# What if the Beatles hadn't dropped Pete Best for Ringo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-beatles-hadnt-dropped-pete-best-for-ringo/300953 "2005-04-25T02:16:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-beatles-hadnt-dropped-pete-best-for-ringo/300953/41 "2005-04-26T22:42:12Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > That may be what he says now, but getting thrown out of the Beatles devastated Pete in the short term; he couldn’t settle into a new career, and even [attempted suicide](http://www.answers.com/topic/pete-best). I’m glad he’s come out of that and found peace with himself. Gosh, I’m sorry to hear that. Well, I’m glad he’s okay too! > [@](#): > > Rory Storm et al were playing another season at Butlin’s holiday camps when the Beatles approached Ringo. A decent paying gig, but not one that was going to take them anywhere special; they were pretty much spinning their wheels by that time. I stand corrected, then. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-beatles-hadnt-dropped-pete-best-for-ringo/300953/42 "2005-04-27T05:53:26Z")
Wow, I just noticed for the first time how impressive the drumming really is in a lot of their stuff. I listened to Come Together and totally see what **Fishbicycle** means. That is cool. Someone also mentioned Tomorrow Never Knows- Woah, I never noticed the drumming before, but it’s great. I’m listening to the album 1 right now and am hearing the cool stuff that Ringo’s doing in each song. What’s going on in A Hard Day’s Night? First it sounds like he’s hitting some metal thing that goes _ching_, and in the bridge it sounds like he’s hitting wood blocks. Now I’m thinking that it would be nice if they would remix the Beatles’ stuff and bring out the drums more. As cool as the playing is, they sound kind of wimpy the way it is. I’ve seen several threads where people talk about how great of a drummer Ringo is, but how about George as a guitarist? I love his songwriting, but I don’t know enough about lead guitar to know how good he is. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-beatles-hadnt-dropped-pete-best-for-ringo/300953/43 "2005-04-27T06:34:42Z")
After the Beatles broke up, Ringo had the biggest solo career of any of them for the first part of the 1970’s, having 8 singles crack the top 10 of the Billboard charts, inncluding two that went to #1 (_Photograph_ and _You’re Sixteen_. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-beatles-hadnt-dropped-pete-best-for-ringo/300953/44 "2005-04-27T06:35:00Z")
Hard Day’s Night and Eight Days a Week were songs inspired by Ringo. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-beatles-hadnt-dropped-pete-best-for-ringo/300953/45 "2005-04-27T06:38:46Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > If Best had stayed, we’d have all been spared Ringo’s terrible singing. Aw, come on, Mick Jagger can’t sing and look where \*he \*ended up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-beatles-hadnt-dropped-pete-best-for-ringo/300953.md?page=2)