Who was Stuart Sutcliffe, the Beatles' first bassist who changed the band's history

Before Paul McCartney took over the bass and helped transform the Beatles into the biggest phenomenon in music history, that role belonged to Stuart Sutcliffe, John Lennon's friend and the band's first official bassist. Sutcliffe joined the group in 1960, when the Beatles were still taking their first steps in the city of Liverpool. At the time, he was much better known as a visual artist than as a musician. John Lennon insisted that his friend join the band after Stuart sold one of his paintings and used part of the money to buy an electric bass. Even without much musical experience, he accepted the challenge and started accompanying the group on their first shows. It was precisely during this period that the Beatles performed in Hamburg, Germany, an experience considered fundamental to the band's artistic maturity. Although technically not the most experienced musician in the group, Stuart had a huge influence on the Beatles' visual identity. Their style of dress, their haircut and their connection with the artistic environment helped shape part of the image that would later be associated with the quartet. In 1961, Sutcliffe decided to leave the band to dedicate himself full time to painting and remain in Hamburg with his fiancée, photographer Astrid Kirchherr, an important character in the early history of the Beatles. A few months later, in April 1962, Stuart died at just 21 years old after suffering a brain hemorrhage, probably caused by an aneurysm or complications related to an old head injury. His death deeply shook John Lennon and the other members of the group. Shortly afterwards, Paul McCartney definitively took over the bass, a line-up that would give rise to the most famous period in the Beatles' history. Although he only participated in the band's initial phase, Stuart Sutcliffe continues to be remembered as an essential figure in the construction of the Beatles' artistic identity and one of the most important characters of their early years.