History ThePeteBest / Music

* For a brief period in the early 1970's, '''Music/{{Aerosmith}}''' featured guitarists Joe Perry and Ray Tabano. Tabano, a childhood friend of Steve Tyler's, was soon replaced by Brad Whitford. Tabano however continued to be associated with the band throughout the seventies, working in their office and recording studio, running their fan club, designing and selling merchandise and writing the fan club newsletter until 1979 when he was fired by the band's current management.

** An interesting example is Trevor Horn, who was already well known as the singer for Music/TheBuggles and was brought in to replace vocalist Jon Anderson for the 1980 album ''Drama''. Despite feeling more at home behind the mixing desk, Horn managed a convincing imitation of Anderson's countertenor vocal style. Nonetheless when the band toured the album audiences were confused by the new line-up. Eventually Horn found that his voice couldn't take the rigours of constant live performance - he had a deeper vocal tone than Anderson, but the group was unwilling to pitch their instruments to suit him - and he retired from the band, with Anderson coming back. Horn remained as the band's producer, in which capacity he was far more successful. He's an odd example of a Pete Best who overshadowed ''himself'' - although ''Drama'' is mostly written-off as a weak attempt to copy New Wave, Horn's production work helped ''90125'' become one of the band's most popular albums, and its hit single "Owner of a Lonely Heart" has Horn's signature sound all over it.

* '''Music/{{ABBA}}''' had an interesting variation of this. Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid were all the original members of the band, but just shortly after properly establishing as a band (and still going by the name "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid"), Agnetha became pregnant with her first child, and she was replaced for a short period of time by a friend of Anni-Frid, a gospel singer named Inger Brundin, on a trip to West Germany before Agnetha came back. Can also count as a FakeShemp.

* For a brief period in the early 1970's, '''Music/{{Aerosmith}}''' featured guitarists Joe Perry and Ray Tabano. Tabano, a childhood friend of Steven Tyler's, was soon replaced by Brad Whitford. Tabano however continued to be associated with the band throughout the seventies, working in their office and recording studio, running their fan club, designing and selling merchandise and writing the fan club newsletter until 1979 when he was fired by the band's current management.

* Can one be a Pete Best if their replacement happens while their band is one of the biggest in the country? Just ask Andy Nicholson, the original bassist for '''Music/ArcticMonkeys'''. The band had already had two #1 UK singles and the fastest selling debut album in British history when he was fired before they started their first American tour. His replacement, Nick O'Malley, has gone on to see much success with Arctic Monkeys over the next decade, while Nicholson has kept a low profile, only popping up again in Arctic's drummer Matt Helders' short-lived side project Mongrel.

* '''Music/TheBeachBoys''' had in their early line-up Al Jardine who would quickly leave the band in order to focus on dentistry studies. He was replaced with David Marks who played rhythm guitar on the band's first four albums and on tour. One year later, Al came back and David was reportedly fired by the band's manager Murry Wilson. Even though David came back to join the band on tour in the 90s and on the band's 50th Anniversary Tour, Al Jardine was best remembered as the band's rhythm guitarist (on top of contributing to the band's repertoir).
* Back when they were a hardcore punk group, the '''Music/BeastieBoys'''[='=] original guitarist was John Berry, who Adam Horovitz replaced in 1982. Another early member of the band was future Music/LusciousJackson drummer Kate Schellenbach, who left during their transition towards hip hop. Both members' contributions can be heard on ''Some Old Bullshit'' (a compilation of the music they released before being signed to Creator/DefJamRecordings), but as the title suggests, those songs are considered OldShame at best.

* Creator/ArthurFiedler was the conductor of '''Music/TheBostonPopsOrchestra''' for 49 years (1930-1979 when he died), and was so instrumental in making them famous that many people think he was the first conductor of the orchestra. It was actually founded way back in 1885---nine years before Fiedler was born---and had ''seventeen'' conductors (none of whom lasted for more than a few years) before Fiedler took over.

* The wilfully genre-defying Australian group '''Crime And The City Solution''' is subject to a particularly extreme and bizarre version of this trope in that their original line-up was most likely never even recorded, while their second only released one song ("Moments") on a cassette magazine in 1980. Five years later, the group was reconstituted with a line-up including several ex-members of Music/TheBirthdayParty (with only founding vocalist Simon Bonney returning from the original lineups), after which they went on to release six albums and tour relentlessly before disbanding in 1993. Most fans do not even know that there ''was'' a version of the band prior to 1985, let alone who was in it.

