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

John and I would go and have a couple of quiet beers, just to sit down and chew the fat. And he'd talk about Cynthia and how much he missed her

The first one I actually met was George Harrison.

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.

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