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Standing on the top floor of the house where he used to live, Pete Best is staring up at a cluster of framed photographs.

Now 82, he’s looking back at a younger version of himself. One, with dark hair in a leather jacket, is sitting in front of a drum kit.

The three men who stood beside him are easy to recognise – his former bandmates, George Harrison, Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

They’d go on to form part of music’s most famous quartet.

Original Beatles drummer Pete Best at 8 Hayman's Green in the Derby area of Liverpool, the location of the Casbah Club, where the Beatles started their career, which has been launched as an Airbnb. Best's mother Mona ran the Casbah in the coal cellar of their home in West Derby, Liverpool, from 1959 to 1962, with local teenagers The Quarrymen playing the opening night in August 1959. Members of The Quarrymen would go on to form The Beatles. Picture date: Wednesday August 21, 2024.
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Best said he has had time to reflect on one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ in music. Pic: PA

While Best was dropped from the line-up and replaced by Ringo Starr, six decades on, he says he has had time to reflect on one of the biggest “what ifs” in pop history.

“I’ve had 60 great years of being Pete as well as being a Beatle. It is part of your life, it’s lovely to be associated with it, but life goes on,” he said.

“Initially it was a lot of hardship and financial embarrassment, but life compensates. Maybe it was my karma, maybe it wasn’t meant to be.”

As well as taking the time to think, Best has come up with business ventures founded on his connection to the group.

The latest, launched today by Best and his younger brother Roag, gives the public a chance to stay in their old home.

The house at 8 Hayman's Green in the West Derby area of Liverpool that was the location of the Casbah Club, where the Beatles started their career, which has been launched as an Airbnb. Original Beatles drummer Pete Best's mother Mona ran the Casbah in the coal cellar of their home in West Derby, Liverpool, from 1959 to 1962, with local teenagers The Quarrymen playing the opening night in August 1959. Members of The Quarrymen would go on to form The Beatles. Picture date: Wednesday August 21, 20
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The house at 8 Hayman’s Green in the West Derby area of Liverpool. Pic: PA

It also happened to be one of the places where the Beatles began to take their first steps in the industry.

The Casbah Club is a grade II listed Victorian mansion, bought by Best’s mother Mona, who had the idea of a members-only club for her sons and their friends, to meet and listen to music.

The imprints of The Beatles, then known as The Quarrymen, are all over the basement where they would have played.

The group helped decorate the space and you can still see where John Lennon carved his name into the walls with a penknife. On sweaty evenings, hundreds of people would have crammed in to watch their gigs.

The Lennon Suite at the Casbah Club Airbnb. The house at 8 Hayman's Green in the Derby area of Liverpool, the location of the Casbah Club, where the Beatles started their career, has been launched as an Airbnb. Original Beatles drummer Pete Best's mother Mona ran the Casbah in the coal cellar of their home in West Derby, Liverpool, from 1959 to 1962, with local teenagers The Quarrymen playing the opening night in August 1959. Members of The Quarrymen would go on to form The Beatles. Picture date
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The Lennon Suite. Pic: PA

The Best Suite at the Casbah Club Airbnb. The house at 8 Hayman's Green in the Derby area of Liverpool, the location of the Casbah Club, where the Beatles started their career, has been launched as an Airbnb. Original Beatles drummer Pete Best's mother Mona ran the Casbah in the coal cellar of their home in West Derby, Liverpool, from 1959 to 1962, with local teenagers The Quarrymen playing the opening night in August 1959. Members of The Quarrymen would go on to form The Beatles. Picture date:
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The Best Suite. Pic: PA

Today, there were dozens of people downstairs and more people in the rooms upstairs, which guests can now book.

The suites are named after Paul, John, George, Peter and original bass player Stuart Sutcliffe – but not Ringo.

The Sutcliffe Suite at the Casbah Club Airbnb. The house at 8 Hayman's Green in the Derby area of Liverpool, the location of the Casbah Club, where the Beatles started their career, has been launched as an Airbnb. Original Beatles drummer Pete Best's mother Mona ran the Casbah in the coal cellar of their home in West Derby, Liverpool, from 1959 to 1962, with local teenagers The Quarrymen playing the opening night in August 1959. Members of The Quarrymen would go on to form The Beatles. Picture d
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The Sutcliffe Suite. Pic: PA

The Harrison Suite at the Casbah Club Airbnb. The house at 8 Hayman's Green in the Derby area of Liverpool, the location of the Casbah Club, where the Beatles started their career, has been launched as an Airbnb. Original Beatles drummer Pete Best's mother Mona ran the Casbah in the coal cellar of their home in West Derby, Liverpool, from 1959 to 1962, with local teenagers The Quarrymen playing the opening night in August 1959. Members of The Quarrymen would go on to form The Beatles. Picture da
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The Harrison Suite. Pic: PA

“The Beatles played here, The Beatles partied here and The Beatles slept here,” said Best, adding the accommodation was a “projection” of his mother’s dream.