* Any '''Dead or Alive''' member who played with the band before the classic line-up (Pete Burns, Steve Coy, Mike Percy and Tim Lever) was established in 1984. Partial exception could probably be guitarist Wayne Hussey, who joined Music/TheSistersOfMercy and then [[StartMyOwn formed his own band]] The Mission.

* '''Music/DestinysChild'''. The original members were Music/{{Beyonce}}, Music/KellyRowland, [=LaTavia=] Robertson, and [=LeToya=] Luckett. Around 2000, the video for "Say My Name" premiered, ''without'' Robertson or Luckett. They had been replaced by Farrah Franklin (who left the group shortly afterward) and Michelle Williams. Luckett and Robertson sued the manager and the other group members. The majority of people remember Destiny's Child as having Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams, in descending order. [=LeToya=] later had a couple Top 10 hits on Urban radio, but that was it.

* '''Music/FleetwoodMac''' had [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Fleetwood_Mac_members too many examples to count]], but the person who most fits the "Pete Best" mantle in their history was bass guitarist Bob Brunning. Founding member Peter Green had named his new band after his former Bluesbreakers bandmates Mick Fleetwood and John [=McVie=] to intice them to join him. Fleetwood accepted, but [=McVie=] opted to stay on with the Bluesbreakers. Brunning was hired instead, and joined the band with full understanding that he was out if [=McVie=] changed his mind...which he did. ''Two weeks later''.
* '''Music/FooFighters''' has weird cases, as the band had already been successful when they joined. After Dave Grohl did the first album by himself, he recruited a full band for the tour. The drummer, William Goldsmith (of Music/SunnyDayRealEstate fame), quit during production of the second album as Grohl didn't like his drum tracks and redid them himself (only one and a half of Goldsmith's contributions remained). Then the new guitarist for that album's tour, Franz Stahl (who played with Grohl in Scream), quit before the third album's production, with his only studio recordings being soundtrack contributions "A320" and "Walking After You".

* '''Music/{{Genesis|Band}}''' had a whole series of these. Taken in reverse order, the completion of their first "real" album, ''Music/{{Trespass|GenesisAlbum}}'', saw the departure of drummer John Mayhew, so they put an ad in ''Melody Maker'' and Music/PhilCollins responded. Co-founding guitarist Anthony Phillips also left at this juncture to pursue a prolific but obscure solo career, and was replaced by Mick Barnard (with whom no albums were recorded) for a couple of months, until Barnard himself was replaced by Steve Hackett. Mayhew [[note]](also responding to a ''Melody Maker'' ad)[[/note]] replaced ''his'' predecessor, John Silver, a few months after their ''actual'' debut album was released (the [[OldShame largely disregarded]] ''From Genesis to Revelation''), and about a month after they went pro. And Silver was himself the replacement for their founding drummer, Chris Stewart, who had performed on their first two singles and all the early demos.

* '''Music/ImagineDragons''' formed in 2008 as a five-piece group with Frontman Dan Reynolds along with Andrew Beck, Dave Lemke, Andrew Tolman and Aurora Florence though Beck, Lemke and Florence left not long after while Andrew (along with his wife, Brittany Tolman, who was recruited after the other original members left) left shortly after the band secured a recording contract with Creator/InterscopeRecords. Theresa Flaminio was also briefly a member in 2011. They were replaced over time with Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee and Daniel Platzman and the lineup has been stable since then. The band released their first studio album ''Night Visions'' which has since gone multi-platinum with subsequent albums also achieving commercial success. While some of the former members remain active in music, they have not received anywhere near the success of their former group. Andrew Tolsom though did later help co-write and produce some of the songs on their ''Mercury'' albums.

* The '''Music/InsaneClownPosse''' originally appeared in promotional photographs with a third member, John Kickjazz. (This is how Violent J spells his name in "Behind The Paint" - fan sites call him 'Kickchass'.) By the time the first Joker's Card (album) ''Carnival of Carnage'' was completed, John was nowhere to be found. He did get mentioned in the song "The Juggla," though.

