Concert by original Beatle draws noise citation

A rock 'n' roll show by the original drummer for The Beatles landed a club owner a date in court after complaints that the music was too loud.

Pete Best and The Pete Best Band were playing outdoors Sunday night at Loco's Deli & Pub, a nightclub in this college town famous for launching the careers of bands like REM and The B-52s.

Police showed up with a citation for the club, saying a neighbor had complained that the music was violating the county's noise ordinance.

Because Loco's owner Jamie Loftin has been cited for noise before, he is headed to municipal court, where a judge will decide if he should pay more than the usual $144 (euro113) fine.

"We respect our neighbors and try to do things by the book, so it's disappointing when you try to do that and still can't make everybody happy,'' Loftin said.

According to the Athens ordinance, noise before 11 p.m. is too loud if it can be heard 300 feet (90 meters) away. The show, which lasted just over an hour, was not interrupted and Loftin said he asked the band's sound engineer to turn down the volume after police arrived.

Jeff Snowden, who handles publicity for the club, said most, if not all, of the complaints about the club's music have come from a single neighbor.

He said he regretted the complaint came during a show that drew a mostly middle-age crowd of about 140 people.

"This wasn't a frat party,'' Snowden said. "It was an important show because it was the closest anyone there ever got to a Beatle, and it's just too bad someone pushed our laws to the point of unreasonableness.''

A drummer, Best played with The Beatles until 1962, when he was replaced by Ringo Starr.

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