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.
Question for students (and subscribers): Who was your favorite member of The Beatles? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Spitz, Bob. The Beatles: The Biography. Back Bay Books, 2006.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6652 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=6652">4 Comments
“Best, after his dismissal from The Beatles 1 1/2 years later for not being a good enough drummer…”
This is crap. Lennon himself said Best was a better drummer than Ringo. But he said Ringo was a better Beatle. That’s why they made the change.
That aside, I hadn’t known Best was still playing music. Has he done any records? Can I hear the drummer whose bluesy rhythms would have steered the Beatles in a different, less commercial, direction?
I thought this was quite humorous. When I read the title I was fascinated to know that Paul committed arson, but that they lit a condom on fire and nailed it to the wall because they didn’t like the room? Paul would have been 18, and I could totally see any 18 year old doing that exact same thing.
I agree with MS. Although setting anything on fire in a
hotel room is wrong, I don’t believe they should’ve been deported. Paul
McCartney would’ve been a teenager at this time. Deporting a teenager for
something like this is wrong, especially when nothing was actually burned down.
I thought this was kinda funny and I really like that this is more about something I am a bit more interested in. Love the Beatles