** After Bryar's departure 2010, drumming duties were passed to Michael Pedicone, although he was not an official member. This ended in 2011, when he was caught red-handed stealing from the band, and was promptly fired. This hit guitarist Frank Iero particularly hard, as the two were reportedly close friends. During the show immediately following the incident, in Salt Lake City, Iero (who usually says "trust me" during the bridge of their song "I'm Not Okay,") instead said "trust no one."

* '''Music/NoDoubt''' was founded in 1986 by lead vocalist John Spence and keyboardist Eric Stefani, who filled out their lineup with Eric's younger sister [[Music/GwenStefani Gwen]] (backing vocals), Jerry [=McMahon=] (guitar), Chris Leal (bass), Gabe Gonzalez (trumpet), Chris Webb (drums), Kevin Wells (trombone), and Alan and Tony Meade (backing vocals/trumpet and saxophone, respectively). By the time they made their first album, Spence had killed himself, Gwen was the lead singer and the familiar lineup of bassist Tony Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont, and drummer Adrian Young were already in place...as were Eric Stefani, saxophonist Eric Carpenter, trumpeter Don Hammerstedt, and trombonist Alex Henderson (actually the ''third'' trombonist, with Paul Caseley bridging the gap between Wells and Henderson). If none of these guys sounds familiar to you, it's because their first album was considered a flop by the record company, and their ''second'' album had current touring members Gabrial [=McNair=] and Stephen Bradley replacing Hammerstedt and Henderson; Eric Stefani was still a member at the time but left shortly after the group made it big -- he's on the cover of ''Tragic Kingdom'' at the behest of his sister (he's the one facing away from the camera).

* The initial line-up of '''O-Zone''' consisted of Dan Balan and Petru Jelihovschi, both former members of a band called Inferialis. After their first album hit it big in home Moldova, Jelihovschi decided to leave the project since music was a hobby for him, and he did not plan to perform professionally. Balan ended up bringing in Arsenie Todiraş and Radu Sîrbu, and the band recorded their biggest hit, "Dragostea din tei", as a trio.

* '''Music/{{Pantera}}''' was Dimebag Darrell, Phil Anselmo, Vinnie Paul and Rex Brown right? Well, not many people know about their OldShame as a glam metal band in the 1980s. Terry Glaze was originally on lead vocals and rhythm guitar during this glam era, fronting the band's first three albums (''Metal Magic'', ''Projects in the Jungle'', and ''I Am the Night''). [[note]] To take it a step further, none of these albums were even officially released on CD, since they were [[CanonDiscontinuity disowned and abandoned]] as soon as the 90s kicked in. Any downloads of them on the Internet are either vinyl or cassette rips, and any [=CDs=] being sold of them are bootlegs. [[/note]] In a Washington Post article, he even described himself as "The Pete Best of Pantera" in his own words. Similarly, it's been made clear that Terry is at peace with that status, being very content to stick to his smaller musical projects and being a family man as well.

* Legendary Argentinean rock band '''Music/PatricioReyYSusRedonditosDeRicota''' started as a troupe with a rock band added on top of it, though in all reality all members not named [[Music/IndioSolari Carlos "Indio" Solari]], [[Music/SkayBeilinson Eduardo "Skay" Beilinson]], Daniel Fernando "Semilla" Bucciarelli, Walter Sidotti and Sergio Dawi count.

** Meanwhile, Music/SydBarrett has been granted an aversion of this. Although he was fired during the making of their second album due to CreatorBreakdown, they had some decent success with their first album and their singles, and after he left the band, he recorded two well received solo records. The fact that the band wouldn't stop writing songs about him probably helped as well.

** According to most accounts, he took getting fired better than Sting and Stewart Copeland took having to fire him. He was more of a "punk" guitarist (i.e., [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth he couldn't play]]), and went on to several other bands. He even joined the band onstage at one show during their reunion tour.

** Mike Grose joined in 1970, when what was still Smile had yet to formally become Queen. He actually performed onstage with Brian and Roger before Freddie finally joined in June 1970, and was part of the same social circle as the rest of the band. Mike played three gigs with Queen before leaving in July 1970, amicably as the band would hire his haulage company when they got bigger touring gigs.

* For '''Music/RedHotChiliPeppers''', it's anyone who played in the band other than the four originals (Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons - though this formation only played for their first demo tape and was eventually reformed for their third album, with Slovak appearing in another album; Irons is also known for playing in Music/PearlJam), [[LongRunnerLineUp the most well-known formation]] (Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante and Chad Smith), and the two guys who replaced John Frusciante (although Dave Navarro is best known for Music/JanesAddiction).

