Full Name:
Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe
Significant Facts ABout Stu Sutcliffe:
Stu Sutcliffe Lands in Liverpool:
His mother was a school teacher, his father a civil servant. Shortly after he was born, his father's work forced the family to move from Edinburgh to Liverpool. This accident of geography would come to define Stu Sutcliffe's short life.
He showed exceptional talent as a painter early on, and was accepted at Liverpool Art School at a much younger age than most.
Stu Sutcliffe's Fateful Friendship:
Sutcliffe met John Lennon quite by chance in 1957, when both were 17. Sutcliffe was intensely focused on his art. Lennon, a year behind him in art school, was more interested in music. As the two youngsters grew to be close friends, Sutcliffe became more interested in music, Lennon more in art.
When Lennon's band, then known as The Quarrymen, needed a bass player, Sutcliffe joined up, probably less because of his musical skill than because it was Lennon's band, and the two were good friends.
Stu Sutcliffe Names The Beatles:
Popular legend has it that Sutcliffe suggested the name Beetles for the band, because of the popularity of Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets.
In fact, for a time, the band was known as The Silver Beetles. Sutcliffe's sister, Pauline, says, however, that the legend is only partly true. "Contrary to popular mythology," she told Larry Kane in his book Lennon Revealed, "it is actually from the girl gang in the Marlon Brando movie The Wild Ones, and there's a girl gang called the Beatles, and that's where Stuart got it from."
Like Brando and James Dean, Sutcliffe had a handsome rebel/bad boy image that defined the band when they began a series of performances in Hamburg, Germany in 1960.
Much has been made of Yoko Ono's alleged role in the ultimate breakup of the Beatles. Ironically, it was Sutcliffe's engagement to Astrid Kirchherr, a photographer and artist he met in Hamburg, and his desire to concentrate on his art that led him to decide to the leave the band in 1961.
Lennon responded to Sutcliffe's announcement by subjecting his closest friend a severe beating. That incident would come to haunt Lennon for the rest of his life.
The Mysterious End of Stu Sutcliffe:
Lennon's attack on Sutcliffe came just a few weeks after he had been severely beaten by a gang that accosted him as the band was loading its gear after a concert in January of 1961. The following April, Sutcliffe died of a cerebral hemorrhage. It might have been the result of one or the other of the beatings, or it might have been a congenital defect. Not knowing was a source of anguish for Lennon for the rest of his life.
Stu Sutcliffe's Non-Musical Legacy:
His influence came from providing its name, and imprinting his personal style and musical sensibility on the band's other members.
Sutcliffe died before the Beatles saw the inside of a recording studio. The only known recording of Sutcliffe with the Beatles is a bootleg "basement tape" -- a rough recording of the band rehearsing at home. A song from that tape, "Cayenne" was included on the Beatles Anthology 1. His picture appears on the covers of that album and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe
Born:
June 23, 1940 in Edinburgh, ScotlandDied:
April 10, 1962 in Liverpool, England of a cerebral hemorrhageSignificant Facts ABout Stu Sutcliffe:
- Born in Scotland, moved with his family to Liverpool as a baby
- His main interests and skills were in the visual arts
- Met and became close friends with John Lennon when the two were teenagers
Stu Sutcliffe Lands in Liverpool:
His mother was a school teacher, his father a civil servant. Shortly after he was born, his father's work forced the family to move from Edinburgh to Liverpool. This accident of geography would come to define Stu Sutcliffe's short life.
He showed exceptional talent as a painter early on, and was accepted at Liverpool Art School at a much younger age than most.
Stu Sutcliffe's Fateful Friendship:
Sutcliffe met John Lennon quite by chance in 1957, when both were 17. Sutcliffe was intensely focused on his art. Lennon, a year behind him in art school, was more interested in music. As the two youngsters grew to be close friends, Sutcliffe became more interested in music, Lennon more in art.
When Lennon's band, then known as The Quarrymen, needed a bass player, Sutcliffe joined up, probably less because of his musical skill than because it was Lennon's band, and the two were good friends.
Stu Sutcliffe Names The Beatles:
Popular legend has it that Sutcliffe suggested the name Beetles for the band, because of the popularity of Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets.
In fact, for a time, the band was known as The Silver Beetles. Sutcliffe's sister, Pauline, says, however, that the legend is only partly true. "Contrary to popular mythology," she told Larry Kane in his book Lennon Revealed, "it is actually from the girl gang in the Marlon Brando movie The Wild Ones, and there's a girl gang called the Beatles, and that's where Stuart got it from."
Like Brando and James Dean, Sutcliffe had a handsome rebel/bad boy image that defined the band when they began a series of performances in Hamburg, Germany in 1960.
Much has been made of Yoko Ono's alleged role in the ultimate breakup of the Beatles. Ironically, it was Sutcliffe's engagement to Astrid Kirchherr, a photographer and artist he met in Hamburg, and his desire to concentrate on his art that led him to decide to the leave the band in 1961.
Lennon responded to Sutcliffe's announcement by subjecting his closest friend a severe beating. That incident would come to haunt Lennon for the rest of his life.
The Mysterious End of Stu Sutcliffe:
Lennon's attack on Sutcliffe came just a few weeks after he had been severely beaten by a gang that accosted him as the band was loading its gear after a concert in January of 1961. The following April, Sutcliffe died of a cerebral hemorrhage. It might have been the result of one or the other of the beatings, or it might have been a congenital defect. Not knowing was a source of anguish for Lennon for the rest of his life.
Stu Sutcliffe's Non-Musical Legacy:
His influence came from providing its name, and imprinting his personal style and musical sensibility on the band's other members.
Sutcliffe died before the Beatles saw the inside of a recording studio. The only known recording of Sutcliffe with the Beatles is a bootleg "basement tape" -- a rough recording of the band rehearsing at home. A song from that tape, "Cayenne" was included on the Beatles Anthology 1. His picture appears on the covers of that album and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
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