Pete Best, the drummer who played with the Beatles during their early years, has announced his retirement from public appearances and performances. On Sunday, Best, now 83, confirmed his decision to step away from the spotlight. “Well, what an absolutely wonderful ride we’ve had,” wrote Best’s younger brother Roag on the social media platform X.
“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.” Best shared the post and added: “I had a blast.
Thank you.”
Best’s band was scheduled to perform a concert at Liverpool Museum, but it has now been canceled.
Pete Best steps away from music
Best is often referred to as “the fifth Beatle” for his role in the band during its formative years.
His family owned the Casbah Coffee Club, a venue that hosted the Beatles’ first shows and has since been transformed into a Beatles-themed Airbnb space. Best was the first drummer for the Beatles, who were initially known as the Quarrymen. He played with the band between 1960 and 1962 during a series of performances in Hamburg, Germany before the group settled on a permanent drummer.
“I thought I wanted to start a group of my own,” Best once said in an interview. “And at that time, I didn’t think they’d go as big as they are now.”
In the 1990s, the Beatles released a compilation album, Anthology 1, which featured some of Best’s drumming. He later formed his own band, the Pete Best Band, and released the album Haymans Green.
Best’s contributions to the Beatles have left an enduring mark on the band’s history, and his retirement marks the end of an era for many fans.