* '''Music/TheRutles''' mocked this with Leppo, who parodied Stuart Sutcliffe, but they also played it straight -- when they first appeared on television Dirk mocked George and Stig lampooned Paul. Dirk was portrayed by Eric Idle, but Stig was portrayed by David Battley before the two swapped their parodies and [[Music/TheBeachBoys Ricky Fataar]] stepped in.

* '''Music/SigurRos'''[='=]s original drummer, Ágúst [=Æ=]var Gunnarsson, left the band after creating two albums and was replaced by Orri Páll Dýrason -- it was only with the next two albums that they made it big outside of their native UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}}.

* {{Inverted|Trope}} with '''Six''', a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin six person]] pop group consisting of three male and three female members put together by the Irish version of ''Popstars'' in the TV talent show craze of the noughties. One member of the band's lineup, however, was disqualified after it emerged she had lied about her age and blundered it badly in an interview and was swiftly replaced. Amusingly, the girl in question was Nadine Coyle, who went on to have great success with Music/GirlsAloud, while Six.......didn't.

** Jo O'Meara, interestingly, was part of ''two'' separate projects before S Club 7. First, she was in an early lineup for the girl group Solid [=HarmoniE=], who were later briefly successful across Europe in the late '90s. She left before they put out their official debut single "Got 2 Have Ya" but did record vocals for the track "7 Seconds", which never got a proper release. After being dropped, she joined the German-based pop-rap group 2-4 Family but promptly left after being accepted into S Club 7. Of Jo's two cases, only the former would have been a straight example of this trope, as she appeared on the latter's debut single "Stay", which was a top 10 hit in Germany. Of course, S Club 7 proved to be much bigger than any of the aforementioned groups.

* Everyone knows about '''Music/{{Soundgarden}}'''[='=]s prolific and [[DeadpanSnarker outspoken]] [[TokenMinority Token Asian]] guitarist Kim Thayil, but far fewer people are aware that, prior to their commercial breakthrough ''Badmotorfinger'' in 1991, they had ''another'' member of similar ethnicity in bassist Hiro Yamamoto, later replaced by the more proactive Ben Shepherd. Despite his final appearance being on 1989's ''Louder than Love''--the band's major label debut and partial [[GrowingTheBeard Beard Growing]] (several of the songs went on to become major fan favorites)--he still fails to be recognized, partly due to his tokenness being overshadowed by Thayil, and partly due to the fact that Music/ChrisCornell was [[IAmTheBand responsible for almost all of the songwriting]] up to that point. (Hiro did offer occasional writing contributions, but the songs that received the most listener acclaim were almost exclusively Cornell-penned.)

* When '''Music/StatusQuo''' began in the middle The60s, they had a moderate amount of success and two or three chart hits in a swirly, keyboards-driven, psychedelic manner. When the band's direction changed from ''Pictures of Matchstick Men" to the more guitar-driven sound they are far more famous for, there wasn't so much call for a permanent keyboards player, and Roy Lynes left the band, which did not take another full-time keyboardist member until 1977, nearly ten years later. If people are asked "who played keyboards with Status Quo?", the answer is invariably going to be Andy Bown. Thus Lynes remains an obscure footnote to the group's history.

* Legendary Argentinean rock band '''Music/PatricioReyYSusRedonditosDeRicota''' started as a troupe with a rock band added on top of it, though in all reality all members not named Carlos "Indio" Solari, Eduardo "Skay" Beilinson, Daniel Fernando "Semilla" Bucciarelli, Walter Sidotti and Sergio Dawi count.

* Rare case of the one who started the band becoming The Pete Best: In 1990-1991, Atlanta teenager Crystal Jones put out a call for two more girls to join her in a trio to be called 2nd Nature. Then came singer Tionne Watkins and rapper Lisa Lopes. After getting a manager, who renamed them '''Music/{{TLC}}''', they had an audition to get a record deal. They passed on the condition of replacing Jones - and with Rozonda Thomas (nicknamed "Chili" so the acronym would still work) they sold millions worldwide. Jones's dismissal was because she refused to sign Reid's major label contract - a suspiciousness that wound up prescient: following the success of their hit album ''[=CrazySexyCool=]'', TLC declared bankruptcy because they made almost no money off of album sales.

