Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must For Beatlemaniacs, Fascinating and Evocative, February 17, 2002
Pete Best occupies a place in history worthy of a great Shakespearian character. He was the Beatles' original drummer who was sacked in favor of Ringo Starr at the precise moment the band was offered a recording contract by George Martin of E.M.I. Records. Best and co-author Patrick Doncaster tell the whole early Beatles saga, sparing us few details of the carousing, pranks and debauchery, but also imparting the fun, cameraderie, and musical growth of the Fab Four in those heady Mersyside days. I was expecting a fun read when I bought this book, but never expected the haunting, spooky feeling that remained after I finished the last chapter entitled "Down Among the Ghosts." In this short final chapter, Pete describes his emotions today when he wanders down into his mother's basement, the site of the former Casbah Club, one of the original Beatles venues. Here he lets himself travel back in his mind's eye to the rollicking days when Liverpool's musical explosion was going full tilt; and the bands, the screaming girls, the laughter, and dreams of glory were his everyday reality. In these visits, he conjures up the many departed people and former friends who poured downstairs each night. He sometimes takes a few whacks at his little brother's drum kit which sits by the old coffee bar. Then, he lets the cloud of memory evaporate, and climbs back up the stairs as today's Pete Best, a civil-servant living not far from his old home. Really a unique and amazing read!
|
|
|
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The joy of being a Beatle, the pain of being left behind., July 31, 1998
The Beatles' drummer of two years, Pete Best speaks from the heart in this book. He recalls the phone call from Paul McCartney that changed his life, the audition with The Beatles that he passed, finding himself in Hamburg 10 days later, working long hours and living in horendous conditions. Pete's love of the band and of band life as a young man is very obvious, and he gives the reader a whole new understanding of the Beatles' genesis, from their first days in Hamburg Germany, to the first Beatles recordings, their initial successes as a band, the easy women, the run-ins with German authorities, the personal jealousies that crept in, the early rumors that Beatles' new manager, Brian Epstein was replacing Pete as drummer, to the dark day when Pete was blindsided by the news of his dismissal. Also covered are Pete's recordings and tours with his own band and beyond. This is probably the best book written about the early Beatles, full of information, great stor! ies about the original "Fab Five", including Beatles original bassist, artist Stuart Sutcliffe, all told from the fascinating point of view of the most popular Beatle in Hamburg and Liverpool in the early 60's, Pete Best.
|
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brutally honest account by the REAL fifth beatle, September 7, 2005
Wow. I read this book and enjoyed it immensely. It is the most honest account I have read in years.
Pete Best was with the Beatles during the early sixties, when they had yet to hit the big time. They spent several months in Hamburg, just learning their trade. He was with them through the Cavern Club years and the Decca audition. But just when things started to go right for the band, he was sacked.
Why?
We don't know. Pete says that he still doesn't know after all these years.
You may expect the book to be bitter about the Beatles success - but it isn't. You may expect him to bad mouth the band throughout - but he doesn't. He paints them in a remarkably nice light, that comes across as both honest and believable.
He recounts tales about drugs, drink and girls - and describes the personalities of the big bands they met - Tony Sheridan and Gerry and the Pacemakers for example.
And he also gallently talks about the day he was sacked, and the reasons why he thinks they did it.
The prologue at the end that describes his subsequent career shows that we shouldn't be sorry for him at all... What we wouldn't give to be at the heart of that!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
by Roag Best
DVD ~ Pete Best
DVD ~ John Lennon
by Cynthia Lennon
by Philip Norman
