Pete Best (born 24 November 1941) is a British musician, principally known as the original drummer in The Beatles. He was born in the city of Madras, then part of British India. After Best's mother, Mona Best (1924–1988), moved to Liverpool in 1945, she opened The Casbah Coffee Club in the cellar of the Bests' large house in Liverpool. It became very popular with British youths, having a membership of over 1,000. The Beatles (at the time known as The Quarrymen) played some of their first concerts at the club. Best played there with the Beatles as well as his first band, The Black Jacks.
The Beatles invited Best to join on 12 August 1960, on the eve of the group's first Hamburg season of club dates. He was eventually replaced by Ringo Starr on 16 August 1962, when the group's manager, Brian Epstein, dismissed Best under the direction of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, following their first recording session at Abbey Road Studios. After working in a number of commercially unsuccessful groups Best gave up the music industry to work as a civil servant for twenty years, before starting The Pete Best Band. He has been married for over 45 years to Kathy Best; they have two daughters and four grandchildren. Best is sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Beatle".
Read more about Pete Best: Early Life, The Beatles and Hamburg, Decca, Parlophone, and Dismissal, Reasons For Dismissal, After The Beatles, Later Years, On Film, Theatre