Stuart Sutcliffe was The Beatles’ original bass guitarist, but he quit the band just before Beatlemania took off — then died of a cerebral hemorrhage a year later.
Paille/FlickrStuart Sutcliffe, the fifth member of The Beatles.
Within the Beatles fandom, there’s a lot of debate as to whether there was ever a fifth Beatle — and if so, who was it? Some say it was the group’s manager, Brian Epstein, or their producer, George Martin, both of whom Paul McCartney has attributed the title to on separate occasions. Others refer to Pete Best, the drummer before Ringo.
While there are arguments to be made for all of these candidates, there was a time when The Beatles were actually a five-piece band with a literal fifth Beatle. His name was Stuart Sutcliffe.
When the group formed in Liverpool in 1960, Stuart Sutcliffe was their original bass guitarist. Sutcliffe performed with The Beatles for less than two years, then left the group before Beatlemania reached its peak. Tragically, he died just a few months later at the age of 21.
But while he was only a member of The Beatles for a short time, Stuart Sutcliffe’s impact on the band was undeniable.
Stuart Sutcliffe Helps Form The Beatles
Michael Ochs Archive/Getty ImagesStuart Sutcliffe, left, playing bass in Liverpool with The Beatles in 1960.
Stuart Sutcliffe was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1940, but his family moved to England shortly after. His mother was a schoolteacher; his father was a ship engineer in the Merchant Navy and was absent for much of Sutcliffe’s childhood because of his duties.
A gifted painter, Stuart Sutcliffe went on to attend the Liverpool College of Art in the late 1950s. There, he befriended another talented student named John Lennon, as well as Lennon’s future wife, Cynthia Powell.
Lennon and Sutcliffe became artistic collaborators, teaching each other about their respective crafts of music and painting. The pair even lived together in an artist’s flat beginning in 1960, and were so close that Lennon’s friend Paul McCartney was reportedly jealous of their relationship.
That same year, on Lennon and McCartney’s insistence, Sutcliffe purchased a bass guitar despite having no real musical experience. From there, Sutcliffe began playing with Lennon, McCartney, George Harrison, and the band’s first drummer, Pete Best. In those early days, the group that would become The Beatles often used Sutcliffe’s loft as a rehearsal space.
Sutcliffe was instrumental in shaping The Beatles during the band’s earliest stages. A brooding artist with a strong sense of style, he helped craft the band’s look and was reportedly the first to adopt their signature mop-top haircut.
And it was Sutcliffe, along with Lennon, who came up with the name “The Beatles,” a reference both to Buddy Holly’s band, the Crickets, and to the Beat Generation.
Sutcliffe Wins Over Fans As The “Cool,” Fashionable Beatle
Astrid Kirchherr / Ginzburg Fine ArtsStuart Sutcliffe (center) posing with his bandmates in Hamburg, Germany.
After just a few months of performing together, The Beatles booked a residency in Hamburg, Germany in August 1960.
It was there that Stuart Sutcliffe met his fiancée, German photographer Astrid Kirchherr. Though she barely spoke English at the time, and though Sutcliffe knew very little German, they fell deeply in love. Their relationship reportedly caused tension with Sutcliffe’s bandmates, who were jealous that Kirchherr had fallen for Sutcliffe over them.
Indeed, while Sutcliffe was less musically talented than his bandmates, his looks and sense of style made him popular with their fans. It’s said that when Sutcliffe stepped forward to perform “Love Me Tender” during the group’s earliest performances, he received more cheers from the crowd than the other Beatles.
“I’ve become very popular both with girls and homosexuals, who tell me I’m the sweetest, most beautiful boy,” Sutcliffe once wrote to his sister, according to a 2022 New Yorker article.
dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock PhotoAstrid Kirchherr, the fiancée of Stuart Sutcliffe.
“He wasn’t really a very good musician. In fact, he wasn’t a musician at all until we talked him into buying a bass,” George Harrison said of Sutcliffe in The Beatles Anthology. “He picked up a few things and he practiced a bit… It was a bit ropey, but it didn’t matter at that time because he looked so cool.”
This “cool” look included James Dean-style sunglasses, collarless Pierre Cardin jackets, his girlfriend’s clothing, and, of course, his new mop-top hairstyle.
Before the four Beatles became known for their style and matching mop-tops, Stuart Sutcliffe was proving looks sell.
The Tragic And Sudden Death Of Stuart Sutcliffe
Astrid Kirchherr, via Govinda GalleryPete Best, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Stuart Sutcliffe.
Although his musical career was taking off, Stuart Sutcliffe’s true passion was visual art. In July 1961, he quit the band to study painting at the Hamburg College of Art.
But in early 1962, Sutcliffe began to suffer from a series of unexplained headaches. The pain, he said, was like “a bomb going off” in his head, and was so severe that at one point that spring, he collapsed in the middle of an art class. At the time, doctors were unable to determine the cause, and Sutcliffe carried on untreated.
Then, on April 10, 1962, he collapsed again. This time, however, he didn’t make it to the hospital in time. Stuart Sutcliffe died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Kirchherr’s arms while still in the ambulance. He was just 21.
To this day, the exact cause of the hemorrhage is unknown. Some have suggested Sutcliffe may have hit his head while falling down some stairs in the Kirchherr home shortly before his death.
Others have theorized that the hemorrhage was caused by an untreated head injury Sutcliffe sustained during a fight. In January of 1961, Sutcliffe had allegedly been attacked by a group of Teddy Boys outside of a performance venue. Lennon and Best reportedly broke up the fight, but by that point, the young men had already kicked Sutcliffe in the head.
However, according to a 2003 Independent article, Sutcliffe’s sister Pauline claimed the injury was actually the result of a violent fight with John Lennon himself a few months before Sutcliffe’s death. According to Pauline, Lennon had attacked Sutcliffe “in a jealous rage” and kicked him in the head, denting his skull.
And given the many reports of Lennon’s darker side, this theory doesn’t seem too far fetched.
But regardless of what caused Sutcliffe’s death, his former bandmates were devastated by the loss of their friend.
Stuart Sutcliffe’s Impact On The Beatles
Popimages / Alamy Stock PhotoThe Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.
Stuart Stucliffe’s death left a massive impact on The Beatles, and particularly on John Lennon, who was reportedly hysterical upon hearing the news.
“John. Oh mum he is in a terrible mood now, he just can’t believe that darling Stuart never comes back,” Sutcliffe’s fiancée Astrid Kirchherr wrote to Sutcliffe’s mother in May 1962, according to the Liverpool Museum. “He just crying his eyes out. John is marvellous to me, he says that he know Stuart so much and he love him so much that he can understand me.”
According to those closest to Lennon, the singer never stopped talking about Sutcliffe, even as The Beatles skyrocketed to fame. Yoko Ono later said that Lennon considered Sutcliffe to be his “soul mate.”
Over the years, The Beatles kept Stuart Sutcliffe’s legacy alive, referencing him in various films and biographies. He can also be seen on the album cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, all the way to the left in the third row.
While his time with The Beatles was brief, there’s no question that he played an important role in the band’s history.
“If he’d lived, he could easily have been the Beatle,” said Sutcliffe’s art mentor, Eduardo Paolozzi. “He was imaginative, ultra-intelligent, and he was open to everything.”
Enjoy this article on Stuart Sutcliffe, the little-known fifth Beatle? Next, read about the bizarre conspiracy theory that Paul McCartney died in 1966. Then, discover the surprising stories behind some of your favorite Beatles songs.
