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The Beatles' original drummer, Pete Best, recently announced his retirement, citing "personal circumstances." The news was announced by Pete's brother, Roag Best, on Saturday, April 5, 2025. According to Roag, Pete's daughter confirmed the same to him. In the tweet shared by Road, he wrote:
"Well what an absolutely wonderful ride we’ve had. 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."
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For the unversed, Pete Best is an 83-year-old English musician who was the drummer of The Beatles from 1960 to 1962. The popular rock band even played some of their early gigs at the Casbah Club, started by Pete's mother, Mona Best.
On April 6, Pete reshared the post originally uploaded by his brother and confirmed the same. He further expressed gratitude, adding that he had "had a blast." According to People Magazine, Pete first met the band when Mona booked the band for a performance at the club. Pete's debut performance with The Beatles reportedly happened in Hamburg, Germany.
Pete was with the band till 1962 after which Parlophone Records executive George Martin wanted to sign the band excluding the drummer. After Pete, his position was taken by Ringo Starr.
Pete Best had previously spoken about his feelings after being excluded from the band in 1962
Born in November 1941 in Madras, India, Pete Best was the first child of Mona Best and Donald Peter Scanland, who was a marine engineer. Before joining The Beatles, Pete was the drummer of his band, The Black Jacks.
Sir James Paul McCartney, the Beatles' bass guitarist, was then looking for a permanent drummer for the band. Paul reportedly felt that Pete could be a good match for the band. After Best's The Black Jacks broke up, he decided to join the Beatles in Hamburg.
According to Billboard, Pete played with other bands like Lee Curtis and the All-Stars and The Pete Best Cobo when he was already the Beatles' drummer. In the 2002 book The Beatles - The True Beginnings, Pete opened up about his time with the legendary band. He wrote:
"I've never thought that it was a bad thing that I was in the Beatles. I've always looked back on that, regardless of what happened, as being two very exciting years. We conquered frontiers. We grew in musicianship. It was a privilege to be part of the band."
As aforementioned, Pete had to leave the group in 1962, since George Martin put such conditions while signing the band. Recalling his emotions after the incident, the retired drummer stated that he "cried like a baby". In 2020, he told The Irish Times:
"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."
Pete added that even after that he had kept contact with rest of the members of the Liverpool-based English rock band. As for Pete Best's retirement, no details about the personal reasons have been revealed as of now.
