The Beatle Left Behind: Pete Best

Pete Best and Cynthia in Hamburg to reveal a John Lennon statue in 1985

"A very nice, deep, tender person."

Pete Best, 1986 about Cynthia

Cynthia met Pete Best in August of 1959 at his house in Liverpool while converting the basement into a music club. His mother, Mona, wanted a safe area to hang out for her two older sons, Pete and Rory, with their friends (her third child Roag wasn't born yet). The Casbah Club served coffee, Coca-Cola, and sweets, and play music. While Mona and her children were painting the rooms, John, Cynthia, Paul, and George came by to help. Because of his bad eyesight, John used emulsion instead of gloss... it took days to dry! Cynthia painted a silhouette of John based on a photograph taken by Paul's brother Mike on one of the walls. For the longest time, I always believed Cynthia also painted the spiderweb but got into a debate with The Casbah's Facebook denying it. I mean, in credible resources always claimed that Cynthia painted the spiderweb for many years... Maybe she helped? Whatever! I wasn't there so I can't argue any valid points. Anyway, The Casbah Club opened on the night of August 29, 1959 with John, Paul, George, and Ken Brown playing guitars with no drummer with Cynthia there, beaming with pride. Pete wasn't in the band yet. He was in his own music group, the Blackjacks, with Ken (who left the Quarrymen) as the Casbah's resident band with The Quarrymen/The Silver Beatles playing occasionally. I already wrote about The Casbah experience in another post called Rock 'n' Roll Girlfriend.

"The full complement turned up at the Casbah a few days before the opening... Also with the party was a pale blonde girl who was introduced to us as Cyn - Cynthia Powell, whom John had met at Liverpool College of Art and would marry some years later. That day at the Casbah they had known each other for only a short time and had recently reached the going-steady phase."

Pete Best, 1985

"But before they could go they had to find a drummer. As luck would have it a young lad called Pete Best was available. The boys had come into contact with Pete when they played a few times at his mother's coffee bar which was in the basement of his house in a suburb of Liverpool, Haymans Green. Peter was quite a good drummer and enjoyed sitting in on their sessions whenever the Beatles played there. He was very handsome in a moody, sultry sort of way and hardly ever spoke or showed any enthusiasm. He reminded me at the time of a very young Jeff Chandler. The kids who frequented the coffee bar would sit and ogle him. He was very popular with the girls but seemed to lack the sense of humor that was such an integral part of the boys' make-up. In this sense he really didn't gel with their characters right from the very start. But they needed him and he was only too willing to join them."

Cynthia, from her 1978 book A Twist of Lennon

So, for a year, Pete and Cynthia saw each other on occasion until August of 1960 when The Silver Beatles needed a drummer to go to Hamburg. The Blackjacks drifted apart so Pete was available to join. Pete joined The Silver Beatles on August 16, 1960 and they almost immediately went to Hamburg. Pete got closer to John; they were close in age. Whenever they had some breaks, John and Pete would sit at the bar and talked- John would talk about Cynthia on how much he missed her and their future. Pete never saw John mistreating Cynthia.

"He used to tell me how he and Cyn planned to settle down and raise a family as soon as The Beatles began to pay off, and how much he missed being without her."

Pete Best 

"John and I would go and have a couple of quiet beers, just to sit down and chew the fat. And he'd talk about Cynthia and how much he missed her."

Pete Best, 1986

"There were definite two sides of John, which I was fortunate to see... But the other John, which the public didn't see, was a very loving, tender person. That came out in his initial love and tenderness for Cynthia."

Pete Best, 1986

Pete Best, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Stuart Sutcliffe at Hamburg Fun Fair, Heiligengeistfeld, in 1960. 

Photographed by Astrid Kirchherr 

Right from the start, it was obvious that Pete didn't really gel with George, Paul, and John. Pete was quiet, kept to himself, and didn't really joined in with the rest of the band on their shenanigans. In Astrid Kirchherr's photos, there's only one picture of Pete with the band.... unlike John, Paul, George, and Stuart, Pete didn't participate as a model. Astrid also didn't turn Pete's hair into a mop top that the others were getting into. While Cynthia was visiting in Hamburg in 1961, she noticed a tension between the group and Pete. 