This moment is also a reminder of the fact that after Beatlemania, came a nostalgia that still has an appeal and still sells.

The McCartney Suite at the Casbah Club Airbnb. The house at 8 Hayman's Green in the Derby area of Liverpool, the location of the Casbah Club, where the Beatles started their career, has been launched as an Airbnb. Original Beatles drummer Pete Best's mother Mona ran the Casbah in the coal cellar of their home in West Derby, Liverpool, from 1959 to 1962, with local teenagers The Quarrymen playing the opening night in August 1959. Members of The Quarrymen would go on to form The Beatles. Picture d
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The McCartney Suite. Pic: PA

Evelyn and Andy were the first to book a room, travelling from Glasgow.

In the Paul McCartney suite, dotted with pictures of the man it’s named after, as well as a replica of his guitar, Evelyn described the Beatles as “almost like friends” to her. She added that she does her best to go to Beatles-themed events and places whenever she can.

But as well as a business opportunity, the house now being used as a bed and breakfast is a reflection on how close Best came to being part of Beatlemania.

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Debbie Greenberg, who ran the Cavern Club, another Liverpool venue famously linked to the group, can still remember when he was dropped from the line-up.

“Pete was a very good-looking guy and had a lot of followers. The word got round he’d been replaced by Ringo and we all started to chant,” recalled Ms Greenberg.

“We were all chanting ‘Pete forever, Ringo never’. To be suddenly replaced, when they were on the verge of something big, must have been so soul-destroying for him. So, you know he deserves everything he’s got today,” she added.

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Whose Line Is It Anyway? star Tony Slattery dies of heart attack aged 65

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Whose Line Is It Anyway? star Tony Slattery dies of heart attack aged 65

Comedian and actor Tony Slattery has died aged 65 following a heart attack, his partner has said.

The actor was famous for appearing on the Channel 4 comedy improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and comedy shows like Just A Minute and Have I Got News For You.

A statement made on behalf of his partner Mark Michael Hutchinson said: “It is with great sadness we must announce actor and comedian Tony Slattery, aged 65, has passed away today, Tuesday morning, following a heart attack on Sunday evening.”

Born in 1959, Slattery went to the University of Cambridge alongside contemporaries Dame Emma Thompson, Sir Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.

While there he served as president of the legendary Cambridge Footlights improvisation group.

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Slattery spoke regularly about his bipolar disorder and in 2020 revealed that he went bankrupt following a battle with substance abuse and mental health issues.

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He told the Radio Times that his “fiscal illiteracy and general innumeracy” as well as his “misplaced trust in people” had also contributed to his money problems.

He released a BBC documentary called What’s The Matter With Tony Slattery? in the same year, which saw him and Hutchinson visit leading experts on mood disorders and addiction.

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Paris Hilton, Beyonce and other stars donate and help out those affected by LA fires

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Paris Hilton, Beyonce and other stars donate and help out those affected by LA fires

Stars including Beyonce, Eva Longoria and Jamie Lee Curtis have pledged funds to support families affected by the fires in Los Angeles – along with Paris Hilton, who is among those who have lost their homes.

The blazes which erupted in the Pacific Palisades and other areas of the county last week have destroyed thousands of properties and killed at least 24 people.

US reality star and businesswoman Hilton has launched an emergency fund to support families who have been displaced, and kickstarted it with a personal donation of $100,000 dollars (£82,000).

The 43-year-old, who watched her home in Malibu “burn to the ground” as the fires were covered on TV, has also been spending time with animal organisations. She announced on social media that she is fostering a dog whose owners lost their home.

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Paris Hilton posts video of destroyed home

“While I’ve lost my Malibu home, my thoughts are with the countless families who have lost so much more – their homes, cherished keepsakes, the communities they loved, and their sense of stability,” Hilton said in a statement on social media.

Beyonce contributed $2.5m to a newly launched LA Fire Relief Fund, created by her charitable foundation, BeyGOOD.

“The fund is earmarked to aid families in the Altadena/Pasadena area who lost their homes, and to churches and community centres to address the immediate needs of those affected by the wildfires,” the organisation said in a statement.

