A taste of early Beatles with Pete Best

In a move that will forever change the face and also sound of popular music, Beatles manager Brian Epstein fired drummer Pete Best from the band in 1962. It was right before John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison were to record their first single that would be produced by George Martin for the Parlophone label in London. Within a few years Martin and the boys had turned into pop music legends, while Best continued to live a life littered with the most compounding might-have-beens of all time.

Like the early Beatles trio, Best was a Liverpool kid who was cute, quiet and could play the drums. He was also better off than the other boys, because he had a brand-new drum set and a mother who owned a pub that catered to teenagers. He seemed like the ideal Beatles member and was in fact a full-fledged part of the group for two years when they played in Hamburg, Germany. He was and should have remained the fourth Beatle.

But then Epstein came along, became the Beatles manager and decided to change the drummer. The reason remains a mystery to this day. Was it really because Best was not a team player and had his own ideas about how the group should look? No moptop while recruit Ringo Starr instantly got one on the day he was offered the job.

Was it because he had more female fans and was better looking than the other three? It was said that this thing did not sit well with McCartney who thought he was the cutest and should get the lion’s share of attention from the girls. Was it just because his skills as a drummer did not pass muster before Martin, then the top Brit pop producer? It was said that for some unknown reason, Best was playing badly in the weeks before the contract signing with the label.

Are you curious about all these? We might be able to get the answer from Pete Best himself when he flies into town for Beatlesfest 2010. This will be held at the Aliw Theater on Sept. 11. Reports have it that Best led a quiet life as a civil servant after he was unceremoniously sacked from the Beatles. But some 20 years later, he decided to put together his own band and return to performing.

Best and his band have since released several albums including Hayman’s Green, which is made up of all-original compositions. Beatlesfest should be able to give us a good idea of what his music today is like. He is also now, albeit belatedly, getting credit due him as an original Beatle. The Beatles Anthology 1 featured some tracks with Best as the drummer. He was also inducted into the All You Need Is Love Liverpool Music Hall Of Fame as the debut Charter Member in July, 2007.

Beatlesfest 2010 comes to us through Steve O’Neal Productions and is presented by the official residence, Hyatt Hotel & Casino and official carrier Zest Air with PCSO, Business Mirror, SM Megamall, Hard Rock Café, Ming’s Pei Pa Koa Candy, MS, Mang Inasal and RJ 100.FM as major sponsors.

Beatlesfest 2010 will also feature big names in the local band arena like Ely Buendia, McCoy Fundales, Rene Garcia and Ramon Jacinto with The Hotsteps Dancers and the Glass Onion Band.

Now I am really curious. Will Best perform Beatles songs in the show? Will it hurt him to sing Love Me Do, considering the fact that he was still around when the band was working on the song? Or will he do his own stuff and leave the Beatles materials to RJ and the other guests? We will soon find out.

Top music icons

Speaking of The Beatles, the Fab Four came in second to King of Pop Michael Jackson in a survey conducted by Icon, CNN’s arts and culture program. Viewers were invited to send in their votes for the Top 5 most iconic musicians of the past 50 years. Almost 100,000 people responded and Michael, who would have been 50 this year came out No. 1.

Others who made the list were The Beatles, canto pop star Leslie Cheung, rock ’n roll king Elvis Presley and reggae godfather Bob Marley. Take note, save for Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringgo Starr, all of these music icons, have already departed for the great beyond and became even bigger stars after their demise.