tony-sheridan

Tony Sheridan, RIP

Tony Sheridan

Tony Sheridan, an early collaborator of The Beatles, passed away on Saturday (2/16) in Hamburg, Germany. The musician was 72 years old. The NY Times reports:

Though Mr. Sheridan’s involvement with the Beatles was brief, it proved crucial to their career. They met in 1960, when the Beatles — then a quintet that included John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison on guitars, Stuart Sutcliffe on bass and Pete Best on drums — arrived in Hamburg to work as a club band.

Mr. Sheridan, already an accomplished performer, was also playing in Hamburg, and the Beatles both admired his work and emulated his performance style. At times they performed together, and in recent years Mr. Sheridan claimed to have arranged for Ringo Starr’s first performances with the group. Mr. McCartney took over as bassist when Mr. Sutcliffe left the band at the end of 1960, and Mr. Starr replaced Mr. Best as the group’s drummer in 1962.

Rest in peace, Tony. A live clip of him performing with The Beatles in 1962 is below…

The Beatles with Tony Sheridan – Ya Ya (Part 1&2) (Hamburg 1962)