Stuart Sutcliffe, the brilliant young painter who was a bass guitarist with The Beatles in their early period, died on this day of a brain haemorrhage.
He had been suffering from increasingly severe headaches and blackouts since settling in Hamburg with Astrid Kirchherr, his German fiancée. The cause of these remained uncertain, though Sutcliffe believed they were a consequence of overwork.
In February he had collapsed during an art school class, and dropped out of education. The Kirchherr family suspected a brain tumour, and sent him for x-rays, although nothing amiss was found. Two doctors subsequently saw Sutcliffe but they too could find nothing wrong.
By March 1960 the headaches had grown in frequency, escalating at times to violent fits, and Sutcliffe often suffered temporary blindness. His moods were volatile, ranging from calm normality to suicidal mania. Most of the final two weeks of his life were spent in bed.
On 10 April Astrid Kirchherr received a call from her mother while working in her photography studio. She was told that Sutcliffe had collapsed once more and he was to be sent to the hospital.
Kirchherr rushed home to accompany him in the ambulance. Sutcliffe was already unconscious, and died in her arms during the journey to the hospital. The cause of death was listed as cerebral paralysis caused by bleeding in the right ventricle of the brain.
The precise nature of Sutcliffe's health issues has never been determined, and there has been considerable speculation as to the causes. One theory is that a blow to the head during a fight, possibly with John Lennon, led to the haemorrhage.
However, the lengthy deterioration in Sutcliffe's health make cerebral bleeding through injury an unlikely scenario. It is more probable that Sutcliffe died as a result of an aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation (AVM), both of which are congenital disorders.
Philip Norman said that Stu opened the artistic side of John.
Poor Stu', of course, RIP, but poor John, as well. First his mother in a totally random, accidental-but-violent-nonetheless way, then Stu, and then much later, his own violent end. How much tragic death had to surround this once in a generation talent? Especially as he really was such a voice for peaceful, non-violent, harmonious existence.
I think Stu' may have helped John's already preexisting artistic leanings flourish (I mean, he was making the "Daily Howl" and things like that since he was a child and met Stu in art school), just as, sadly, Sutcliffe's death may have brought out John's also preexisting feelings of anger, cynicism and bitterness founded in things like his early childhood, Julia's death, etc. Ha, all us John-o-philes think we're like his personal shrinks, even 30+ years after his death.
And do not discount the effect of John's Uncle George dying also. George, who taught John harmonica and read to him as a boy, humorous George who cuddled John and was truly the one constant in his life as a young boy who was truly affectionate and a real father figure/pal to him whilst growing up at Mendips. The shock of coming home from vacation in Scotland and George is just gone, died and buried while John was away with other family. Probably the biggest blow of his life to lose the person who truly was there for him.