The Beatles Bible - Topic: Who is the 5th Beatle?

sgtpepperbowman on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:26:10 +0000

When the group became known as The Beatles there was:

-John Lennon

-Stuart Sutcliffe

-Paul McCartney

-George Harrison

-Pete Best

So what I did is find when each one joined the group

1. John Lennon- 1957

2. Paul McCartney- 1957

3. George Harrison- 1958

4. Stuart Sutcliffe- 1960

5. ***Pete Best***- 1960

6. Ringo Starr- 1962

Please note that there were many other band members when they were known as the Quarrymen, but these members never were actually known as a Beatle, so therefore they are not included in my list

mjb on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:44:18 +0000

PaulRamon said:

I don't go in for all this fifth Beatle rubbish. What other group do you ever hear about having a fifth or other member? There was only a fifth Beatle when there was one (if you know what i mean!) In Hamburg when there were five of them. Everyone else was who they were, a producer or a manager or whatever they were. They are all recognised for the contributions they made but none of them knew what it was like to be a Beatle full time.

Pete Best was technically the only fifth Beatle there was because he was ...

PaulRamon on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:12:41 +0000

I don't go in for all this fifth Beatle rubbish. What other group do you ever hear about having a fifth or other member? There was only a fifth Beatle when there was one (if you know what i mean!) In Hamburg when there were five of them. Everyone else was who they were, a producer or a manager or whatever they were. They are all recognised for the contributions they made but none of them knew what it was like to be a Beatle full time.

Pete Best was technically the only fifth Beatle there was because he was the ...

Joe on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:25:34 +0000

Isn't that apocryphal? I'm not sure it was ever actually said, though it's normally attributed to John Lennon. Either way it's a great comment.

mjb on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:34:15 +0000

iCaramba said:

As for the Pete Best argument, I'll paraphrase John Lennon, who said: "Pete was a good drummer, but Ringo was a good Beatle."

But don't forget the other well known quote: "Ringo wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles"

Von Bontee on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:06:20 +0000

George Martin for a number of reasons, not least of which the fact that he contributed musical performances to more Beatles recordings than anyone other than the four themselves.

iCaramba on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:31:09 +0000

I've always maintained that this elusive 5th Beatle you speak of is a combination of George Martin and Brian Epstein. Kind of a 5A/5B situation.

Brian made things happen for them, and Martin, well... need I say more?

As for the Pete Best argument, I'll paraphrase John Lennon, who said: "Pete was a good drummer, but Ringo was a good Beatle."

Day Tripped on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:24:11 +0000

I think Paul said that Brian Epstein was the "fifth beatle ".

Of course, Stuart Sutcliffe,original bassist of The Beatles, is often referred to as the "fifth Beatle".

I do believe that Billy Preston is the fifth beatle because he was working with them after 1967.

He should be given some credit...

mjb on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:15:28 +0000

roosterrat1 said:I know its unconventional, but I would say Billy Preston is as good a 5th Beatles as anyone. Without his work, many songs would lose their musical value.

Without Billy I think they may have self-imploded sooner too!

roosterrat1 on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:22:56 +0000

I know its unconventional, but I would say Billy Preston is as good a 5th Beatles as anyone. Without his work, many songs would lose their musical value.

Joe on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:30:22 +0000

As I understand it, Pete developed a style which he called the Atom Beat, which was the four-to-the-floor driving sound that characterized a lot of early beat group performances. Ringo was one of the drummers who adopted the style, but became more confident than Pete Best. Although he was never a great drummer, Best was important enough in developing their Hamburg-era sound.

skye on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:37:38 +0000

I think I'd have to side with Amphion, but the points for Best were well made. What I don't understand is why after all of the hours spent playing in Hamburg and Liverpool did so much good in improving J, P & G's skill, yet Pete never got beyond average? Or did he improve but just wasn't as talented as Ringo?

Amphion on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:47:26 +0000

No disrespect to your opinions, but George Martin has to be the 5th Beatle. The evolution of their music, and the evolution of all rock and pop music is as much to do with Martin as it is to do with Lennon and McCartney. Its often been quoted that The Beatles went from 'She Loves You' to 'Pepper' in four short years, and taking nothing away from John and Pauls writing ability, George Martin made a lot of things happen. Like deciphering John's request to have "A sound thats like the end of the world", and turning it into music, ...

RufusWild on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:23:23 +0000

What Pete Best went through.... good God, can you even imagine? It must have been just amazing. He so easily could have turned into the most bitter, mean-spirited, angry, depressed character. Could anyone have blamed him?

That said, I don't think he was aimportant as Brian Epstein or George Martin in the trajectory of the career we are all so fascinated by. I'd vote for one of those two gentlemen -- or, of course, the ultimate cop-out answer: Us. We are the Fifth Beatle. Without us, there's nothing...

mjb on Who is the 5th Beatle?

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:51:47 +0000

Alissa said:

If I had to choose... I think I'd choose. Hm.

Honestly, Pete, if anyone. He was in it all through their Hamburg days lasting until getting the boot, and it was obvious he was talented enough to generate a fan base that was entirely reluctant to let him go and welcome the new Beatle, that guy with the big nose and the funny name, to them!

While I think Stu would be a runner up to the 5th Beatle position, I think it should be Pete purely for the fact that to me, Stu didn't want to play. He wasn't big ...