Ringo not first choice to replace Pete?

In an article about the final concert of retiring drummer Bobby Graham (68) in Hertfordshire Mercury, the well known session man gets a couple of his anecdotes retold:

In 1962 he was asked by The Beatles manager Brian Epstein to replace original drummer Pete Best in the pop group, but Bobby had a hit record with his band Joe Brown and The Bruvvers at the time and had doubts about joining a then unknown band. Here’s the quote from Bobby himself:
“We were on tour in June I962 and played at Cavern and Litherland Town Hall. After the show we went to a club called the Blue Angel with Brain Epstein. Brian offered me the job with the Beatles. They wanted to get rid of Pete Best, they were having problems with Pete’s mother. Brian didn’t like her, so he decided to out Pete, and asked me if I was interested in joining the band, I said ‘why would want to join a band in Liverpool that nobody’s ever heard of?”.

A couple of years later, Bobby was approached again to stand in for Ringo Starr, who had tonsillitis, but this time he had too much session work to do.

He said: “I don’t think it would have worked anyway. That was very much a Liverpool-based band. I thought they were great though!”

Bobby has been called the most recorded drummer in British ’60s pop, and has a biography out, “The Session Man”.

Source: Hertfordshire Mercury
Wikipedia on Bobby Graham
Bobby’s Official Website