* Guitarist '''Jason Everman''' was only a member of Music/{{Nirvana}} for six months in 1989; he's credited and appears on the cover of ''Bleach'', but does not play on it; He was only credited as a gesture of gratitude from Kurt Cobain because he forked over the [[NoBudget $600]] to record the album. After leaving Nirvana, Everman played bass for Music/{{Soundgarden}} for about a year before being kicked out. Having washed out of two of the fastest rising bands in Seattle[[note]]In the words of ''The New York Times'', he was "Pete Best twice"[[/note]] Everman decided to focus his attention on something else: He joined the Army, and [[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/magazine/evermans-war.html became a decorated member of the U.S. Special Forces]].

* Most fans of the MelodicDeathMetal band '''Music/ArchEnemy''' are unfamiliar with the band's original vocalist, Johan Liiva, who was fired by the band for his lack of energy during live performances. They hired [[MsFanservice Angela Gossow]] and went on to achieve international success.

* '''Music/AvengedSevenfold''' went through three bassists (Matt Wendt, Justin Sane [not the Music/AntiFlag frontman] and Dameon Ash) before finding mainstream success with Johnny Christ. Justin did in fact play on ''Sounding the Seventh Trumpet'', but he was dismissed because he suffered brain damage in a suicide attempt.

* In a rare example of this happening within a band that had already been signed and released several albums, cofounder John Foxx left '''Music/{{Ultravox}}''' after three albums to start a solo career, having helped steer the band from its punk roots to early synthpop pioneers. Despite being praised and cited as an influence by Music/GaryNuman, then at the peak of his success, among others, his first solo record ''[=MetaMatic=]'' flopped as it was derided as unoriginal and [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny excessively derivative and imitative of Numan and other more recent synthpop stars who had cited Foxx as an influence]]. Ultravox, on the other hand, replaced him as lead singer with Midge Ure ... and had the first-ever Top Forty singles, including SignatureSong "Vienna", as the beginning of a run of success that would last into the mid-80s.

* '''Music/TheKentuckyHeadhunters''' was founded in 1968 as Itchy Brother, consisting of brothers Richard and Fred Young, along with Greg Martin and Anthony Kenney. This lineup held until 1980, except for a short time when James Harrison temporarily replaced Martin. When they reunited in TheEighties as The Kentucky Headhunters, the Youngs and Martin recruited brothers Ricky Lee and Doug Phelps as lead singer and bassist respectively. This lineup lasted only two albums before the Phelpses quit to form Brother Phelps. As a result, Kenney returned and Mark S. Orr became the new lead singer. Orr quit only one album later over CreativeDifferences, so Doug returned to take his brother's former post as lead singer (and, after Kenney quit in 2008, Doug once again became bassist). These membership changes are unusual in that the band's biggest success came during the short period of time (1989-1992) when Ricky Lee Phelps was lead vocalist, even though Doug has held that role far longer.

* When '''Music/StatusQuo''' began in the middle TheSixties, they had a moderate amount of success and two or three chart hits in a swirly, keyboards-driven, psychedelic manner. When the band's direction changed from ''Pictures of Matchstick Men" to the more guitar-driven sound they are far more famous for, there wasn't so much call for a permanent keyboards player, and Roy Lynes left the band, which did not take another full-time keyboardist member until 1977, nearly ten years later. If people are asked "who played keyboards with Status Quo?", the answer is invariably going to be Andy Bown. Thus Lynes remains an obscure footnote to the group's history.

* While '''Music/TroutFishingInAmerica''' has always had guitarist Ezra Idlet and bassist Keith Grimwood, there was a time in TheEighties when their membership also included keyboardist Rom Rosenblum and drummer Orville Strickland.

* '''Music/{{Creed}}''' had a second guitarist, who left two years before they recorded their first album.

** Oh, and these lineup changes also included a keyboardist: Tony Moore joined the band in 1977, but he left the band believing they would be better off without keyboards. Ironically, Maiden ''has'' a keyboardist these days for touring purposes, Michael Kenney, who joined in 1988.

