THE FORGOTTEN BEATLE...

Stuart Sutcliffe

When the Beatles disbanded in 1970 many of the fans were devastated and most of the girls and boys who have grown up with them seem to have a memory of how the band have shaped their lives.Many people including rock critics seem to have pinpoint on the so-called 'friendship' of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney going sour as they both ridicule each other on their solo albums,at least in the early parts of it.

As rock fans at the time continue to be saddened on both Lennon and McCartney falling out each other,many people didn't know that John Lennon was sad over the loss of his best friend,something that he kindles even in the band's latter days,and that wasn't even Paul McCartney.

Stuart Sutcliffe had quitted the band even before the Beatles rose to fame,his life was documented in the 1994 film Backbeat where Sutcliffe was portrayed by actor Stephen Dorff.The film was accepted by the public with mixed reviews,Paul McCartney even stated that he wasn't very much impressed with the film,pointing to several inaccuracies.

Sutcliffe was the Beatles' original bass player,and one would wonder what the future of the Beatles might have been if he didn't quit the group and went back to art college in early 1962.The same year saw his death of an apparent brain hemorrhage.Sutcliffe was John Lennon's best friend in the band,his drinking buddy and partner in crime.They always watch for each other's backs everytime there was trouble in one way or another.

Stu,as most of the other Beatles call him,was also centered on the doubts of his musical abilities.It was often mentioned on various Beatles books that Sutcliffe could hardly play good bass with Paul McCartney saying to have stirred things up with the band that he was in fact unhappy with Stu's playing.This was also documented in the controversial film mentioned here before,but as far as movie makers and biography writers is concerned,nobody really knew about Stu's musical abilities except those people who really knew him and heard him play on the Cavern.Reading several articles both online and from people who knew him back in the Beatles' days as a bar band,I saw the strong opposing details that made me think again on who really was Stu and his role in the band as a bass player.

Who really is Stuart Sutcliffe? Is he really the worst musician Backbeat has portrayed him that he was? 

Stuart Sutcliffe 1961

I've talked to some people and to a friend who turned out to be a former neighbor of the band and hearing from him these  first hand infos and his sharp mind on how he recall of hearing Sutcliffe play at the Cavern and even describing how brilliant a musician he was!! Well the rest as they say,is legend.Numerous speculations and perhaps one music writer's  imagination on how the life of Stu might have been considering that his candle was far too short and he lived in only a few short years in this world.

One interesting article I suppose will make his role in the band somewhat mythical is featured here where it was straightened out on how the life of Stu really meant and his role to the Beatles was.Everyone would wonder what the Beatles might have looked like if Stuart Sutcliffe didn't trade his bass to a canvass and a few brushes as he chose to go back to art college even before the Beatles made it to the top of the world.

Love triangle:Klaus,Astrid and Stu

Stu's social life on the other hand,was even more famous even before the Harrison-Boyd-Clapton affair
became the talk of the town.

It was widely known that Astrid Kircheer was Klaus Voormann's girlfriend until Sutcliffe came along.With some rumors of the Voormann-Kircheer relationship as platonic,one would argue on how things went on the two of them that Astrid decided to leave Voormann for Stu[Voormann was portrayed weeping at the film Backbeat though the accuracy of the film is somewhat questioned].

Sutcliffe and Kircheer got engaged with him leaving the Beatles to go back to art college.Stu started to complain of severe headaches later on and he eventually collapsed in the middle of an art class while in Hamburg,he was rushed to the hospital but died on the way.The cause of his death was eventually ruled out as brain hemorrhage.Having involved with lots of fist fights at the often riotous early Beatles gigs and even sustaining a fractured skull at one point he was thrown off a brick wall with both Lennon and Pete Best aiding for his rescue seems to be the eventual cause of this.

Sutcliffe died at a young and tender age of 21.His remains were brought back to his hometown of Liverpool and there it was laid to rest.

Stuart Sutcliffe(left) with George Harrison

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio