Pete Greatest is placing his drumsticks down for good.
The unique drummer for The Beatles, 83, is retiring after a decades-long profession within the music trade.
“Well what an absolutely wonderful ride we’ve had,” Greatest’s brother Roag introduced on X on Saturday. “However, everything comes to pass. My brother Pete Best has announced today he is retiring from personal appearances and performing with the group. His daughter has informed me it’s due to personal circumstances.”
The drummer himself, whose actual identify is Randolph Peter Scanland, reposted the message, writing: “I had a blast. Thank you.”
Greatest performed with The Beatles from 1960 to 1962. Nevertheless, proper earlier than the band — which included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison — catapulted into stardom, he was changed by Ringo Starr, 84.
Greatest spoke candidly about working with the group whereas on “Late Night with David Letterman” present in 1982.
“I first met the guys when they opened my mother’s club The Casper in 1958, when they were known as The Quarrymen and there was John, George and Paul and another guy called Ken Brown but we needed a group to open the club,” he revealed about how he met his fellow bandmates. “I was about 16.”
Host David Letterman, 77, then requested Greatest if he had any inkling he was being changed. He, the truth is, wasn’t conscious of what the band’s supervisor, Brian Epstein, had in thoughts.
“No, that was the amazing thing, Dave,” he mirrored. “When the incident happened, it happened completely out the blue. There was no forewarning. I was called into Brian’s office and he turned around and I could tell that he was agitated, simply by the fact that he was pacing up and down and biting his fingernails.”
“After about three or four minutes he turned around and said, ‘Pete, I’ve got bad news for you.’ He said in a nutshell, the boys want you out and they want Ringo Starr in. I was completely shellshocked by this, Dave,” Greatest continued. “I couldn’t get my mind together or into perspective.”
He didn’t find yourself speaking to any of the group members following the information.
“After I was kicked out, very shortly after that, I joined a group called Lee Curtis and the All-Stars and on two occasions, I played on the same bill as them.”
The band didn’t communicate to Greatest both time.
“Nothing was ever mentioned,” he revealed. “There was no acknowledgment. Stony silence.”
Greatest and Starr had been additionally pals earlier than the drummer took his spot.
“They caused me a lot of hardship, grief, financial embarrassment,” Greatest admitted. “But I persevered with my own lifestyle and I was strong enough in character to turn around and say, ‘Okay no matter what happened in the past let’s forget about it.’ I’ve managed to retain my identity in my own sweet way.”
The musician went on to tie the knot together with his spouse Kathy in 1963, and the couple shares two daughters.
In 2020, Greatest as soon as once more mirrored on being let go by The Beatles.
“We were rockers, we were little hardies, we could handle ourselves. But when I got back home and I told my mother what happened, behind the sanctuary of the front door, I cried like a baby,” he shared with The Irish Instances.
“They made a decision as young men which was safeguarding their future. Okay, it could have been handled better. I was the fall guy for it, I suffered, but I’m not holding them to task over it,” Greatest reiterated. “If I’d have been in the same situation and I was another member of the band, maybe I’d have been one of the bad guys.”
The rocker stated he has “no regrets.”
Greatest added, “I think I’m a lucky guy. I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved as a person, of the examples I’ve set to people to get on with your life, to pick yourself up. I’ve been an inspiration. And I’m proud of that.”
