We all know the Beatles: John, Paul, George, and ... Pete? While Ringo Starr is obviously the drummer who played with the Beatles on all of their albums, he was not their first drummer. That honor (or dishonor) belongs to Pete Best, and Best is far from the only member of a famous band who was kicked out right before the band hit it big. From the member of The Who that still has to answer when people ask "Who Are You?" to the legendary metal guitarist who did just fine after being fired from Metallica, let's take a look at some musicians who were kicked out of groups just before they made it big.
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00:00So, you've joined a band.
00:02With all the fuss of finding the right people to play with, finding somewhere to play, and
00:05figuring out what to play, it probably all feels like a lot right now.
00:09But you persevere.
00:11You practice day in and day out, playing the tiny gigs, paying your dues, and you think
00:14that maybe, just maybe, this might all be going somewhere.
00:18And then you get kicked out.
00:19You're a good guitar player, but it's the 20-minute solos, the stage dives.
00:25We're trying to land a record deal here, man, and you're an embarrassment.
00:29You pick up your instrument and walk off bitterly into the sunset.
00:32Then, six months later, they're the biggest band on the planet.
00:36And they did it all without you.
00:37This may sound like a literal nightmare, but it actually happens.
00:41Just ask these poor souls.
00:42May they rock and roll in peace.
00:44Jason Everman and Nirvana
00:46Bass and guitar player Jason Everman might be the only person in history to have the
00:50distinction of being kicked out of two of the world's biggest bands.
00:53After a troublesome childhood developed into a love for punk rock, Everman joined a little
00:57band called Nirvana in the late 80s through a connection with a childhood friend.
01:01He became an integral member, but soon soured on the touring lifestyle and cut himself off
01:05socially from the band.
01:06Kurt Cobain would later dismiss Everman as nothing more than a moody metalhead, and he
01:10was kicked out of the band shortly after.
01:12Everman would then go on to join Soundgarden in 1990, which he seemed to enjoy.
01:16Who's the new bassist?
01:18You are.
01:19Really?
01:20I guess you'd have to answer that one.
01:21Jason, we decided to have you in the band.
01:23Congratulations!
01:24It was a shock, then, when Chris Cornell and the rest of the band called a meeting and
01:28kicked Everman out at the end of the tour.
01:30According to Soundgarden's road manager, it came down to much the same reason as his dismissal
01:33from Nirvana.
01:34They felt he had a moody attitude.
01:37Nirvana and Soundgarden soon became two of the biggest bands on the planet.
01:40Everman went on to a couple different bands before joining the U.S. Army.
01:43He ended up in Special Forces and would go on to fight in Iraq.
01:46Latavia Roberson and Destiny's Child
01:49Not only were Destiny's Child one of the most prolific girl groups of the 90s and early
01:54But their success also led to titanic solo careers for some of its members, including
01:58Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and, of course, Beyoncé.
02:01The original lineup, however, looked a little different, with Williams off the roster and
02:04two other members, LaToya Luckett and Latavia Roberson, in her place.
02:09Roberson was a member of Destiny's Child during the late 90s and enjoyed the band's early
02:13successes.
02:14It was only in 2000, when she and Luckett saw the video for Say My Name on TV, that
02:18they realized they had been unceremoniously kicked out of the group, courtesy of Beyoncé's
02:22dad and band manager, Matthew Knowles.
02:24My issues were never with the girls, my issues were with management.
02:27They were replaced almost immediately by Williams and short-term member Farrah Franklin.
02:31While Roberson would suffer from severe bouts of depression as a result of her breakup with
02:35the band, Destiny's Child went on to become one of the most successful groups in pop history.
02:40Pete Best and the Beatles
02:42By far, history's most notorious story of a band firing is that of Pete Best, the fifth
02:46Beatle, or at least one of the many to be called such.
02:50The fourth member of the group doesn't really look much like Ringo Starr, and that of course
02:53is because he is not.
02:55Best joined the Beatles in 1960 as the band's drummer, but his stint came to an end two
02:59years later after management voiced displeasure with Best's talent, or lack thereof.
03:03John Lennon remembered,
03:04By then, we were pretty sick of Pete Best, too, because he was a lousy drummer, you know?
03:10He never improved, you know?
03:12On August 16th, 1962, Best was dropped off at a record store owned by Beatles manager
03:16Brian Epstein, where Epstein informed Best he was being replaced by Ringo Starr.
03:21Stung by betrayal, Best refused to play at the gig scheduled prior to Ringo's arrival.
03:25The band's fans took it sourly, with one even attacking George Harrison outside the Cavern
03:29Club in Liverpool because of it.
03:31John Lennon later lamented the band's cowardice in sending Epstein to do their dirty work.
03:35Tracy Guns and Guns N' Roses
03:37The latter part of the name Guns N' Roses refers to vocalist and rock icon Axl Rose.
