Hi Big Al, Rusty Dobro et al - I hadn't heard of Don Rathbone but it seems he was dismissed as being (quote) 'not good enough' as the big time beckoned. That's hard to bear as the band was on the cusp of breaking big, and there are shades of Pete Best there. Pete was ideal in the 4/4 bass drum days of Hamburg when hard hitting without too many frills was called for but when creativity and George Martin reared their heads - "sorry lad you're out." There was the hair style issue and Pete's popularity with the girls too.
My wife was at the Cavern when Ringo debuted with The Beatles, and to chants of 'we want Pete' George Harrison got a black eye and Paul shouted 'if you want him, you can have him."
Nasty business drumming. Anyway we don't want a thread-drift into percussive matters, so I'll say cheerio and do listen to 'Bus Stop' everyone!