I walked out of the show business in 1968 because I thought that would be good for the family. It took me some time to decide but I wanted to spend more time with my wife and two daughters who were always beside me. I wanted to do everything I could for them.

Anyone who knows the history of the Pete Best Band or the Combo, we were on the verge of breaking in in America. In the mid-'60s, I had great songwriters; we wrote some great stuff.

When I came back into show business in '88 after spending 20-odd years in the civil service, it wasn't planned.

We were at our best when we were playing in the dance halls of Liverpool and Hamburg. The world never saw that.

I'm happier than I would have been with the Beatles.

The first one I actually met was George Harrison.

Liverpool was an industrial town, a poor town. The people fought hard for what they wanted to achieve and there was a hunger there, and that hunger has remained with the musicians.