"Some of the steam went out of our merry-go-round way of life when Cynthia and Paul's girlfriend Dot, a blonde shop assistant he met during the old Casbah days, arrived for a stay of a few weeks during Cyn's Easter vacation from college.

Cyn was befriended by Astrid and spent some of her nights as a guest of the Kirchherr family. Old friend Mutti offered to accommodate Dot on a convenient houseboat she owned and where Cyn sometimes joined her. But there were nights when the two girls trooped upstairs to our dormitory, and on these occasions George and I would be instructed not to claim our bunks until 4 o'clock in the morning. If the holiday-makers, weary of sight-seeing, came into our quarters during the afternoon, George and I would be requested to tactfully to 'look the other way'.

There was little to occupy Cyn and Dot once they had done the sights and visited the shops in the more respectable area of the city, guided by Astrid, who drove them around in her grey VW Beetle.

The German fans couldn't fail to notice that two of their favorite idols had imported a couple of rivals from England. Some of them, especially those whose beds we sometimes shared, would sit and glare, treating the Beatles to an angry silence when it was time to applaud... After this near-miss the waiters, ever dutiful, made a point of hovering near Cyn and Dot like watchful guard dogs, There was never any more trouble after that one incident [John jumping off the stage in a jealous rage over a man hitting on Cynthia]. And when the girls left home our faithful German ravers (the female ones, that is) called off their silent protest and were all smiles again."

Pete Best, 1985

I don't know exactly when John, Paul, and George decided that Pete wasn't the perfect member and wanted Ringo... definitely during the Summer of 1962. Pete started missing gigs and his mother was being like his own manager and communicating frequently with Brian Epstein, (sounds like a stage mother) who started managing The Beatles in November of 1961. When they met George Martin, he was not impressed with Pete. Aside from the underlining problems, Pete and Neil Aspinall would drive The Beatles around.

"The regular drill was that Neil and I would collect the other Beatles in his van and drive to the venue. As Lennon was leaving, I called: 'Pick you up tomorrow, John.' 'No,' he said, 'I've got other arrangements.' At the time this didn't strike me as being odd, even though it didn't conform to the usual pattern. John was going through a trying domestic period; in 8 days' time he was due to marry Cynthia, who was already pregnant."

Pete Best, 1985

Cynthia hugging Julia Baird, with Pete Best, Roag Best, Helen Anderson, Phyllis Mackenzie, and other guests to celebrate The Beatles Story museum buying her cartoons for permanent display in Liverpool.

On August 16, 1962, nearly exactly the second anniversary of joining the band, John, Paul, and George enlisted Brian to give Pete the bad news: he's fired, Ringo's in. Pete always maintained he was blindsided by the news. He couldn't believe it and I certainly feel sorry for the poor guy. But there's no denying it... Ringo was indeed the perfect fit. He matched their humor, he participated in their shenanigans, and he was one of the best drummers in Liverpool. 

"I've said this many times, if you can imagine The Rolling Stones with Barry Manilow... A completely different scenario. It was the same way with the three boys and Pete. They didn't have the same charisma. They didn't have the same sense of humor. Pete was lovely and is lovely. He's a dear friend of mine, but he didn't fit in with their humor and irreverence of everything else. When Ringo came along, he fitted perfectly. And that was the reason. Pete Best is a real gentleman, only too much of a gentleman to be part of that group at that time."

Cynthia, 2005

"I was on the outside. They just got a new manager. I was not involved in the agreement. I think Pete, as lovely as he was, did not fit in. That is just a personal opinion. Because their sense of humor was different than Pete's. It had nothing to do with the fact he was a talented drummer or a nice person. It just didn't gel. What they needed in those days was someone that would fit in with their Liverpool humor."

