Pete Best Four
| Pete Best | |
|---|---|
Best playing in Maryland in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Randolph Peter Scanland |
| Born |
24 November 1941 Madras, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Origin | Liverpool, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1959–68, 1988–present |
| Associated acts |
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| Website | petebest.com |
Randolph Peter Best (born Scanland, 24 November 1941) is an English musician, principally known as an original member and the first drummer of the Beatles, from 1960 to 1962. He is one of several people who have been referred to as the Fifth Beatle.
Best 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' 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 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, exiled Best under the direction of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, following their first recording session at Abbey Road Studios in London.
After working in a number of commercially unsuccessful groups, Best gave up the music industry to work as a civil servant for 20 years, before starting the Pete Best Band. He has been married for over 50 years to Kathy Best; they have two daughters, Beba and Bonita, and four grandchildren.
Best's mother, Mona Best (born Alice Mona Shaw), was born in Delhi, India, and was the daughter of Thomas (an Irish major) and Mary Shaw. Randolph Peter Scanland (later surnamed Best), her first child, was born in Madras (now Chennai), Madras Presidency, British India, on 24 November 1941. Best's biological father was marine engineer Donald Peter Scanland, who subsequently died during World War II. Best's mother was training to become a doctor in the service of the Red Cross when she met Johnny Best, who came from a family of sports promoters in Liverpool who ran Liverpool Stadium. During World War II, Johnny Best was a commissioned officer serving as a Physical Training Instructor in India, and was the Army's middleweight boxing champion. After their marriage on 7 March 1944 at St Thomas's Cathedral, Bombay, Rory Best was born. In 1945, the Best family sailed for four weeks to Liverpool on the Georgic, the last troop ship to leave India, carrying single and married soldiers who had previously been a part of General Sir William Slim's forces in south-east Asia. The ship docked in Liverpool on 25 December 1945.
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Wikipedia