The Beatles' Shadow: Stuart Sutcliffe & His Lonely Hearts Club - Softcover

Sutcliffe, Pauline; Thompson, Douglas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330489968 ISBN 13: 9780330489966

Publisher: Pan Macmillan, 2002

Synopsis

This is a poignant memoir of forgotten Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe, and a remarkable chronicle of the early days of the world's most influential pop group. One of the founding members and a close friend of John Lennon, Sutcliffe left the band after their Hamburg sojourn in order to pursue his promising career as an artist, dying shortly thereafter of a brain hemorrhage. In this book, his sister Pauline sheds new light on the Beatles' formative period—the rivalry with McCartney, how George Harrison tried to keep the peace, the truth about Stuart's intense relationship with Lennon, and why Lennon was haunted by guilt over her brother's death.

About this title

From the Publisher

Stuart Sutcliffe’s strange, sudden death in Hamburg at the age of 21 is now part of Beatles folklore, but his importance to the Beatles—he was one of the founding members and a close friend of John Lennon—has never been fully examined. Now, after 40 years, his sister Pauline, a prominent psychologist, talks openly about her brother’s life and death. Drawing on her own memories, as well as the many letters in her possession, she gives us a candid and insightful portrait of the Beatles’ formative period, including the full truth about Stuart’s relationship with John Lennon and why Lennon was haunted by guilt over her brother’s death. She also reveals her struggle to protect Stuart’s memory against the Beatles’ need to sanitize their early history. This fascinating memoir is, above all, a loving tribute to a brother, whose contribution to the Beatles’ legend lives on.

About the Author

Pauline Sutcliffe is a family psychotherapist and former social services manager. She is the executor of her brother's estate. Douglas Thompson's most recent collaboration was The Truth At Last, Christine Keeler's bestselling autobiography.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0330489968
• ISBN 13: 9780330489966
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 251