* '''Music/{{Madness}}''' was co-founded by drummer John Hasler, who dropped out of performing to become their manager instead. They had several other short-lived members before settling on the classic line-up, including replacement drummer Gary Dovey, and vocalist Dikran Tulaine, who went on to some success as an actor. Both Graham "Suggs" [=McPherson=] and Cathal "Chas Smash" Smyth averted this by being fired early on, only to subsequently return.

** The second and more extreme case was bassist Margot Olavarria, who the band fired mere months before the release of their breakout debut album ''Beauty and the Beat''. She had already toured with them in the UK, where they opened for Music/{{Madness}} and Music/TheSpecials and almost got signed to Stiff Records, but by the time they were signed to I.R.S. Records, she had been dropped due to her health ailments and opposition towards their shift towards pop. She was ultimately replaced by Kathy Valentine, who very quickly learned the parts to the band's songs without much prior experience.

[[folder:Repeated offenders]]

* Guitarist '''Rob Gardner''' is a Pete Best for Music/GunsNRoses (replaced by Steven Adler) and L.A. Guns.

* Bassist '''Ole Beich''' is a Pete Best for Music/GunsNRoses (replaced by Duff [=McKagan=]), Music/LAGuns, and Music/MercyfulFate.

* Guitarist '''Rob Gardner''' is a Pete Best for Music/GunsNRoses (replaced by Steven Adler) and Music/LAGuns.
* '''Lee Rauch''' was very briefly part of Music/DarkAngel (who, while not at the same level as Megadeth, they're by no means a small-time band even now) and Wargod before joining (and leaving) Music/Megadeth.

* '''Music/TheFall''' subverted and perverted this trope even more than Music/{{Yes}}, having gone through at least ''[[RevolvingDoorBand fifty different members]]'', many of whom only held their positions for a single album or tour. Played straight or almost straight on several occasions, however, most notably with the replacement of original drummer "Dave"[[note]]Or "Steve"... His actual name was Steve Ormrod. He was a jazz session drummer, a "rabid Conservative", and had schizophrenia. He committed suicide by lying on the train tracks in Longsight, and letting the train run him over on Saturday August 20th 1994. He was in his 40s.[[/note]] with multi-instrumentalist Karl Burns in early 1977. Burns remained with the group in various capacities until the late 1990s, and is generally regarded as the group's best drummer.

* Drummer '''Simon Wolstencroft''' was the Pete Best for two bands. After leaving The Patrol (which became '''Music/TheStoneRoses'''), he joined another Manchester band called Freak Party, which he later left because he thought their new singer was awful. The singer was Steven Music/{{Morrissey}} and Freak Party soon became '''Music/TheSmiths'''. Wolstencroft eventually found a steady job as one of Music/TheFall's two drummers, a gig which lasted almost a decade.

* '''Music/DepecheMode''' have a very quirky example in Vince Clarke, their keyboardist and primary songwriter for their first album, ''Music/SpeakAndSpell''. While ''Speak & Spell'' was a commercial hit, the band's much more critically acclaimed work would come after Clarke's departure allowed the band to go in a DarkerAndEdgier direction, and both Depeche Mode themselves and fans largely regard ''Speak & Spell'' as an early curiosity disconnected from the band's main body of work. Clarke is also a rare example of a Pete Best who [[BreakupBreakout went on to greater success after leaving the band]], as he would found both Music/{{Yazoo}} and Music/{{Erasure}}.

* '''Music/TheGoGos''' had two notable Pete Bests. The first was original drummer Elissa Bello, who left in 1979 so she could commit to her regular job. She was promptly replaced by Gina Schock, who brought a more professional culture to the group that would help ignite their rise to stardom. The second and more extreme case was bassist Margot Olavarria, who the band fired mere months before the release of their breakout debut album ''Beauty and the Beat''. She had already toured with them in the UK, where they opened for Music/{{Madness}} and Music/TheSpecials and almost got signed to Stiff Records, but by the time they were signed to I.R.S. Records, she had been dropped due to her health ailments and opposition towards their shift towards pop. She was ultimately replaced by Kathy Valentine, who very quickly learned the parts to the band's songs without much prior experience.

** The other two members of L. A. Guns who founded the band, Ole Beich and Rob Gardner (also Pete Bests for L.A. Guns, with Ole also being one for Music/MercyfulFate), were replaced by Duff [=McKagan=] and Steven Adler, respectively.

** Lee Rauch was very briefly part of Music/DarkAngel and Wargod (thereby doubling as a Pete Best for the former; while not as big as Megadeth by any means, Dark Angel was not a small-time band then and is not a small-time band now).

