530 there's some things in liverpool that you need 00:35:26.530 --> 00:35:28.590 to see as well so there you go we're sorting 00:35:28.590 --> 00:35:33.929 out um pete i'm going to say one thing um i like 00:35:33.929 --> 00:35:36.550 the fact that you can come go into a pub on a 00:35:36.550 --> 00:35:39.610 saturday everything else but i'm looking at the 00:35:39.610 --> 00:35:42.889 the uh the the drummers of the beetles and of 00:35:42.889 --> 00:35:45.389 course there was also jimmy nickel there for 00:35:45.389 --> 00:35:47.889 10 days and he was hoping he would take over 00:35:47.889 --> 00:35:51.360 however Not looking Jimmy Nickle, I don't know 00:35:51.360 --> 00:35:54.260 him or have spoken to him, but you are actually 00:35:54.260 --> 00:35:57.000 a megastar compared to him. Everyone knows who 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:59.179 Pete Best was. There's no question about it. 00:35:59.420 --> 00:36:01.820 Anyone that knows music does know you, seriously. 00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:04.780 Which must be great the way things have panned 00:36:04.780 --> 00:36:08.199 out now, but one last observation. You said you'd 00:36:08.199 --> 00:36:11.679 be flattered if somebody, you know, if you helped 00:36:11.679 --> 00:36:13.480 somebody who was depressed or going through a 00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:16.400 hard time. Maybe if you do have a downer one 00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:18.440 day, think about all the people you've helped 00:36:18.440 --> 00:36:20.400 hopefully that will give you a lift up back because 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:23.139 you I know you've helped many many people you 00:36:23.139 --> 00:36:24.579 know it's incredible what you've been through 00:36:24.579 --> 00:36:27.480 there you go Nick as I've said before you know 00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:30.780 I don't think about myself as being an inspirational 00:36:30.780 --> 00:36:34.059 factor but if people want to use me as a role 00:36:34.059 --> 00:36:36.539 model because of what I've been through and what 00:36:36.539 --> 00:36:38.820 I've achieved in life and the way I live my lifestyle 00:36:38.820 --> 00:36:41.260 now at the present moment and end up being a 00:36:41.260 --> 00:36:44.099 very happy and contented family man and they 00:36:44.760 --> 00:36:47.280 Gain anything from the lifestyle of lived and 00:36:47.280 --> 00:36:49.980 what I've been through and and use it as an inspirational 00:36:49.980 --> 00:36:52.780 factor then for God's sake do it, you know, I 00:36:52.780 --> 00:36:56.500 love people to basically Make a success of themselves 00:36:56.500 --> 00:36:59.440 or live a happier life because I've been a role 00:36:59.440 --> 00:37:02.500 model for them. Perfect. It's amazing and social 00:37:02.500 --> 00:37:08.289 media time website is Pete Weston website is 00:37:08.289 --> 00:37:12.409 pete's best dot com pete's best dot com and you 00:37:12.409 --> 00:37:15.130 click on that and it opens up to a whole load 00:37:15.130 --> 00:37:18.369 of stuff from from gigs to the casbah coffee 00:37:18.369 --> 00:37:21.130 club to what we've just been talking about gigs 00:37:21.130 --> 00:37:23.929 coming up i said your biography news things that 00:37:23.929 --> 00:37:26.429 are happening if you scroll down you can find 00:37:26.429 --> 00:37:30.730 links to other social media including x probably 00:37:30.730 --> 00:37:33.690 Twitter, Facebook, official Facebook's there, 00:37:33.889 --> 00:37:36.730 there's a Facebook for the Casbah and some links 00:37:36.730 --> 00:37:39.329 to the Liverpool Beatles Museum that we spoke 00:37:39.329 --> 00:37:42.789 about as well. So pete'sbest .com it's all there, 00:37:42.829 --> 00:37:45.530 do take a look at Pete's website and Pete it's 00:37:45.530 --> 00:37:50.070 been amazing chatting to you. I don't think you're 00:37:50.070 --> 00:37:52.469 going anywhere anytime soon, hopefully you've 00:37:52.469 --> 00:37:54.110 got another business venture we'll have a chat 00:37:54.110 --> 00:37:56.030 again or something happens we'll have a chat 00:37:56.030 --> 00:37:58.949 again in the future but thanks for sharing and 00:37:58.949 --> 00:38:01.989 giving up quite a bit of your Friday for our 00:38:01.989 --> 00:38:04.170 listeners, and I know they'll all love it. Pete, 00:38:04.230 --> 00:38:06.289 it's been great having you. Take care, sir. Bye 00:38:06.289 --> 00:38:08.449 -bye. Take care, Pete. Nick, any good lady? Thank 00:38:08.449 --> 00:38:11.050 you. Thank you. Okay, let's do it again. Please. 00:38:11.369 --> 00:38:13.889 I'd love to. Pete, thank you so much, sir, and 00:38:13.889 --> 00:38:16.050 do take care. Thank you. Thank you. It's been 00:38:16.050 --> 00:38:18.949 my pleasure. Bye -bye, sir. Bye -bye. Bye -bye. 00:38:19.050 --> 00:38:32.280 Bye -bye. This edition of the Chatterbox Redux 00:38:32.280 --> 00:38:36.000 podcast was presented by Nick and Sue. We thank 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:38.539 our special guest who is original Beatles drummer 00:38:38.539 --> 00:38:43.519 Pete Best. Inquiries please to nickelbum at myyahoo 00:38:43.519 --> 00:38:47.500 .com. Alternatively, you could write to us or 00:38:47.500 --> 00:38:51.340 you could send press releases, CDs, vinyl, merch, 00:38:52.059 --> 00:38:54.960 whatever you like in the post to P .O Box 26. 00:38:55.340 --> 00:38:59.260 the Old Observer Building, Telford Road, St Leonard's 00:38:59.260 --> 00:39:05.760 -on -Sea, East Sussex, England, TN38, 9LZ. We 00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:08.039 thank you very much for your company and look 00:39:08.039 --> 00:39:10.900 forward to welcoming you again next time when 00:39:10.900 --> 00:39:14.280 our special guest is Rod Davies of The Quarrymen. 00:39:41.739 --> 00:39:44.539 Thanks for listening.