The Beatles’ 1st Drummer Won a Defamation Suit Against Them Because of a Comment by Ringo Starr

In 1962, The Beatles fired their first drummer, Pete Best, in order to bring Ringo Starr into the band. While this decision worked out well for The Beatles, it made Best’s life difficult. He explained that people were cruel to him after he left the group, and he eventually retired from music altogether. It didn’t help that his former bandmates spoke poorly of him in public. After a comment made by Starr in an interview, Best sued the band. He ultimately won the defamation lawsuit.

The Beatles’ original drummer Pete Best sued the band

While Starr didn’t officially join The Beatles until 1962, he played with them several times before this. The Beatles once joined Starr in backing Hurricanes’ bass player Walter Eymond on a record. When Best was sick, Starr also filled in for him during Beatles performances. The band once discussed this in an interview with Playboy.

“Ringo used to fill in sometimes if our drummer was ill,” John Lennon said (via Beatles Interviews). “With his periodic illness.”

“He took little pills to make him ill,” Starr added, insinuating that Best had a drug problem that kept him from performing with the band. 

In response, Best sued the band for defamation of character. Best won an out-of-court settlement. Still, Best did not receive nearly as much money as he’d sought in damages. While the amount of money remained a secret, Best admitted it wasn’t close to the $8 million he wanted.

“The money is less than we wanted, but I was content to take the advice of my lawyers and accept the figure offered,” Best told Rolling Stone in 1968. “If I’d decided to go on fighting for more, I would have had to go to America for what might have been a long court case. And with a wife and two children I couldn’t have afforded to go.”

The Beatles did not treat their first drummer well after firing him

The lawsuit might not have gone exactly as Best had hoped. Still, it was likely vindicating, particularly with how his former bandmates treated him. After they decided to fire Best, they dropped all contact with him. Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney didn’t want to do the firing themselves, so they had Beatles manager Brian Epstein do it. In future shows, they avoided even looking at their former drummer.

After all of this, Starr’s comments in Playboy would have felt like a slap in the face. Having them proved libelous was a win for the drummer. 

Pete Best said he doesn’t hold onto hard feelings for his former bandmates

While he was crushed by his abrupt departure from the band, Best said he doesn’t hold onto resentment. He said he cried when he heard the news of Lennon’s death and isn’t angry at McCartney, his only surviving former bandmate.

“I’ve nothing to forgive him about … they made a decision as young men which was safeguarding their future,” he told the Irish Times in 2020. “Okay, it could have been handled better. I was the fall guy for it, I suffered, but I’m not holding them to task over it. If I’d have been in the same situation and I was another member of the band, maybe I’d have been one of the bad guys.”

Best’s life has been dramatically different than it would have been if he’d remained in The Beatles, but he said he has no regrets.