Post by yerblues1968 on Jun 12, 2008 2:30:53 GMT -5
PETE BEST CONFIRMED: PLANS CONTINUE FOR OCT. 4 BENTON GEORGE HARRISON BEATLE FESTIVAL
By Mona Sandefur - Staff writer
Published: Monday, June 9, 2008 8:17 AM CDT
Beatle Pete Best is pictured second from left. Pete Best in more recent photographs. Both Pete Best and Ringo Starr were drummers for the Beatles and were the only ones in the band with blue eyes.
Plans continue to bring “Best of the Beatles” to Benton for the annual Benton George Harrison Beatle Festival.
Committee members reviewed a contract earlier this week, guaranteeing a visit from Pete Best, original drummer for The Beatles.
Tom Herman and Jim Kirkpatrick said the Pete Best Band will perform Saturday, Oct. 4 in the East Gym of Benton Consolidated High School.
“We are very excited to bring another member of the Beatles to Benton,” Kirkpatrick said. “George Harrison visited his sister, Louise, before The Beatles were ‘fab.' It is a great honor to be able to bring another former Beatle to see where George Harrison stayed when he visited Louise. Although Louise is busy with another career pursuit, we hope she will also attend.”
Kirkpatrick said Harrison visited Benton in 1966, before the Beatles appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
“The Beatles were first heard on the WRFX Radio station located in West Frankfort before they became famous,” he said. “After George visited Louise, the house became Hard Days Nite Bed & Breakfast that is filled with memorabilia from the Beatles. Pete Best and his band members will spend the night at the B&B. The band is touring the United States this summer and we are lucky to be able to bring him to Benton. This will be a concert of historic proportion.”
Ticket prices are also reasonable, Herman said, at $10 in advance and $15 at the door. An opening act will begin at 7 p.m., followed by the 8 p.m. performance, billed as “Best of the Beatles.”
Pete Best continues to play the drums with his own band called, "The Pete Best Band."
“The mystery surrounding Pete Best has never been solved,” Herman said. “In 1960, the Silver Beatles played without a drummer. The band knew Pete Best from a club they had often played known as The Casbah, where Pete's group, the Blackjacks, was the resident band. Paul McCartney phoned Pete in August 1960 and asked him if he was interested in joining the band. Pete formally auditioned and became a Beatle on Aug. 12, 1960. He played with the band for more than two years before he was dismissed and later replaced with Ringo Starr.”
Member Warren Batts said musicians are invited to perform throughout the event. A musician himself, he said groups are encouraged to contact him at (812) 204-4006.
“We are looking for performers with a 1960s sound,” he said.
Members discussed potential ticket sales outlets that could offer credit card sales and will confirm locations during a future meeting. Darren Galloway said he is working to have posters printed.
To offset costs and provide some sponsors with backstage passes, levels range from $1,000 for platinum sponsorship to $100 for bronze sponsorships. “Sponsors at the platinum level will receive two VIP backstage passes to meet the band,” Kirkpatrick said. “Bill Bonan II, community president of Peoples National Bank, is on board as a platinum-level sponsor.”
Andrew Hart has agreed to provide sound equipment and expertise for the concert.
Kirkpatrick said additional events are planned inside Hard Days Nite B&B. “Tours, trivia and more are in the planning stages,” he said.
Committee members are also working with Mayor Gary Kraft to honor Best with a key to the city, making him an honorary citizen of Benton. Herman said Best would sign autographs after the show. For more information, contact Kirkpatrick at (618) 889-2719.
www.bentoneveningnews.com/articles/2008/06/09/news/02.txt
By Mona Sandefur - Staff writer
Published: Monday, June 9, 2008 8:17 AM CDT
Beatle Pete Best is pictured second from left. Pete Best in more recent photographs. Both Pete Best and Ringo Starr were drummers for the Beatles and were the only ones in the band with blue eyes.
Plans continue to bring “Best of the Beatles” to Benton for the annual Benton George Harrison Beatle Festival.
Committee members reviewed a contract earlier this week, guaranteeing a visit from Pete Best, original drummer for The Beatles.
Tom Herman and Jim Kirkpatrick said the Pete Best Band will perform Saturday, Oct. 4 in the East Gym of Benton Consolidated High School.
“We are very excited to bring another member of the Beatles to Benton,” Kirkpatrick said. “George Harrison visited his sister, Louise, before The Beatles were ‘fab.' It is a great honor to be able to bring another former Beatle to see where George Harrison stayed when he visited Louise. Although Louise is busy with another career pursuit, we hope she will also attend.”
Kirkpatrick said Harrison visited Benton in 1966, before the Beatles appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
“The Beatles were first heard on the WRFX Radio station located in West Frankfort before they became famous,” he said. “After George visited Louise, the house became Hard Days Nite Bed & Breakfast that is filled with memorabilia from the Beatles. Pete Best and his band members will spend the night at the B&B. The band is touring the United States this summer and we are lucky to be able to bring him to Benton. This will be a concert of historic proportion.”
Ticket prices are also reasonable, Herman said, at $10 in advance and $15 at the door. An opening act will begin at 7 p.m., followed by the 8 p.m. performance, billed as “Best of the Beatles.”
Pete Best continues to play the drums with his own band called, "The Pete Best Band."
“The mystery surrounding Pete Best has never been solved,” Herman said. “In 1960, the Silver Beatles played without a drummer. The band knew Pete Best from a club they had often played known as The Casbah, where Pete's group, the Blackjacks, was the resident band. Paul McCartney phoned Pete in August 1960 and asked him if he was interested in joining the band. Pete formally auditioned and became a Beatle on Aug. 12, 1960. He played with the band for more than two years before he was dismissed and later replaced with Ringo Starr.”
Member Warren Batts said musicians are invited to perform throughout the event. A musician himself, he said groups are encouraged to contact him at (812) 204-4006.
“We are looking for performers with a 1960s sound,” he said.
Members discussed potential ticket sales outlets that could offer credit card sales and will confirm locations during a future meeting. Darren Galloway said he is working to have posters printed.
To offset costs and provide some sponsors with backstage passes, levels range from $1,000 for platinum sponsorship to $100 for bronze sponsorships. “Sponsors at the platinum level will receive two VIP backstage passes to meet the band,” Kirkpatrick said. “Bill Bonan II, community president of Peoples National Bank, is on board as a platinum-level sponsor.”
Andrew Hart has agreed to provide sound equipment and expertise for the concert.
Kirkpatrick said additional events are planned inside Hard Days Nite B&B. “Tours, trivia and more are in the planning stages,” he said.
Committee members are also working with Mayor Gary Kraft to honor Best with a key to the city, making him an honorary citizen of Benton. Herman said Best would sign autographs after the show. For more information, contact Kirkpatrick at (618) 889-2719.
www.bentoneveningnews.com/articles/2008/06/09/news/02.txt