Tony Sheridan has died aged 72

News is just coming in that Tony Sheridan died in Germany on 16 February 2013.

Tony Sheridan was born on May 21st 1940 in Norwich (Norfolk), England. This English guitarist and composer is best known for his collaborations with the Beatles. Tony's real name is Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity and he made his first successes when he toured with Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent in early 1960. By luck or fate he was not on the tour bus on April 17, 1960 when Cochrane was killed and Vincent badly injured. Between 1960 & 1963 he frequently appeared in the Kaiserkeller and Indra Club in Hamburg, and it is there that he met the Beatles (John, Paul, George, Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe). Together they also recorded an LP (Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers) and it was the single "My Bonnie" that first attracted the attention of Brian Epstein to the Beatles.

Short Timeline of the Beatles in Hamburg

The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best) regularly performed in Hamburg, Germany, from August 1960 until December 1962.

1st trip: 17 August 1960 - 9 December 1960

- 17 August 1960: Their first German concert at the Indra Club (Grosse Freiheit 64)
- 3 October 1960: Their last gig at the Indra
- 4 October 1960: The Beatles appear at the Kaiserkeller (Grosse Freiheit 36)
- October 1960: They meet Ringo Starr who is drumming for Rory Storme and the Hurricanes at the Kaiserkeller
- 15 October 1960: Ringo Starr plays on a recording with The Beatles (minus Pete Best) when they back Lou 'Wally' Walters at the Akustic Studios in Hamburg
- 30 November 1960: The last gig at the Kaiserkeller
- 8 December 1960: George Harrison is deported for working underaged at a nightclub
- 9 December 1960: Paul McCartney and Pete Best are arrested for arsony
- They probably played about 100 performances

2nd trip: 28 March 1961 - 1 July 1961

- 27 March 1961: The Beatles arrive in Hamburg for their second season. Top Ten Club & Star Club
- 28 March 1961: Their first gig at the Top Ten Club (Reeperbahn 136)
- 1 April 1961 sees the start of a Residency at the Top Ten Club
- 22 June: The first of several recording sessions with Tony Sheridan at the Frederich-Eberts-Halle
- Approximately 85 performances


3rd trip: 13 April - 31 May 1962

- 13 April 1962: The Beatles appear at the Star Club
- About 45/50 performances

4th trip: 30 October - 15 November 1962

- 1 November 1962: Start of their 4th Hamburg Season, again at the Star Club
- 15 November 1962: they return by plane to England

5th trip: 17 December - 31 December 1962

- 18 December 1962: Start of the 5th (and last) season at the Star Club
- The Beatles play 14 times in the Star-Club
- 31 December 1962: Final show at the Star Club, recorded by Ted 'Kingsize' Taylor 

Klaus Voormann Biography

Happy 70th Birthday to Klaus Voormann!

Exactly 70 years ago, Klaus was born in Berlin. He played a very important role in the Beatles universe, befriending him early during the Hamburg days, designing the Revolver cover and later playing with Ringo, George and John.

Klaus Voormann is probably responsible for bringing Astrid Kirchherr in the picture, since he wandered into the Kaiserkeller Club where Rory Storm and the Hurricanes were playing, followed by The Beatles. Klaus was so fascinated by the music that he invited Jürgen Vollmer and Astrid Kirchherr the next day to see The Beatles perform.

John Lennon called them "the Exies" and they befriended The Beatles (especially Stu Sutcliffe and George Harrison).

In the early 1960's, Voormann lived with George Harrison and Ringo Starr in their Green Street flat (London Mayfair) when Paul decided to move into Jane Asher's home and John lived with his wife Cynthia.

In 1963 Klaus was managed by Brian Epstein and had formed a group called "Paddy, Klaus & Gibson", made up of Paddy Chambers (guitar/vocals), Klaus Voormann (bass/vocals) and Gibson Kemp (drums).

In 1966 Voormann designed the cover of Revolver and received a Grammy Award for it. He would later design the cover for RINGO, George's single "When We Was Fab" and the Anthology records.

Later, he would show up on numerous ex-Beatle records: as part of the Plastic Ono band on Live Peace in Toronto 1969, on John's Walls and Bridges and appearing on The Concert for Bangla Desh.

Other Beatle-related works are:

- John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

- Imagine

- Ringo

- Instant Karma