Imagine being unexpectedly and hastily fired from a small business without ever receiving an explanation why - a business that you had worked diligently to build up for two years. And imagine the customers of this business being so upset at your dismissal that they protested and even rioted at the injustice of it, but to no avail. And imagine this small business achieving a worldwide reputation a year and a half later, and your former partners becoming multi-millionaires while you scraped around for any job you could find. You could be forgiven for being a tad bitter. In fact, no one would blame you for being indefinitely resentful.

But Pete Best took the high road. Even while in shock from his abrupt dismissal in 1962 by manager Brian Epstein (Pete never heard from the band members themselves - ever) he talked road manager Neil Aspinall into sticking with the band, despite his outrage at Pete's firing.  Pete knew the band would be hugely successful and he didn't want his friend Neil to miss out.

But Pete himself missed out - and watched from the sidelines as the Beatles took over England with their new drummer. Within two months of Pete's firing, the band's first single, "Love Me Do," made #17 on the British charts. Their following single, "Please Please Me," soared to #1. Beatlemania was underway in England, and soon in the world.

Pete with Paul, John and George

So how did Pete deal with it?  Well, after seeing his old band mates conquer the globe, Pete tried to make it as a musician with several other bands, but it didn't work out. He eventually settled down to raise a family and work for the government. Forty years later he's still married to his first and only wife, with two children and four grandchildren - a testimonial to his working class values and character. Pete Best found peace, and in his own words he "moved on."

Now there may be a lesson here for many of us who have faced major disappointments in life:  there are things we can control and things we can't.  Pete recognized he didn't have a choice about the circumstances that befell him: being booted from the Beatles and missing out on the fame & fortune they achieved as the most successful group in pop music history.  But he did have a choice about how he related to the circumstances. And he had a choice about the actions he would take moving forward.

At first he viewed his fate as a humiliating defeat. But over time he let go of the resentment and made a deliberate choice to forgive and get on with his life. He would later say, "What's the point in reflecting back all the time? Life's about today and tomorrow." In due course he was able to look back in pride at what the Beatles accomplished in his two years as the backbone of the band. (After all, John Lennon in his famous Rolling Stone interview said the Beatles were a better band in the pre-Bealtemania days. "Our best music was never recorded," John observed. Of course this was the time when Pete was driving the band.)

As Pete once told me, "I feel lucky. I have a beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters. I've got my health and happiness." And I would guess that his health and happiness were significantly enhanced by his decision to close the chapter on 1962 and move on!

So what's happened with Pete professionally?  After working for the government for 20 years he decided to play drums again and put a band together. Twenty years later the Pete Best Band tours the world, playing small clubs, reminiscent of the early Beatle days - with a new CD out.  He says he's having the time of his life, playing in a band with brother Roag, surrounded by family and friends. (Of course it didn't hurt that the Beatles Anthology CD released in 1995 - which included many of the early demos that Pete played on - sold millions of copies, giving Pete a much deserved financial windfall.) 

Today he happily reports, "Even without the dizzying heights of my fellow Beatles, I still have everything I want." 

Good things happen to those who take the high road. Happy birthday, Pete.

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Published November 27, 2008

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