G. Santos / RILiveMusic
Photos by Kerry Quinn Photography
It was nearly twenty years ago that The Pete Best Band headlined the 2005 Misquamicut Summer Music Festival in Westerly, RI. The annual 2025 summer festival also featured a performance by Davey Jones, marking a notable occasion where a former Beatle and a former Monkee shared the stage.
Pete Best served as the original drummer for The Beatles, alongside John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Stuart Sutcliffe, from 1960 to 1962. These formative years took the band from the Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool to the Indra and Kaiserkeller clubs in Hamburg, Germany before returning to Liverpool as a quartet with a residency at The Cavern Club.
On Friday, March 21st, The Pete Best Band returned to Westerly, RI, for a one-night performance at The United Theatre during their current East Coast tour.
The evening began with a crowd-pleasing set by singer-songwriter-musician Ian Motha. The New England-based artist is known for his Beatles tribute shows, both as a solo artist and as a band member of 60s Thunder, a 1960s-era tribute band. Ian’s acoustic solo set opened with I Want to Hold Your Hand and included. You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, Yesterday, and other fan favorites. He even tossed in a song from The Pete Best Band album, Haymans Green. Ian closed the set with The Monkees’ classic, Daydream Believer. Ian naturally fits the image and closely resembles the vocal style and delivery of both Lennon and McCartney. The audience was beyond impressed.
Once on stage, the tight and talented Pete Best Band transported the enthusiastic audience back to Hamburg, Germany, for a night of high-energy music that replicated the early Beatles’ eclectic set list of covers and originals. The show opened with “Slowdown,” followed by “What’d I Say,” “One After 909,” and “Misery.” Pete Best then stepped away from his drum kit to take the microphone and welcome the audience. He acknowledged some fans and event organizers who he remembered from his visit two decades ago. Afterward, he returned to his kit to play a lively version of “Please Mr. Postman,” fully engaging the crowd.
The Pete Best Band features Pete and Roag Best sharing drum duties, Paul Parry on vocals and bass guitar, Tony Flynn on vocals and rhythm guitar, and John Skonny Hewson on lead guitar and backing vocals. This is no pick-up tour band. The boys have been touring with Pete for years, with three of them featured on The Pete Best Band’s Haymans Green studio album released in 2008. The band’s musicianship and vocal talent are truly impressive.
Throughout the twenty-four-song set, the band consistently interacted with the crowd while engaging in entertaining banter among themselves. Highlights of the performance included powerful songs such as “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Lucille,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and the closing number, “Twist and Shout.” The audience stood and cheered during the final song, and in response, the band delivered an encore performance of “Kansas City.
Many fans gathered in the lobby for a meet-and-greet session with the former Beatle. Pete Best was very appreciative of his fans and quite humble as he signed everything from drumheads and sticks to album covers and many rare items that his fans brought for autographing.
For true Beatles fans, meeting Pete Best is a significant event. The Best family has deep ties to Beatles history. Pete’s mother, Mona Best, gave John, Paul, and George their first paid residency gig at her Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool. At that time, Pete had his band but would eventually join John, Paul, and George. Pete’s younger half-brother, Roag Best, is the son of Neil Aspinall, a childhood friend of the Beatles and their original tour manager. Aspinall stayed with the Beatles throughout their career and later became the head of the Beatles’ company, Apple Corps.
The Best family continues to own the Casbah Coffee Club, which has evolved into a very popular Beatles attraction, offering tours by appointment. Roag founded the Liverpool Beatles Museum, which houses one of the world’s largest Beatles collections. With both the performing Band and the Attractions, Pete and Roag are busy working to keep The Beatles’ history alive for fans, both old and new.
To stay in tune with upcoming shows, tours, and appearances, visit www.PeteBest.com
Take a look at a few photos from the show!
