Backbeat: Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle

by Alan Clayson, Pauline Sutcliffe

This is the official tie-in book to a 1995 film about The Beatles. The film is a mixture of humour, pathos and foot-tapping rock 'n' roll, and focuses on the "lost Beatle", Stuart Sutcliffe.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Biography

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Alan Clayson (Dover, England, 1951) is of a late 1970s vintage of composer-entertainers that also embraces the likes of Wreckless Eric, Tom Robinson, Elvis Costello and John Otway. While he is still making regular concert appearances, he has become better known as an author of around thirty books - mostly musical biography. These include the best-sellers "Backbeat" (subject of a major film), The Yardbirds and The Beatles book box.

He has written for journals as diverse as The Guardian, Record Collector, Ink, Mojo, Mediaeval World, Folk Roots, Guitar, Hello!, Drummer, The Times, The Independent, Ugly Things and, as a 'teenager, the notorious Schoolkids 0z. He has also been engaged to perform and lecture on both sides of the Atlantic - as well as broadcast on national TV and radio.

From 1975 to 1985, he led the legendary Clayson and the Argonauts - who reformed in 2005, ostensibly to launch Sunset On A Legend, a long-awaited double-CD retrospective - and was thrust to 'a premier position on rock's Lunatic Fringe' (Melody Maker).

As shown by the existence of a US fan club - dating from an 1992 soiree in Chicago - Alan Clayson's following grows still as well as demand for his talents as a record producer, and the number of versions of his compositions by such diverse acts as Dave Berry (in whose backing group, he played keyboards in the mid-1980s), New Age Outfit, Stairway - and Joy Tobing, winner of the Indonesian version of Pop Idol. He has worked too with The Portsmouth Sinfonia, Wreckless Eric, Twinkle, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things, Mark Astronaut and the late Screaming Lord Sutch among many others. While his stage act defies succinct description, he has been labelled a 'chansonnier' in recent years for performances and record releases that may stand collectively as Alan Clayson's artistic apotheosis were it not for a promise of surprises yet to come.

Reviews

[Ella Schilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main strength of this book is the excellent excerpts from letters written by Stuart himself. As well as some context for the artistic movements he was involved in and inspired by. Very unnecessary of Clayson to call Astrid’s post-1961 career “perversely unremarkable”.

[Tony Lawrence]

(retrospective review c.2010) I admit to coming to this, the life of Stuart Sutcliffe, because of the association with the Beatles, of course. And, I did come away with a greater appreciation of those early days in Hamburg - the 18 months before it all went postal - and some of the influences on the ‘brand’ that Epstein helped to launch onto the unexpected world with Love me Do in October 1962. However, the authors, journalist and big sister Sutcliffe, did paint a very sympathetic and ultimately tragic story of the beloved Stu. By his own admission he wasn’t a great musician, eventually replaced by the more accomplished bass of McCartney, but he was a guiding light in the arty style, the black leather and dark glasses of his sub-James Dean persona. Also, through his love for Astrid Kirchherr, came the mop top haircuts (from the German ‘mushroom head’ style) and the tailored jackets without lapels. However, essentially he was an artist by inclination and his talent was recognised in his own short lifetime. In a rare glimpse of Lennon’s wit, he joked about his best friends artwork, “Hanging’s too good for it”

Ps. Something I didn’t know, Sutcliffe originally joined John, Paul, George and one of the early drummers (I forget who) as part of ‘Johnny and the Moondogs’, and then he came up with the name The Silver Beatles …

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 40 or so pages are more of the history of Liverpool than Stu so those can be pretty swiftly skipped if you have a general knowledge of Liverpool's slave trade, port city etc.

Decent book on Stu (although it doesn't have much competition), little tidbits of information I didn't know before which was nice.

What this really makes me hankers for is a book of Stuart's letters to his family and friends, the quotes that are taken from in this book were some of the more interesting especially as Stuart gets progressively sicker but doesn't understand what's fully happening to him.

Overall a good book on a poor man who died too soon.