Chris Curtis Talks About Pete Best

[admin]

In Spencer Leigh's article, "Searchin' For The Searchers" Chris Curtis comments of Pete Best "He was a genius. You could put that man on a drumkit and ask him to play for hours and he'd put his head down and do it. He'd drum like a dream with real style and stamina all night long and that really is the Beatles' sound - forget the guitars and forget the faces - they couldn't avoid that insistent whack, whack whack. The rhythm guitar went along with it and the bass chucked in the two and four beats and George was wonderful on the guitar. His little legs would kick out to the side when he did his own tunes. He'd go all posh and say, 'I'd like to do a tune now from Carl Perkins, Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby', and it's in A'.' Who wanted to know what key it was in? But he always said that."

With regard to the sacking of Pete Best, Curtis responded "I was amazed. When Pete left, I even thought of turning into a guitarist and getting him to drum in our band. The Beatles didn't hate Pete Best but they didn't want a star on the drums. Ringo was a good drummer but he was more ordinary. At that Decca audition, I think that they also realized that Pete had so much power that no one would know how to record him. That's why so many Merseyside discs are icky, all thin and weedy - except for the Searchers'. Our engineer knew what he was doing , but not always. "Love Potion No. 9" was our biggest seller in America and the drums are so thin on that record. It was right for their radio stations, they like that kind of sound."

[jjr]

My cousin Joey came home in the summer of '64 with what he thought was a greatest hits album. You got it "Best of the Beatles". Wasn't bad as I recall, but aside from the curiosity value, nothing memorable. Can't even remember who the sidemen were

[RJHC]

_RINGO WAS BETTER , BUT PETE BEST WAS BETTER THAN

A LOT OF SUPPOSEDLY "RESPECTABLE" DRUMMERS LIKE

GINGER BAKER OR NEIL PEART .