Mona Best

Who was Mona Best?

Mona "Mo" Best was born in India, and is best known as the mother of Pete Best, who was an early member of The Beatles. Mona also had two other sons, Rory, and Vincent "Roag" Best. It was later confirmed that Roag's father was The Beatles' associate, Neil Aspinall, although he was not registered as the father on Roag's birth certificate.

After moving to Liverpool from India, the Best family claim that Mona pawned all of her jewellery in 1954, and used the money to place a 33–1 bet on a horse named "Never Say Die"; using her winnings to buy a house in 1957. Mona later opened The Casbah Coffee Club in the cellar of the house as a venue for Rock 'n' Roll music. It was planned as a members-only club for her sons and their friends. The club was often referred to as The Casbah Club, or The Casbah.

The Quarrymen: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ken Brown, frequently played at The Casbah instead of the The Cavern Club, which had a jazz-only policy at that time. The Casbah Club cellar—with its original decoration—still exists. In 2006, the property was accorded a Grade II Heritage listing. Mona died in 1988, after a heart attack following a long illness.