Stuart Sutcliffe was the original bassist of The Beatles from May 1960 to August 1961. Though Sutcliffe was much more of an artist/painter than a musician, his friend John Lennon convinced him to buy a Höfner bass guitar with money that Stuart earned from an art exhibit.
When the Beatles played in Hamburg, Germany, Stuart met and fell in love with fellow artist and photographer, Astrid Kirchherr. In November 1960, Stuart and Astrid got engaged. Sutcliffe decided to leave The Beatles and concentrate on painting again. He stayed in Hamburg with Kirchherr and enrolled at the Hamburg College of Art. Stuart lent Paul McCartney his bass until he could buy his own and Paul became the permanent bass player for The Beatles.
While he was studying in Hamburg, Sutcliffe started suffering from debilitating headaches. His condition worsened and he died of a brain hemorrhage on the way to the hospital on April 10, 1962. He was only 21 years old.
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