03:42But what's less well-known, however, is that the Guns part refers to someone, too.
03:46In the mid-'80s, Tracy Guns was in a band called L.A. Guns and brought Axl into the
03:50band after spotting him at a show where he was singing for Hollywood Rose.
03:53But when Axl was then fired from L.A. Guns by the band's manager, they came up with another
03:57plan to stay together.
03:59Tracy told KTNV,
04:00But we all live together.
04:02So the same night, we sat on the couch and we said, well, we can't just stop playing.
04:06So we just changed the name to Guns N' Roses.
04:08Tracy only lasted about eight months in the newly-named band, sadly, before he and Axl
04:12found themselves engaged in a huge fight over one of Slash's friends appearing on a show
04:16's guest list.
04:17Tracy left the band a few shows later, claiming it wasn't fun anymore.
04:21Whether there was something else at play with his departure is a mystery, but it's worth
04:24pointing out the Guns was replaced a short time later by Slash himself.
04:28Paul D'Anno and Iron Maiden
04:30Metalheads might recognize Paul D'Anno as a member of a bunch of different bands, including
04:34Killers, Praying Mantis, and Gog Magog.
04:37But his early days were marked by his time as lead vocalist for Iron Maiden.
04:41D'Anno joined the band three years after its formation in 1975, saying of their initial
04:46collaboration,
04:47"'When it joined together, it was fantastic.
04:49It was brilliant.
04:50So, there you go.
04:51That's it.
04:52That was it.
04:53The start of it.
04:54It was great."
04:55But by 1981, after recording only two studio albums, he was kicked out of the group and
04:59replaced by Bruce Dickinson.
05:00Allegedly, D'Anno was removed because bassist and band founder Steve Harris was unhappy with
05:05his vocal style.
05:06But as D'Anno told Ultimate Classic Rock,
05:08"'Iron Maiden' is a money-making machine, and I don't give a f---- about it.
05:12It was not about drugs.
05:13You need to take drugs when you're with Iron Maiden, because they're so f---- boring."
05:18Dave Mustaine and Metallica
05:19Metallica has always had a reputation for excess, so it might sound odd that someone
05:23would be kicked out for partying too hard.
05:25But that's what happened to Dave Mustaine, the band's original guitarist, in 1983.
05:29"'Our whole existence pretty much was for guitar dominating the world and getting liquored
05:33up.'"
05:34The story goes that his bandmates, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Cliff Burton, woke a sorely
05:39hungover Mustaine and informed him he was out of the band.
05:42They had even already hired his replacement, Kirk Hammett.
05:44The band then added insult to injury by refusing to fly Mustaine back to California, instead
05:49buying him a ticket for a four-day bus ride home.
05:51"'I had nothing.
05:52Then I had everything.
05:53Then I had nothing again.'"
05:57It was on that bus that a furious Mustaine decided on the name for his next project,
06:01Megadeth.
06:02According to Metallica, their relationship with Mustaine has improved over recent years,
06:06and Mustaine even joined them on stage for a series of 30th anniversary shows.
06:10Glenn Matlock and the Sex Pistols
06:12Bassist Glenn Matlock was working in a clothing shop in 1974, when he met Steve Jones and
06:17Paul Cook, who, along with John Lydon, would all form the Sex Pistols.
06:21After they had already begun recording together, Matlock left the band in 1977, officially
06:26by mutual consent.
06:27He was replaced by Sid Vicious, and the Sex Pistols became punk icons.
06:30"'I'm not that kind of angry person, you know, that's one of the reasons I'm no longer in
06:34the Pistols anymore, because I'm not like that, you know, I don't go around stabbing
06:37myself in the arm.'"
06:38Matlock would go on to form the Rich Kids, a band that managed a few hits before disappearing
06:42into obscurity.
06:43He would also guest on various records by other musicians, tour with Iggy Pop, and join
06:47supergroup Dead Men Walking in 2001 with members of The Colt, The Alarm, and Stray Cats.
06:53Doug Sandum and The Who
06:55Everybody knows The Who.
06:56Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon are all counted among the most
07:00iconic musicians of the century.
07:02But someone who has been left out of that rock god status is a drummer named Doug Sandum.
07:06Doug joined a band called The Detours in 1962, sticking around when a naming conflict led
07:11the group to officially become The Who.
07:13But when the band landed an audition with Fontana Records in 64, hoping it would lead
07:17to their big break, Sandum bombed his performance.
07:21According to the Express, as Townshend reprimanded him for his mistakes, Sandum could no longer
07:25take it, recalling,
07:26"'I just got up from my stool and said, that's it.
07:28I quit.
07:29It was the biggest mistake of my life.'"
07:31But at 88 years old, he's not holding a grudge.
07:33I still think The Who is the best f***ing rock and roll band in the world.