Decca was interested in Brian Epstein's work from the start. His contracts with Decca were the best. Mike Smith of Decca came into the picture in December of 1961. Mike was impressed and he liked the sound of the Beatles. He arranged an audition in London at Decca Studios. He wanted to hear how they sounded and how they reacted while being recorded. This audition took place on January 1, 1962. John, Paul, George, and Pete Best were taken there by their road manager, Neil Aspinall.
Brian was the first one to arrive at Decca Studios. Mike Smith was late. The boys started to play although they were very nervous. After the audition they waited to hear from Mike, but they heard nothing. They continued to play at clubs in the meantime. Then in March, Brian heard from Dick Rowe, Mike Smith's boss at Decca, and the decision was not to record the Beatles. Dick didn't like the sound of them.
Brian decided to try other recording studios like EMI and Pye, but both turned them down. The Beatles had a few fights with Brian. They felt he was doing nothing and they were doing all the work. The Beatles performed at the Barnston Women's Institute on March 24, 1962.
In April of 1962, the Beatles took their third trip to Hamburg. They arrived there by plane. This time they played at the Star Club, the biggest club in Hamburg. Astrid, who was still mourning for Stuart, didn't come to their performances at first. The Beatles did everything they could to cheer her up.
Back in Britain, Brian was working on his last try to get someone interested in the Beatles. He began making tapes of them and sending them to record companies. His father felt Brian was wasting his time on the Beatles, and he was not happy. Brian sent the tape to HMV record company, which was a retail shop. He spoke with the music publisher, Syd Coleman, who said he would publish the Beatles, and that he would talk to a friend named George Martin.
George Martin listened to the record, and he loved Paul's voice and the way George played the guitar. He said their music was very "interesting". In May of 1962, he gave the Beatles an audition. At the time the band was still in Hamburg. It was at the time they produced "Love Me Do".
Brian arrived in Hamburg, but Klaus was disappointed. He thought Brian was shy. The Beatles were very happy with themselves.
In June of 1962, the Beatles returned from Hamburg. On June 6th, they did the audition with George Martin. They returned to Liverpool the next day, and they started playing in clubs again. Their first show was at the Cavern on Saturday, June 9th. The following Monday, they were at the BBC radio show, set up by Brian. After that, the Beatles had constant shows until the end of September. They performed at the Cavern, the Casbah, the Brighton Tower, the Hulme Hall Golf Club, as well as other places.
All this time they waited for a response from George Martin. Brian finally heard from him in July. He wanted them to sign a contract with Parlophone Records. They didn't tell Pete Best the news.
One day, Brian Epstein and Neil Aspinall told Pete they didn't want him in the band anymore, and that they wanted Ringo Starr. They also said George Martin didn't like the way he played, and that the other boys didn't think he fit in. Pete Best's fans were angry. Rumors started all over Liverpool. But the other Beatles didn't want him, they wanted Ringo. Brian offered Pete another band to play for, but Pete didn't want to. He felt they didn't want him so why bother? Neil thought it was George's fault since John was close with Pete, and Paul was popular with the fans, and that George was an admirer of Ringo.
Pete's mother felt the others were jealous of Pete. Before Brian came into the picture, Pete had handled all the bookings and was in charge of the money. Mrs. Best was angry. Pete was also angry, he couldn't understand if he wasn't that good, why did they keep him for two and a half years? The Beatles did feel guilty, but it was all their decisions, not just George's. John felt that they were cowards for kicking him out of the band. Pete Best left the Beatles, and along came Ringo Starr.