** Guitarist Jason Everman was only a member of Nirvana for six months in 1989; He's credited and appears on the cover of ''Bleach'', but does not play on it; He was only credited as a gesture of gratitude from Kurt Cobain because he forked over the [[NoBudget $600]] to record the album. After leaving Nirvana, Everman played bass for Music/{{Soundgarden}} for about a year before being kicked out. Having washed out of two of the fastest rising bands in Seattle - in the words of ''The New York Times'', he was "Pete Best twice" - Everman decided to focus his attention on something else: He joined the Army, and [[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/magazine/evermans-war.html became a decorated member of the U.S. Special Forces]].

** Early on in 2004, Vinnie Paul attended one of Terry's shows with Lord Tracy, and they briefly tossed around the idea of a one-off reunion show where the glam-era Pantera songs could be played live again. Had it worked out, Terry might've actually made a bit of a comeback from being a Pete Best anymore. Of course, later that year, the idea was scrapped after his death...

* Drummer Simon Wolstencroft was the Pete Best for two bands. After leaving The Patrol (which became '''Music/TheStoneRoses'''), he joined another Manchester band called Freak Party, which he later left because he thought their new singer was awful. The singer was Steven Music/{{Morrissey}} and Freak Party soon became '''Music/TheSmiths'''. Wolstencroft eventually found a steady job as one of Music/TheFall's two drummers, a gig which lasted almost a decade.

* A case where this trope was, for sad reasons, a life-saver: Utopia were a struggling band when keyboardist Márcio Araújo decided he couldn't juggle between music and college and left. 3 years later, Utopia had reinvented itself as comedy rock group '''Mamonas Assassinas''' and became the biggest thing in Brazil, leading Araújo to become the butt of jokes. However, once Mamonas' success was cut short after eight months once everyone died in a plane crash, Araújo, in the words of his boss at the time, "went from unlucky to luckiest guy in the planet".

* '''Music/FaithNoMore''' had a number of lead singers before they found Music/MikePatton. Original lead singer Mike Morris was ousted after a couple years. Then they went through a bunch of temporary singers, including a young Music/CourtneyLove, before hiring Chuck Mosley. Mosley sang lead on their first two albums, making it onto the band's first landmark single [[WeCare "We Care A Lot"]], then got fired. After Patton took over, they had their commercial breakthrough with the album, ''The Real Thing'' and the song,"Epic".

* '''Music/FaithNoMore''' had a number of lead singers before they found Music/MikePatton. Original lead singer Mike Morris was ousted after a couple years. Then they went through a bunch of temporary singers, including a young Music/CourtneyLove, before hiring Chuck Mosley. Mosley sang lead on their first two albums, making it onto the band's first landmark single [[WeCare "We Care A Lot"]], then got fired. After Patton took over, they had their commercial breakthrough with "Epic" and ''The Real Thing''.

** Vocalist Ralf Scheepers sang in the first three albums before departing for a failed audition for Judas Priest and forming Music/PrimalFear alongside some members of Sinner.

* Helsinki {{power metal}}ers '''Music/BattleBeast''' won two band competitions and a record deal with Nuclear Blast with Nitte Valo on lead vocals. Valo chose to leave the band upon getting married in 2012, and was replaced with Noora Louhimo, who has become TheFaceOfTheBand.

* '''Music/FaithNoMore''' had a number of lead singers before they found FaceOfTheBand Music/MikePatton. Original lead singer Mike Morris was ousted after a couple years. Then they went through a bunch of temporary singers, including a young Music/CourtneyLove, before hiring Chuck Mosley. Mosley sang lead on their first two albums, making it onto the band's first landmark single [[WeCare "We Care A Lot"]], then got fired. After Patton took over, they had their commercial breakthrough with "Epic" and ''The Real Thing''.

* '''Parallels''' co-founder Cameron Findlay split with FaceOfTheBand Holly Dodson following the release of their 2010 debut album, ''Visionaries'', and was replaced by Holly's brother Nick Dodson on drums and Artem Galperine on synthesizers.

* '''Music/TheProdigy''' used to have a female dancer named Sharky, who left before their first album was released. She did however make a cameo in the music video for the Music/{{Pendulum|Band}} remix of "Voodoo People."