Lost Beatles
The Hamburg photo
shows two members of The Beatles who left before the group
became famous.
Pete
Best (far
left)
Paul
McCartney invited Best to become The Beatles full-time
drummer in 1960. Best was very popular with early female
fans but did not mix well with other Beatles. They
asked Brian Epstein
to remove Best
from the group in August 1962.
Lennon later said, ‘Pete was a good drummer but Ringo
was a good Beatle’. There were complaints about
Best’s drumming but the main problem was personal.
Best is standing a little apart from the rest of the group.
The only other person standing is Paul. Many accused Paul
of jealousy towards Pete Best.
Both Paul and Pete were deported from Germany after setting
light to their room.
Stuart Suctliffe
Stuart Suctliffe was a
close friend of John Lennon. He had a more difficult
relationship with Paul McCartney. The body language of
the young men in the photo suggests this.
Stuart hides behind his sunglasses. He is not happy in the
group. He is a very talented artist but a poor musician.
Paul sometimes unplugs his bass guitar on stage.
Tragedy
The girlfiend of Stuart,
Astrid Kirchherr took the Hamburg
photo.When
the other Beatles left Hamburg, Stuart left the group to
stay with her.
Tragically, Suctliffe died a year later on 10 April, 1962
of a brain hemorrhage. He was only 21. His death
had a particularly strong effect on John.
A photo of Stuart appears on the cover of The Beatles most
famous album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
Band
