Pete Best: podcast appearances and interviews

Randolph Peter Best, born on 24 November 1941, is a British retired musician known for his time as the drummer for the Beatles from 1960 to 1962. His mother, Mona Best, opened the Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles, then known as the Quarrymen, performed some of their earliest concerts. Best was invited to join the band on 12 August 1960, shortly before their first Hamburg engagement. He played with the band until 16 August 1962, when he was replaced by Ringo Starr at the request of the group's manager, Brian Epstein, following their initial recording session. Best received a substantial monetary payout for his contributions to the band after the 1995 release of their early recordings on the compilation album Anthology 1, on which he played drums on ten tracks, including the Decca auditions. Following his departure from the band, Best was involved with several less successful musical groups before leaving the industry to work as a civil servant for two decades. Later, he formed the Pete Best Band, which was active from 1988 until 2025. Despite his short tenure with the Beatles, Best is often referred to as a fifth Beatle and remains a notable figure in rock history.