There was a time when Stuart Sutcliffe — before he quit and tragically died in 1962 — made the Beatles an actual five-piece band.
IMDbStuart Sutcliffe, the fifth member of The Beatles.
Amongst Beatle fandom, there’s a lot of talk about if 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.
That kind of debate has its place, but there was a time when the Beatles were actually a five-piece band with a literal fifth Beatle. His name was Stuart Sutcliffe.
Before the British Invasion and before the peak of Beatlemania, Stuart Sutcliffe was a member of the legendary band as the original bass guitarist. He died when he was just 21 years old. His stint, like his life, was brief. Yet he still had a major impact on the group.
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 family consisted of his mother, father, two younger sisters, three older half brothers, and an older half-sister.
His father was a ship engineer and frequently absent from the home. When he did come home, he often left as soon as he arrived.
Sutcliffe went on to attend the Liverpool College of Art where he was introduced to John Lennon by a mutual friend. The three of them were all studying at the school, and Sutcliffe was noted as a brilliant painter.
When he was kicked out of his flat, Sutcliffe moved into a rundown area in Liverpool with John Lennon.
In a fateful decision, Sutcliffe got involved with the Beatles when Lennon and McCartney convinced him to buy a bass guitar despite having no professional experience with music. Sutcliffe is credited along with Lennon for coming up with the band’s original name, the Beetles, inspired by Buddy Holly’s band, the Crickets.
Beginning in 1960, Sutcliffe shortly acted as the band’s booking agent before Allan Williams took over. Then, Sutcliffe began performing with The Beatles playing bass across Europe.
Shining As The Fashionable And Enigmatic Beatle
Astrid KirchherrStuart Sutcliffe (center) posing with his bandmates in Hamburg, Germany.
Stuart Sutcliffe began playing gigs with the early Beatles in Hamburg, which is where he met his fiancée, artist Astrid Kirchherr. Love Me Tender was reportedly Stuart Sutcliffe’s signature song.
@LuisMon88441621 / XAstrid Kirchherr, the girlfriend of Stuart Sutcliffe.
It’s been reported that when he sang it, he received more cheers from the crowd than the other Beatles. This caused tension with McCartney, who was said to have already been jealous of Sutcliffe’s friendship with Lennon.
It wasn’t long before Lennon apparently started giving Sutcliffe a hard time as well.
When asked about Sutcliffe in the The Beatles Anthology, George Harrison replied:
“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… 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.”
His cool look, considered a transformation of sorts, included James Dean style sunglasses and tight pants. So before the four Beatles, in addition to their music, gained attention for their style and mop-top haircuts, Stuart Sutcliffe was proving looks sell.
Stuart Sutcliffe Leaves The Beatles And Dies Soon After
FlickrStuart Sutcliffe in his signature sunglasses.
It’s disputed how talented of a musician Sutcliffe actually was. Feeling pressure to pursue his true gift, visual art, Sutcliffe left the band in July 1961 to study in Germany.
At this point, the former Beatle started to get bad headaches and grew sensitive to light. In February 1962, Sutcliffe collapsed while attending an art class. Doctors were unable to determine the cause, and Sutcliffe just carried on.
Then, on April 10, 1962, he collapsed. Stuart Sutcliffe died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital from a ruptured aneurysm at the age of 21.
To this day the reason for Sutcliffe’s aneurysm is unclear. His sister, Pauline Sutcliffe, has claimed that her brother’s brain hemorrhage was the result of a fight with John Lennon a few months before he died, during which the songwriter beat him up. If you were to look into Lennon’s darker side, this actually wouldn’t seem too farfetched.
However, this contradicts earlier reports that Lennon and Best had actually come to Sutcliffe’s aid in a fight following a performance in January of 1961. Regardless of the cause, Sutcliffe’s death was tragic and shocked his former bandmates.
Stuart Sutcliffe’s Impact On The Beatles
flickrSgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
It’s clear the Beatles did not forget Stuart Sutcliffe.
In addition to being referenced 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 down. While the importance of his role in the band may be debated, his place as a fifth Beatle in a non-metaphorical way is undeniable.
As expected, Sutcliffe’s father was away from home when his son died. He received the news three weeks later upon arriving in Buenos Aires.
His fiancée, Kirchherr, wrote to Sutcliffe’s mother following the death, according to the Liverpool Museum.
“John [Lennon]. Oh mum he is in a terrible mood now, he just can’t believe that darling Stuart never comes back. 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, he frequently mentioned Sutcliffe as his role model throughout his life.
Today, those wishing to pay their respects to the fifth Beatle can find him laid to rest at Huyton Parish Church Cemetery in England with the rest of his family.
Enjoy this article on Stuart Sutcliffe, the little-known fifth Beatle? Next, read why Paul McCartney was a better Beatle than John. Then, read about the historic day the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
