Editorial Review

Daily Mail
"Gripping. the story of forgotten Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe. holds the key to the birth of pop's greatest group."

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.

STUART: The Life and Art of Stuart Sutcliffe By Pauline Sutcliffe and Kay Williams Introduction by Astrid Kirchherr - Afterword by Cynthia Lennon

Through extensive interviews with Paul McCartney, Astrid Kirchherr, Jurgen Vollmer, Cynthia Lennon and Stuart's family, friends and teachers, the biography volume offers a fascinating and revealing insight into Stuart's life and The Beatles' early days in Liverpool and Hamburg. Stuart's close friendship with John Lennon and his love affair with Astrid Kirchherr are each explored more intimately than ever before. This box set contains a wealth of previously unpublished interviews, works of art photographs, personal effects and letters.

The biography is extensively illustrated and printed in two colours, with additional full-colour plate sections which include details from the newly-restored mural painted by John Lennon and Stuart on the walls of the Jacaranda Club. Also in this volume are Stuart's paintings and sketches of his fellow bad members, along with rarely seen photographs of the group in performance.
The second volume is a finely produced full-colour facsimile of one of Stuart's sketchbooks, filled with paintings and drawings from Liverpool and Hamburg, which highlights Stuart's artistic development and state of mind at the time. The sketchbook contains Stuart's handwritten list of the songs played by The Beatles during their Hamburg performances and as such presents a remarkable piece of history.

The Stuart edition is limited to 2000 numbered copies, each signed by Astrid Kirchherr, Pauline Sutcliffe and Kay Williams. The biography volume: 240 mm x 170 mm with 232 pages. The sketchbook: 185 mm x 112 mm with 152 pages