grace: Astrid and Stu

Astrid Kirchherr and Stuart Sutcliffe were the ultimate beatnik couple. They dressed head to toe in black, complete with leather pants and dark sunglasses. Astrid Kirchherr (born 20 May 1938) is a German photographer and artist, and is well-known for her association with The Beatles (along with her friends Klaus Voorman and Jürgen Vollmer) and her photographs of The Beatles while they were in Hamburg. Kirchherr met artist Stuart Sutcliffe in the Kaiserkeller bar in Hamburg in 1960, where he was playing bass with The Beatles. Stuart Sutcliffe (June 23, 1940- April 10, 1962) He was a member of The Beatles for two years. Sutcliffe's importance to the group came from his artistic rather than musical talent. He was the first in the group to have a "mop top" haircut, and his sense of style, influenced by his (and later John Lennon's) lover Astrid Kirchherr, contributed to the Beatles' early "look."Sutcliffe was a gifted painter who showed great promise, and had personal charisma and looks comparable with James Dean's. Stuart and Astrid became engaged and Stuart quit The Beatles to focus on painting and stayed in Hamburg to be closer to Astrid. Unfortunately, in the spring of 1962, Sutcliffe died from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 21. Astrid remained close with the rest of The Beatles and was one of the photographer's for A Hard Day's Night.