Cynthia, 1994

Cynthia knew what was going on, but she had her own problems: pregnant. Can you imagine what John must have felt at that very moment? Two monstrous events were happening parallel: professional side was changing drummers right at the brink of success and private side was going to be a husband and daddy. On August 18, 1962, Ringo performed his first concert as a Beatle. The majority of the fans were not happy with the change of drummers. They protested and yelled to no avail. Around this time, John and Cynthia decided that she shouldn't be going anymore now that she was pregnant. Her own relationship with the fans haven't been easy and with the additional tension in the air? Cynthia was more than happy to stay home! I don't think Cynthia and Pete had a proper goodbye. After Pete got fired, John, Paul, and George wanted nothing to do with him. Pete formed his own self-titled band and occasionally played on the same bill as The Beatles. No interaction. Get off, pass by, get on. The Beatles took off with Cynthia with them. The only one to be in contact with Pete was Neil Aspinall as he was Mona's boyfriend and father of Roag until about 1966ish when he got together with Suzy Ornstein Bramley, married her in 1968 until he died in 2008. I don't know when exactly Cynthia and Pete reconnected. Cynthia returned to Hoylake briefly in the 1970s after her divorce from Roberto Bassanini but the first known encounter was in 1985 at John Lennon statue reveal in Hamburg. Since then, they became friends again, getting together occasionally until her death in 2015. Pete has been married to Kathy since August of 1963 (everything happened in August!) and they had two daughters, Beba and Bonita. Around 1965, with his music career going nowhere, Pete attempted suicide while Kathy was visiting her mother but was stopped in time when he realized how it would affect his wife and daughter. Pete became a working civilian at a bakery.

Noel Charles, Cynthia, and Pete Best at the Beatles Festival 2005 in Estrel Covention Center, Berlin on July 15, 2005

Rock 'n’ Roll Girlfriend

Paul, John, Cynthia, Val Christie (later Carter), and unknown 

at the Casbah Coffee Club on August 29, 1959.

“Cynthia's grown up with it, with me.”

John

“John was very wayward in those days, he didn't want to work, he wanted to play his guitar.”

Cynthia, 1995

Right from the beginning, Cynthia knew music was John's first love. When he entered their Lettering class, his guitar would be hanging over his shoulder. John idolized Elvis Presley and his mother also loved him- it was their bond that got stronger through music. When Cynthia entered John's life, she knew nothing about rock 'n’ roll. She was more into classical music. Rock and roll was still in its infancy; it wasn't long that Cynthia got quite an education on the genre by John, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison.

In a way, Cynthia was the original Yoko Ono. Yoko is famous in the Beatles’ history of sitting in during the recording sessions every day. John wanted her there and they received glares from Paul, George, and Ringo Starr. Rewind 10 years in the past since 1968, 1969: John wanted Cynthia there during practice sessions during lunchtime. This time, Paul and George did not shoot out glares. Instead, it was more friendly and all very new, plus they were all still teenagers rather than near 30’s when Yoko came along. Unlike Yoko, Cynthia kept out of their jamming and spoke when it was appropriate or offer support.

“It was a beautiful period. It wasn't just a musical convenience that put them together. By the time I saw them playing at the college, they were friends, at one with each other. They seemed to have been friends for many years. It was intuitive. George, being younger and not writing songs, didn't have the communication with them, but John and Paul couldn't stop playing together, practicing the cords of the latest Elvis Presley song, the Everly Brothers, and getting the confidence to try writing their own words. I sat there, on these 'away days’ of rehearsals, absolutely mesmerized. Their harmonies were so beautiful. John had this image of being the toughest boy in college but his music showed what all of us knew underneath. He had a gentleness that needed to come out and it did in those songs.”

Cynthia, 1985

“Right next to the art college where John and I studied was the school Paul McCartney and George Harrison went to. They were so young that they wore shorts and ties and school caps then. They used to come and we’d sit around eating fish and chips and playing the guitar together.”

Cynthia, 1996

“In those days, there were frequent meetings and practice sessions. Sometimes we’d go to John's stepfather's house when he wasn't home, climbing in through the downstairs bathroom window which John knew he'd always left open. We’d then make our way to the sitting room. There the boys would feed records into the record player and attempt to play along to the music. I was always terrified of getting caught but the boys seemed quite unworried. As for John was concerned, the only drawback was that there was never any food in the fridge and, like typical students, we were always starving.”

Cynthia, 1994

“I always got on great with the others. I was a little bit older than them, so I had that edge, and I was also John's girlfriend, so we had a lot of fun together. What John did was accepted and if I was John's girlfriend that was accepted as well.”

