Editing Pete Best (section)

== After the Beatles ==
<!-- Put references into this article from books or web pages, or your edit will be deleted -->
Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison all later stated that they regretted the manner in which Best was sacked. Lennon admitted that "we were cowards when we sacked him. We made Brian do it." McCartney stated: "I do feel sorry for him because of what he could have been on to."{{sfn|Anthology|2000|p=70}} Harrison said: "We weren't very good at telling Pete he had to go",{{sfn|Anthology|2000|p=72}} and "historically, it may look like we did something nasty to Pete and it may have been that we could have handled it better."<ref>''The Beatles Anthology'' DVD 2003 (Episode 1 – 1:03:05) Harrison discussing Best's sacking</ref> Starr, on the other hand, felt he had no apology to make: "I never felt sorry… I was not involved."{{sfn|Anthology|2000|p=72}}

After Best was dismissed, Epstein offered him a position as drummer for [[the Mersey Beats]], but Best turned it down.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|loc=Thirty-One: Some Other Guy}} Feeling let down and depressed, he sat at home for two weeks, not wanting to face anybody or answer the inevitable questions about why he had been sacked.{{sfn|Lennon|2005|p=119}} On 25 September 1962, Best's [[solicitor]] sent a [[demand letter]] to Epstein threatening to sue for [[wrongful dismissal]] unless Best received [[damages]]. The letter argued that since Best's name was on the Beatles' original management contract, Epstein was still required to find work for him. Epstein sent a response letter that made three arguments: he had already arranged for Best to join another group, Best had lacked the necessary talent to "fulfil his obligations" to the Beatles, and Best had left the Beatles voluntarily.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|loc=Thirty-One: Some Other Guy}} The band's next management contract, signed by Starr instead of Best, contained a provision allowing for one member to be dismissed at the behest of Epstein and at least two other band members, though this never happened.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|loc=Thirty-One: Some Other Guy}}

Epstein secretly arranged with his booking agent partner, Joe Flannery, for Best to join [[Lee Curtis and the All-Stars]],{{sfn|Brocken|2010|p=102}} which broke off from Curtis to become Pete Best & the All-Stars. They signed to Decca Records, releasing the single "[[I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door]]", which was commercially unsuccessful.<ref name="AftertheBeatles" />

=== The Pete Best Combo {{anchor|best_of_the_beatles}} ===

Best later moved to the United States along with songwriters [[Wayne Bickerton]] and [[Tony Waddington (songwriter)|Tony Waddington]]. As the Pete Best Four, and later as the Pete Best Combo (a [[quintet]]), they toured the United States with a combination of 1950s songs and original tunes, recording for small labels, but they had little success.<ref name="AftertheBeatles">[https://www.petebest.com/1963.asp After the Beatles], petebest.com. Retrieved 4 December 2007. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626073905/http://www.petebest.com/1963.asp |date=26 June 2012 }}</ref> They ultimately released an album on Savage Records, ''Best of the Beatles'': a play on Best's name, leading to disappointment for record buyers who neglected to read the song titles on the front cover and expected a Beatles compilation album. The group disbanded shortly afterwards. Bickerton and Waddington were to find greater success as songwriters in the 1960s and 1970s, writing a series of hits for the American female group [[The Flirtations (R&B musical group)|the Flirtations]] and the British group [[the Rubettes]].<ref name="Rub">[http://www.therubettes.de/ The Rubettes feat. Alan Williams] at therubettes.de</ref> In 1996, the record label Cherry Red reissued the Pete Best Combo's recordings as a compact disc compilation. [[Richie Unterberger]], reviewing the CD, stated that the music's "energy level is reasonably high", that Bickerton and Waddington's songwriting is "kind of catchy", but that Best's drumming is "ordinary".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/beyond-the-beatles-1964-1966-mr0002746031 |title=The Pete Best Combo: ''Beyond the Beatles 1964–1966'' |publisher=AllMusic |first=Richie |last=Unterberger |access-date=25 June 2015}}</ref>

American [[garage rock]] band [[Lyres (band)|Lyres]] recorded a [[cover version]] of Pete Best Combo's "The Way I Feel About You" on their 1984 album ''[[On Fyre]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lyres |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/lyres |website=[[Trouser Press]] |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref>