A Brief History
On December 1, 1960, Paul McCartney and Pete Best of The Beatles were arrested in Hamburg, Germany for the arson of the grubby room they had been staying in at a theater. For this crime, they were deported back to England.
Digging Deeper
Apparently Best, the drummer who was later replaced by Ringo Starr, and McCartney were dissatisfied with the room and had left a burning condom nailed on a concrete wall as a token of their contempt for the lack of amenities. Though they did not intend to burn anything down and though nothing actually burned down, they were still accused of arson and got the boot.
As for Best, after his dismissal from The Beatles 1 1/2 years later for not being a good enough drummer, he went into Civil Service and upon retirement started a new band. He lives in England with his wife of 50 years, but travels with The Pete Best Band as he has done for the past 20 years.
McCartney, of course, went on to enormous success with The Beatles, Wings and on his own and has not been charged with arson since.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Spitz, Bob. The Beatles: The Biography. Back Bay Books, 2006.
