Stuart Sutcliffe is born

The Beatles’ future bassist Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe was born on 23 June 1940 at the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was incorporated into the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

His father Charles was a naval officer, and his mother Millie was a school teacher. The Sutcliffe family moved to Liverpool in 1943.

Sutcliffe later became firm friends with John Lennon, a fellow student at the Liverpool College of Art who invited him to join his band. Although he was never a talented musician, Sutcliffe did help contribute to a key part of The Beatles’ story: their name, which was a tribute to Buddy Holly’s band The Crickets.

Sutcliffe died of a brain haemorrhage in Hamburg on 10 April 1962.
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Last updated: 2 February 2023
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  1. David Harvey Saturday 2 April 2022

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