Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe
Born: 23rd June 1940, Edinburgh
Studied at Liverpool Art School from 1956 to 1960 and enrols at the Hamburg School of Art in 1961.
As a leading student at Liverpool Art School, Stuart was the only student selected for the John Moores’ Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery from November 1959 – January 1960. His selected work, Summer Painting, originally a 2-panel painting, was bought for £65 by John Moores for his son. After Rod Murray and Stuart delivered the first half of the painting to the gallery, they went to the pub to celebrate and forgot to take the second panel. It still sold and after being convinced by Paul McCartney and John Lennon to invest the earnings in a bass guitar, Stuart joined what was then The Silver Beetles – soon to become The Beatles – the most famous band of all time. Stuart and John Lennon were best friends and shared a flat whilst at college. They wanted a name that was similar to the new bands of the era, namely Buddy Holly and the Crickets, and came up with The Beatals but John would later change it as he thought it sounded French.
Stuart left Liverpool Art School to travel to Hamburg as a Beatle in 1960 where he fell in love with a photographer, Astrid Kirchherr. Although his bass playing with The Beatles has been recorded as elementary, with him only sticking to basic chord structures, he was actually a fairly competent musician. When he donned dark Ray Ban sunglasses and tight trousers, he became a huge hit with the subculture of Hamburg; being called the James Dean of Hamburg. He received standing ovations when he sang Love Me Tender, to the dismay of Paul McCartney who felt undermined by Stuart’s friendship with John.
Stuart and Astrid got engaged in November 1960 and in July 1961 Stuart left The Beatles to concentrate on his art, enrolling at Hamburg College of Art under the tutelage of Eduardo Paolozzi. He became increasingly sick, suffering from severe headaches but no tests could determine his illness. On 10 April 1962 Stuart collapsed in his studio and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital with Astrid at his side. His death has been attributed to a brain aneurism but no definitive answer has ever been provided for the cause.