A helicopter drops water while fighting the Auto Fire in Ventura County, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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Pic: AP/Noah Berger

Beyonce’s mother Tina Knowles lost her bungalow in Malibu in the fires.

“It was my favourite place, my sanctuary, my sacred happy place,” she wrote on Instagram. “Now it is gone. God Bless all the brave men and women in our fire department who risked their lives in dangerous conditions.”

Other celebrities who have donated funds include Desperate Housewives star Longoria and her foundation, the Screen Actors Guild, the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammys, and Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her family – who have all pledged $1m (£819,000) each.

Prince Harry and Meghan are believed to have donated clothing, children’s items and other essential supplies, and were seen making a surprise visit to hand out food to evacuees in Pasadena.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Volunteering in Pasadena on 11/01/25
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Prince Harry and his wife Meghan supported residents in Pasadena

Actors Mel Gibson, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, Billy Crystal, Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg are also among the Hollywood stars confirmed to have lost homes, along with talk show host Ricki Lake, and reality stars Spencer and Heidi Pratt.

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Ricki Lake shared on Instagram the moment flames got to her property in Malibu

The fires, which are burning around Los Angeles, come at the start of Hollywood’s awards season.

Organisers of the Oscars have postponed the nominations announcement twice, with the shortlists currently set to be revealed on 23 January, and the event’s annual luncheon ahead of the ceremony has been cancelled.

The show itself is still set to go ahead on 2 March. The Grammys, scheduled for 2 February, is also reportedly still set to go ahead.

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Actors who sheltered in Ukraine’s Mariupol theatre bring story of bombing to the stage

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Actors who sheltered in Ukraine's Mariupol theatre bring story of bombing to the stage

The Donetsk theatre in the city of Mariupol was supposed to be a place of safety for hundreds of civilians sheltering during the first few weeks of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. A sign bearing the word “children” was marked on the ground outside, visible from the air.

On 16 March 2022, the building was bombed. Authorities at the time said about 300 people had died, although some estimates were higher.

The stories of survivors are now being recounted by actors who were among those sheltering in the theatre at the time. Mariupol Drama, a play which opens in the UK this week, features real video footage captured on their phones, and personal items saved from the rubble.

A warning that children were sheltering inside the theatre was visible from space. Pic: Maxar Technologies
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A warning that children were sheltering inside the theatre was visible from the skies. Pic: Maxar Technologies

Olena Bila and her partner Ihor Kytrysh, who have acted at the theatre since 2003, managed to escape the devastation with their son, Matvii.

“This is a story with a lot of memories from a previous life,” Olena tells Sky News from Ukraine, speaking through a translator. “We worked and lived in Mariupol and did what we loved. In a few days, we lost everything.”

The family also lost their home. Olena says she hopes the play shows that material possessions are not what’s important.

“We lost the material side of our lives. We want to show for everybody that all items around you, the material side of your life, doesn’t matter… it’s your mind, it’s your soul, it’s your heart [that does].”

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Mariupol Theatre 
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The theatre was bombed in March 2022

The couple also hope the production will remind people, almost three years on from the start of Russia’s invasion, that the war is still ongoing.

“We are still at war,” Olena says. “It’s our stories, real stories. Not Hollywood fiction, but a story of real people in Ukraine.

“It’s very hard to see that this war is still continuing. We still have no room for our plans for the future.”

After the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the theatre, in the city’s Tsentralnyi district, became a hub for the distribution of medicine, food and water, and a designated gathering point for people hoping to be evacuated from Mariupol via humanitarian corridors.

Personal items saved from the theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine, which was bombed by Russia in 2022, are used on stage in the play, Mariupol Drama. Pic: Tiberi Shiutiv
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Personal items saved from the theatre are used on stage in the play. Pic: Tiberi Shiutiv

The building was attacked after weeks of Russian fire on Mariupol.

Vira Lebedynska, the theatre’s head of music and drama, is also one of the performers in Mariupol Drama. When the bombs hit, she was sheltering in an underground room used for music recording which remained mostly untouched, she says.

It saved her.

Russia denied bombing the building deliberately. Following their own investigation, Amnesty International described the attack as a war crime.

British actor David MacCreedy heard about Mariupol Drama and met the actors during an aid trip to Ukraine and says he was struck “by just how powerful it was”. He has been instrumental in bringing the story to the UK.

“It needed to be seen here,” he says.

The play’s actors want to show that despite the destruction of the building, Mariupol’s theatre is still alive.

“Our theatre is fighting,” says Olena.”It is restored not to cry, but to fight.”

Mariupol Drama is on at the Home performing arts centre in Manchester from today until Saturday.

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