Then, he was infamously sacked and replaced by a veteran local drummer who occasionally subbed for Best on stage before, Richard Starkey (AKA Ringo Starr) just as they were about to make it big. For instance, Martin decided, with the band's concurrence, that Best, who stayed up right up to their first recording session with Parlophone, had to be replaced with a better drummer. Martin and the band hit off fairly quickly, thanks largely to the Four's charm, and his open-mindedness about music recording conventions meant that everyone was allowed to go in new directions. Martin was previously known for his work with the comedy albums for the popular radio comedy show, The Goon Show. More fundamentally, Epstein's dealings introduced the band to a lesser-known producer: George Martin, head of Parlophone Records, which was part of the EMI conglomerate. The most obvious of that is getting the band to abandon their leather jacket greaser look for a clean-cut suit and tie ensemble even as they expanded on their mop-top hairdos that Sutcliffe's girlfriend originally arranged for them. As it turned, as far as music promotion went, Epstein proved a godsend with a knack for publicity combined with some bright ideas such as seriously cleaning up the band's scruffy image. However, they drew the interest of a budding local music promoter, Brian Epstein, who persuaded them to have him as their manager. Upon their return to Liverpool, the band faced a future that looked increasingly bleak with few prospects outside of another tour of Hamburg. Sutcliffe didn't live to see the Beatles become world-famous, dying of a brain haemorrhage in 1962. Sutcliffe was soon back, before quitting for good by mid-1961 to focus on his artwork, at which point McCartney switched to bass. Chas Newby briefly joined as bassist for a couple of weeks, but declined Lennon's offer to stay on in January 1961. Sutcliffe didn't last too long, deciding not to return to Liverpool when the rest of the Beatles were forced to leave Hamburg at the end of 1960. Originally just a small-time band, they gained enough professionalism to be booked as a house band in sleazy nightclubs in Hamburg, Germany with gruelling performance schedules that forced them to seriously improve as performers by the time they returned to Liverpool. The Beatles formed on 17 August 1960 (though prior to that, the band went through a revolving door of names and members), with the initial stable line-up consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison on guitar, Stuart "Stu" Sutcliffe on bass, and Pete Best on drums. Not bad work for four young lads from Liverpool. For many people, they were also the face of The '60s. They are credited by many with changing the face of rock and popular music, while for others they were at least major pioneers of the new style of pop-rock, and were a major force of The British Invasion. The Beatles were an English rock band of truly incalculable influence. " Ladies and gentlemen, THE BEATLES! " note cue mass squeeing " Being a Short Diversion on the Dubious Origins of Beatles (Translated from the John Lennon)", Mersey Beat, July 6, 1961 ABC, Aerosmith, America, The Animals, Badfinger, Syd Barrett, The Beach Boys, The Bee Gees, Big Star, Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Blur, Marc Bolan, Boston, David Bowie, Kate Bush, The Byrds, Carpenters, The Cars, Cheap Trick, Coldplay, Phil Collins, Elvis Costello, Cream, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crowded House, Electric Light Orchestra, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters, Peter Frampton, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Hollies, Iron Butterfly, Michael Jackson, Jefferson Airplane, Jellyfish, Billy Joel, Elton John, King Crimson, The Kinks, Klaatu, Lenny Kravitz, The La's, Led Zeppelin, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Mamas & the Papas, Manfred Mann, The Monkees, The Moody Blues, Mott the Hoople, The Move, Neutral Milk Hotel, Nirvana, Oasis, The Alan Parsons Project, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, The Pixies, The Police, Prince, Procol Harum, Queen, Red Vox, The Rolling Stones, Todd Rundgren, The Searchers, Simon & Garfunkel, Paul Simon, The Small Faces, Squeeze, Billy Squier, Steely Dan, The Stone Roses, Tears for Fears, Third Eye Blind, The Turtles, U2, Ween, Weezer, Wham!, The Who, Wilco, XTC, The Yardbirds, Yes, The Zombies, and pretty much everyone else since.The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Eddie Cochran, The Coasters, Bo Diddley, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Carole King, Little Richard, Dean Martin, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, The Shadows, Ravi Shankar, The Shirelles, Frank Sinatra, Phil Spector, The Supremes, Gene Vincent, Frank Zappa, Spike Milligan.