The movie portrays Sutcliffe as never being that committed to the band anyway -- he knew he was not a full-time musician as John, Paul and George were, he was doing it more or less as a hobby until his art career could take off.
I didn't think the movie showed Paul as really pushing Sutcliffe out -- maybe a little bit, but Stu himself realized he didn't have the drive to make it big in music the way the others did. As a couple scenes in the movie show, Stu had no illusions that he was a brilliant bass player.
Pete Best has only a handful of lines in the whole film, which was in keeping with most of what I've read about him -- very quiet and reserved; not bitter, but not outgoing like John and Paul.
He wasn't really an outgoing personality -- in that way, Ringo was very much his opposite and instilled a real "team spirit" among the band.
Since George was also in many ways a quiet and unassertive personality, the band with Pete Best may simply not have had enough "raw energy" to really vault into stardom (with two natural showmen and two quiet guys). When Ringo joined, he was a sort of catalyst who also brought George out of his shell a little more, and John and Paul reacted and really stepped forward with their natural star power.
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Lanie123
15 years ago
Yes but also bear in mind that George was Paul's mate and Paul was the one who brought George to John to join the band. So there was a bond between Paul and George that there probably wasn't between Paul and Pete Best, for instance.
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jefgg
12 years ago
Pete was not a big talker. And he was did not fit in with the rest of the group. That was why they kicked him out of the group.
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jaystarstar
12 years ago
Well, at this point I would say we will probably never get a fully definitive explanation as to exactly why Pete Best was kicked out.
Some Best fans say it was because he was too good-looking and Paul, mainly, felt he was taking attention away from the frontliners, not to mention pulling some of the hotter chicks.
George Martin has always maintained that in his mind it was a strictly musical decision: Ringo was a better drummer.
Best of course disputes this, and some music snobs reply that Ringo was not a superbly technically proficient drummer himself, either.
And Ringo fans say the Beatles had already known him for like 2-3 years in Hamburg and Liverpool, they were already friends and everybody in the band simply felt he was a better fit than Best.
As far as Astrid being a proto-Yoko, it does make sense. But you have to guess Lennon would have taken a lot less grief from the public if he hooked up with Astrid ('conventionally' beautiful blonde German girl) than he did with Yoko.
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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.
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jefgg
12 years ago
I heard the other Beatles were jealous of Pete Best. There may have been some of that. But Pete did not seem to fit in. I think of the photo when The Bealtes have their new bowl cuts except for Pete. Didn't he get the gig with The Beatles because the band wanted to play at his mother's club? Almost every major group had a personnel change shortly before they became successful. Pete was devastated when The Beatles became HUGE. But I think he made his peace with it.
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