Before Beatles
Sutcliffe as the son of a marine father and teacher mother was born in 1940 in Scotland. The family moved to England and his father was not around since he was at sea. Sutcliffe sang songs in the choir during his school years. He met John Lennon when he was in the art school in Liverpool. Stuart who was 14 at that time was talented in painting. Sutcliffe later met McCartney. He grabs a bass guitar but he isn’t that successful. Stuart and John’s photo on the ground show the bad behavior of the youth in a newspaper photo.
The Beatles
The artist struggled when he played with The Beatles. He often turned his back to the audience because he was shy during the concerts and most people encouraged him to work on painting rather than music. Due to what happened in their concerts in Germany, 3 members were deported. Sutcliffe was sick and stayed in Hamburg for a while. The artist borrowed money from his friend Astrid Kirchherr and flew to Liverpool. He decided to stay there until 1961 when Beatles got back to Germany. Some of his records with the group were revealed in 1996 in Anthology 1.
His years in Germany and His Artistic Style
Stuart Sutcliffe met photographer Astrid Kirchherr after a concert. Kirchherr offered to take the photos of the group. She got closer to Sutcliffe and they started dating. The young artists said that he wants to quit music and continue painting like his girlfriend. But he never cut his ties with the band. The couple went to Liverpool in 1961 and talked to Sutcliffe family before getting married.
The artist continued his studies in Hamburg Art School and he was admired by his teachers. He draws in abstract expressionism style. In general, he didn’t name his painting. Most of his works were exhibited in Germany.
Death
One day, Sutcliffe faints in his class in Hamburg due to headache. But the real reasons cannot be understood. Sutcliffe faints at home one day. His girlfriend takes him to the hospital but he was dead. He died because of brain damage which might be due to a blunt trauma during a live performance. John Lennon didn’t believe this for a long time. His girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr didn’t attend to the funeral because she was sick.
