Sad news for dedicated Beatles fans, as Tony Sheridan dies, aged 72. Sheridan was an early supporter of the Fab Four; indeed, the Liverpudlian quartet performed as his backing band in Hamburg in their early days, when they were known as The Silver Beatles. Sir Paul McCartney posted a message on his own website, entitled ‘Tony Sheridan: 1940 – 2013,’ which read “Tony was a good guy who we knew and worked with from the early days in Hamburg. We regularly watched his late night performances and admired his style. He will be missed.”

The Beatles’ drummer, Ringo Starr, was also quick to praise Sheridan and expressed how much he’s enjoyed playing with Tony back in Germany. His tweet read “Just say goodbye to Tony Sheridan just he died I had a great month 19 6061 playing with him was great bye R***” The time that The Beatles spent playing and recording with Sheridan is considered by many to have been pivotal in their rise to fame. They played on Sheridan’s recording of ‘My Bonnie,’ which was then requested by a teenage fan in Brian Epstein’s record store. Epstein then famously went on to become their manager and was often referred to as the ‘fifth Beatle.’

The BBC reports that Sheridan passed away on February 16, after a long illness. His third wife, Anna Sievers, passed away in 2011. 

Paul McCartney

Sir Paul McCartney Paid Tribute To Tony Sheridan