The death of Stuart Sutcliffe
April 1962
Members of The Beatles, John and Paul especially, had experienced loss in their young lives. Both had lost their mothers while they were teenagers. John had also lost his Uncle George, who was more like a father to him than his actual father. But as a unit, The Beatles had never had to deal with the level of tragedy that would come in April of 1962.
Stuart Sutcliffe’s influence on The Beatles started as soon as he joined the group in January of 1960. He helped come up with the band’s name and was the first to try on different clothes and hair styles. Not to mention he was John’s closest friend. Though he left the band to stay in Hamburg with his fiancée, Astrid Kirchherr, he would be remembered by The Beatles in such ways as a reference in John’s “In My Life” as well as being on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album. Had he lived he would certainly have contributed, if not musically, through his art. After being extremely ill for several months, Stu died on April 10, 1962 in Hamburg just as The Beatles were returning for a residency at The Star Club. That's where this episode of The Beatles60 podcast begins…
