Talk:Pete Best

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Article Grading: The following comments were left by the quality and importance raters: (edit · refresh) Comments from WikiProject The Beatles: This article is an essential part of The Beatles project, but it could perhaps benefit from copyediting, some sources citing and perhaps a better picture or infobox at the top. Q: Was Best a member of The Silver Beetles? -- Mal(8 March 2006) Silver Beetles was just a shortlived name for the same band. I don't see that it matters a great deal. I agree with Mal's rating but it's at the upper end of B class. This is one of the better "peripheral" Beatles articles we've evaluated so far. It's nowhere near A class, but it's a very decent start. kingboyk
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[edit] This article sounds distinctly biased against Best

I am no expert on the beatles or pete best, but this article sounds biased against pete best. No where in the article is he even quoted, although there are plenty of quotes that esentially paint him as a buffoon.

==

I agree. But the person who put it up did quote Lennon. I've been a Beatles fan for a long time and I've heard conflicting stories about why he was dismissed from The Beatles. PBS recently aired a Pete Best biography called "Best of the Beatles". But that could be biased for him and not necessarily the truth. I guess we'll never really know. He was a guest at a NY Beatles convention recently and did a pretend bow every time Paul McCartney's name was mentioned. I can't say much about his drumming, but you couldn't have the Beatles w/out Ringo. So it all worked for the best. ;) Pun not intended.

--

I didn't really think this article was biased, at first, but when I went back and looked again, I wound up changing it quite a bit to hopefully balance the viewpoint a bit. Heck, I only came here to add a bit from a game show that I have on a VHS tape (called Fun With the Fab Four, btw). Anyway, I hope this helps remove the perceived bias. :) Eaglizard 09:44, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

---

"Aside from that, there has also always been the assumption that the other Beatles were jealous of Best's appeal with the female fans, since he was more conventionally handsome than the other members, a problem that certainly would not exist with Ringo in his place."

is not biased AGAINST pete... 200.82.43.187 17:09, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Photo to offset bias

I added a photo on 3/2 to show the mellow and relaxed Pete Best of today. The caption read, "Pete Best in 2005 with record producer Miriam Linna of Norton Records." The photo was removed a few days later on the claim that it was promoting someone. Actually, it's just a photo of the two smiling, and it was necessary to identify Linna. If she isn't identified, then it immediately raises the question: Who is she? The true nature and meaning of the photo is altered if I crop to show only Best, so I'd rather not do that. Pepso 12:54, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Tufano" vandalism

Note that edits inserting supposed information about "Marc Tufano" are vandalism and should be reverted on sight. This has affected multiple articles (Robert De Niro, The Beatles, etc. etc.) -- Curps 14:48, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] picture

The picture link is broken. Telliott 17:02, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nonsensical statement

This doesn't make sense:

In an appearance on an American game show roughly two years later, Best seemed to deny that he was fired. Asked why "he left the band," the still-ducktailed Best replied that he "...didn't think they would go as far as they did", however, this was not true. In later years, Best himself has admitted to being a Beatles fan and owning their records.

How on earth does Best's being a Beatles fan contradict his not expecting them to go as far as they did? Simply being a fan of a band is not equivalent to expecting them to top the charts. --Saforrest 20:17, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Here's another one:

A frustrated McCartney would rerecord Ringo's drum tracks himself on two of the White Album years later.

I'd correct it myself, but I don't know what the fact is. --Alanhoyle 02:45, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

I've always read that it was on the white album, not Let it Be as the article used to day. Ringo Starr says that too. f course, the whole thing can be left out, because it doesn't relate to Pete Best. Bubba73 (talk), 03:07, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

McCartney did indeed play drums on at least three White Album tracks ("Back in the U.S.S.R.," "Dear Prudence," and "Birthday"), but that was because Ringo had quit the band. He returned several days later and was welcomed back by the others. It had nothing whatsoever to do with any frustration over Ringo's ability; in fact, McCartney called him "the best drummer in the world." This is well documented in the Beatles' "Anthology" documentary and book.

In fact, this entire passage unnecessarily questions Ringo's abilities as a drummer, without citation, and despite the fact that most experts regard him as an excellent (though not flashy) drummer. Even the statement about Ringo being unable to play a drum roll is a myth; he can be heard playing perfectly competent drum rolls on several Beatles recordings (e.g. "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" and "All You Need Is Love"). --Bxojr 18:04, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

I just corrected it from "Let it Be" to White album the other day, but I agree with taking out that part (which has been done.) Bubba73 (talk), 23:08, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Moe Howard

I've never heard anyone compare the Beatles haircuts to Moe Howard of the Three Stooges. If there's no opposition, I'm changing this reference to 'moptop'-style.

[edit] Pete vs. Ringo

Truly, a SAD story. To think that it could have been Pete Best, billionaire instead of Ringo Starr. One man's rise to fame and fortune and another one's fall. One man lucky, the other was not. I'm sure that Ringo Starr was a great drummer...but this other guy probably could have easily done the job. Let's face it, there are a lot of very competent drummers out there. It's only speculation...but either there must have been have been a bit of jealousy from the other members over Best's charisma and good looks--or--Manager Epstein felt that as a drummer, his stage presence was simply too overpowering for the others. Maybe it was a bit of both. Anyway, just my two bits. Please feel free to agree or disagree. 24.82.249.37 22:51, 20 December 2006 (UTC) Art Jones

I disagree... completely and emphatically. Have you listened to the Beatles recordings with Best on drums, with both ears?! The man showed absolutely NO chops whatsoever. Maybe he got some later... but not in time for their EMI audition. George Martin didn't want him on their records for Parlophone, and for good reason; his whole drum style from those years can be reduced to three very simple drum patterns, and they're basically ALL HE EVER USED. Martin wrote in his autobiography that he depended on Ringo's drumming to give strength to the sound of their early hits. Best didn't have that. He also didn't have Starr's wit, which fit right in with the other members.

Try playing the Beatles early stuff with Best on drums, back-to-back with later versions of the same songs (or similar ones), with Starr playing, then come back and tell us if you still think Best would have had the same impact. (btw, Starr is not a billionaire. He earned the least of the four, having written the fewest number of songs; most of John and Paul's fortunes came through their songwriting, and George following with his.) Zephyrad 04:10, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually, Paul AND George wanted Pete Best out not John and Brian Epstein. Another thing is that Pete could only play fours: boom-boom-boom-boom. He was great because he was loud-period. Try listening to Besame Mucho. ete practically strangled Paul's bass lines, while Ringo complemented them. Sandy June 21:24, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] This article needs a lot of work

I also believe this article is biased. It reads like it was written by a Pete Best fan and needs a lot of work. In fact, the proofreading needs some work itself. Incredibly, no one has challenged the statement "Some have speculated that Apple Records head Neil Aspinall, who reportedly remains friendly with Best, saw to it that Best would be compensated". "Some have speculated"? "Reportedly"? These are weasel words if I ever saw any. Amazingly, someone asked for the source of the quote that immediately preceded this and left the "some have speculated/reportedly" quote alone. What's up with that? If we're going to ask for sources, let's not just attack the stuff we don't want to hear and leave things we want to hear unchallenged. Anyway, I don't feel I know enough about Pete Best to fix the article, and I don't want to mess it up further, so I'm leaving it alone. Perhaps a Beatle fan with sources he or she has collected over the years could rewrite this one. Celedor15 20:25, 4 March 2007 (UTC)