Cynthia, 1988

“The four of them always seemed to me very vulnerable. I was older than all of them and I felt like their big sister. I thought they needed one, although I'm pretty sure they didn't think they did. The Beatles were married to each other, and in many ways, the girls were superfluous.”

Cynthia, 1976

“I was proud of him, because I’d been there right from the beginning, whilst John and the boys were still at school and college. So it seemed wonderful what was happening to them, but John just didn't have time for us [Cynthia and Julian]. It's as simple as that. Six years’ solid work and that was as long as our marriage lasted.”

Cynthia, 1999

Whenever John, Paul, and George performed at the Jacaranda, Cynthia would hold broomsticks with microphones taped on. If a club or the neighborhood was too rough, Cynthia wasn't allowed to attend- John didn't want to worry not just for himself but for Cynthia too.

“It was pathetic, but it showed how basic it all was. There they were, about to embark on a four week stint in Germany, which was really a big deal, really something, and they were crammed against the wall in Allan Williams' club with their girlfriends holding these brooms with microphones shoved on the top.”

Cynthia

There was one interesting thing Cynthia learned about John: despite his tough guy attitude, he was a coward.

“I think because he was afraid the other Teddy Boys would beat him up. John was always a bit of a coward, you know.”

Cynthia, 1999

There was one incident where a couple of guys ragged on John and his looks. Cynthia wanted to confront them…

“I had no fear so I went for them. He dragged me out so quickly. He said, 'Don't ever do that again, they'll kill you.’ I thought it would have been him confronting them. But he always backed off from real aggression.”

Cynthia, 2005

In August of 1959, a new club in the domestic area opened up for the fledgling Beatles (not yet their band name) to play in. It was the Casbah Coffee Club, run by Mona Best. It was held in the family basement. The neighbors must have loved the noise and crowds! Mona had three boys: her eldest was Pete, who became friends of the Beatles through George and Neil Aspinall. Mona enlisted John, Paul, and George for their help to set up the new club by painting the walls and ceiling. John came with his girlfriend, who also contributed her art talent.

“It was the first step to reality of life: Mo [Mona] in her home, with a club underneath it. Any kid would have loved to have that in their house. A normal household upstairs and a rave going on downstairs.”

Cynthia

John, Cynthia, Stuart Sutcliffe, Paul, his brother Mike McCartney, George, his brother Peter Harrison, Ken Brown, Pete, and his brother Rory Best cleaned, decorated, setting up the coffee bar with coffee and soda. Because of his weak eyesight, John used a different kind of paint that did not dry quickly; it was still wet on opening night.

“I think because it was a home set-up, a home situation, it wasn't like a commercial club. It was very special. When we went downstairs, the whole set-up was wonderful- for an aspiring young rock'n'roller to have that on their doorstep and to be able to perform safely… it was safe and secure, it was part of Pete’s mum’s house. It was Pete's mum's situation, it wasn't some person from afar that was running the club. It was just a very homely, homey situation.”

Cynthia

“I remember Cynthia Lennon sitting there. She only had eyes for John.”

John Miller, a Casbah regular

“I remember the Casbah night, opening night, because we were upstairs in this house in West Derby with John and Paul, then Pete came in and I thought how much he reminded me of the film star John Chandler. What a handsome man, but so quiet, there with his mother.”

Cynthia

A year later, in August of 1960, after going through a number of stand-in drummers and Paul drumming often, The Silver Beatles needed a fifth member to go to Hamburg, Germany. Stuart was already in the band at John's insistence- despite the fact that Stuart couldn't play, but he was good-looking. Pete joined. The Jacaranda club owner, Allan Williams, was managing their gigs. Before Pete joined, Allan sent the band to Scotland as a backup band. It was John and Cynthia's first separation. Cynthia was still in art college. It was only for a few weeks; John sent her postcards. Then Hamburg. Back in Liverpool, the Silver Beatles continued to regularly play at the Jacaranda, the Casbah, and the Cavern (which will be included in the Hamburg post).

While John's music career was starting to pick up, he rarely attended college. His relationship with Cynthia was solid and steady (despite his wondering eye- more about that in another post). It got to the point to meet the family.