Stu's death

For John Lennon, he was an older student to look up to and emulate; for his teachers, he was going to be a significant visual artist; for most of us, he was the fifth Beatle. This promise was suddenly cut short when Stuart Sutcliffe died in 1962 at the age of twenty-two in Hamburg, Germany, where he was studying to become an artist. His first trip to Hamburg in 1960 came when he was playing with school friend John Lennon and his band. Lennon met Stucliffe at the Liverpool Regional College of Art. Sutcliffe was a year ahead of Lennon, and already developing a reputation. In fact, when he sold...

The Beatles original bass bassist. A brilliant young painter who was cut down before his career had begun to blossom. Stuart will always be better known as the first bass player for The Beatles. Recognized for his artistic ability with even as a child, Stuart was probably the most gifted and revolutionary of the other Beatles. As an avid follower of the beat movements, and well versed in the Impressionist, he left a strong and lasting imprint on the young John Lennon, became his closest friend, In 1959 a painting by Stuart was selected for the John Moores Exibition, one of the biggest art shows...