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.

Photo by Astrid


Self-Portrait

Stu and Astrid

John and Stu

Astrid outside the Cavern

with George

Dancing with Ringo
listening to George

On set with John and Ringo
with Maureen Cox and Pattie Boyd


(photos by Astrid Kirchherr & Max Scheler)

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Marianne and Mick

Marianne Faithfull and Mick Jagger's romance lasted from '66-70. She was discovered by the Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Her first major release, "As Tears Go By", was penned by Oldham, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and became a chart success. When Marianne's marriage to John Dunbar ended in '65, Jagger began to court Marianne. At first Marianne ignored Mick's advances, but eventually she let herself be wooed by him and moved into his home Cheyne Walk. Marianne and Mick were one of swinging Londons most famous couples. Marianne introduced Mick to high society, and various literature that she read. In 1967, the couple became notorious. She was found by British police while on a drug search at Keith Richards' house in Redlands, while wearing only a fur rug. Mick and Keith went to jail and Marianne was destroyed by the British Press. Marianne began to distance herself from Jagger after she miscarried the couple's baby, whom they planned on naming Corrina. Faithfull's involvement in Jagger's life would be reflected in some of the Rolling Stones' best-known songs. "Sympathy for the Devil", featured on the album Beggars Banquet (1968), was in part inspired by The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, a book which Faithfull introduced him to. Two songs on 1971 album Sticky Fingers were also influenced by Faithfull: the chorus of "Wild Horses" ("wild horses couldn't drag me away") is said to be based on a phrase Faithfull uttered after coming out of a coma after an overdose of sleeping pills. Marianne was in a coma for almost a week, and she said the first thing she saw when she woke up was Jagger's face. Marianne also co-wrote "Sister Morphine" with Mick. Marianne's drug use escalated and she ended things with Jagger. He kept trying to get her back but, Marianne refused and began to live on the streets in London. Luckily, Marianne kicked her heroin addiction in the 80's and is still a popular artist. Jerry Hall (Mick's 2nd wife of almost 10 yrs) said "that of all the girlfriend's he's (Jagger) ever had: he loved her the most".
first public photo as a couple

(images from yahoo, google, corbis, yahoo groups)

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