The Beatles long time friend, Astrid Kirchherr turned 67 yesterday!
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http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/3117/bios.html)
Astrid Kirchherr was born May 20, 1938 in Hamburg, Germany. A smart and creative girl from a young age (she designed and made all of her clothes), Astrid began studying at the Meisterschule für Mode, Textil Graphik und Werbung in 1957, where she would finish her studies in photography in 1960. A year earlier, Astrid became Reinhart Wolf's assistant. Wolf,a photographer for a Hamburg magazine,clearly recognized Astrid's natural talent for photography.
Just as Astrid's studies ended in photography, she met her most famous subjects, The Beatles. She was introduced to them by her boyfriend at the time, Klaus Voorman. One night, on his way home from the movies, Klaus happened to hear some noisy music coming from a club called "Kaiserkeller". He went inside to find Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpool band, on the stage. He enjoyed the music of the band after them as well, The Beatles. Within a few days, Klaus brought Astrid to watch them. Astrid also enjoyed their music, and she asked them if they would like to be photographed by her to which they agreed. Astrid recalled that they were "incredibly excited" to be photograph, as she was the first serious photographer who ever did pictures of them. Although Astrid found all of the Beatles to be photogenic, it was Stuart Sutcliffe whom she fell in love with. Within a few weeks of their meeting, Stuart moved into the Kirchherr home. However, as Astrid later said:
"It was very hard for all of us. Klaus liked Stuart a lot, and Stuart had a conscious hurt about falling in love with me and hurting Klaus."
Astrid on The Beatles' look:
"The Beatles were dressed like teddy boys, with these very, very pointed shoes which we in Hamburg had never seen before, We were fascinated with those, just like they were with our things. And their very tight rousers and little tiny gray jackets. They didn't have many clothes, of course. And their hair was combed back with sideboards.."
The Beatles' hair was about to be changed, however. Astrid had cut and styled Stuart Sutcliffe's hair in the way that the 'exis' (as John Lennon called Astrid and her friends) usually did. When Stuart showed up for the first gig after the haircut, "John collapsed laughing". According to Astrid, "(John Lennon) didn't have the guts to say, 'Hey, that looks great', which is what he really thought."
The next who had his hair cut by Astrid was George. John and Paul had their hair cut some time later when they went to see Juergen Vollmer who was living in Paris then. The "moptop" that was to become famous within years had been created.
On December 5, 1960, George Harrison was deported from Hamburg for being under-age. This marked the end of the four-month stay of the Beatles. It also marked the end of Stuart Sutcliffe being in the band. Astrid and Stuart were now engaged, and Stuart was to continue his art studies in Hamburg. They continued to keep in contact through letters, and in Christmas of 1961, Astrid and Stuart went to Liverpool. Astrid recalled that "everyone said how ill (Stuart) looked". Stuart had been suffering severe headaches , which caused him to faint in art college once. Astrid decided that "he better stay at home in bed or in the attic, and at least my mother and I could be near him when he needed help." Stuart also went for X-rays, and was under care from the Kirchherr family doctor, but nothing showed up. On April 10, 1962, Astrid received a phone call from her mother saying that Stuart needed to go to the hospital right away. She immediately came home and went with Stuart in the ambulance:
"He died in my arms on that journey. I cannot say it was unexpected but the suddenness...the loss to me was great, and to anyone who knew him, because he was a genius, with a great mind and an original talent as an artist. He would have been outstanding, if he'd lived."
Astrid fell into a deep depression in the months following Stuart's death. John Lennon made sure that Astrid wouldn't stay depressed. Astrid recalled, "(John would tell me) 'Come on, make up your mind, live or die..stop sitting at home - it won't bring Stu back."
In 1964, Astrid began working as a freelance photographer. For one of her jobs, she was hired by Stern, a German magazine, to photograph the Beatles during the filming of A Hard Day's Night. She also did the cover photograph for George Harrison's Wonderwall Music. However, Astrid was getting frustrated with photography:
"Every magazine and newspaper wanted me to photograph the Beatles again. Or they wanted my old stuff, even if it was out of focus, whether they were nice or not. They wouldn't look at my other work. It was very hard for a girl photographer in the 60s to be accepted. In the end I gave up. I've hardly taken a photo since 1967."
Astrid's photographs of The Beatles were everywhere during the 1960's. Even today, they are widely regarded as the definitive photographic history of The Beatles' early years. However, she did not claim any ownership of her mass-produced photographs. Therefore, Astrid's financial future wasn't as good as it should have been.
Said Kirchherr:
"I'm not a businesswoman, I'm not organized...I never looked after my negatives, and you need that to prove you took the photographs." However, Ulf Kruger, a songwriter and record producer, has successfully tried to find all of Astrid's photographs and negatives, and have them copyrighted. "I estimate Astrid has lost £500,000....by other people using her photographs."
Since Astrid has reclaimed many of her photographs, she has had exhibitions of them in many cities, including in London, Tokyo, and New York.
In the mid 1980's, Astrid became involved in the production of Backbeat, a movie about The Beatles' early days that would center around Stuart Sutcliffe. The movie, released in 1994, starred Stephen Dorff and Stuart and Sheryl Lee as Astrid. According to Astrid, Backbeat "stuck to the facts, and the emotions". She was also impressed with the then 19-year-old actor Stephen Dorff:
"When I first met (him), I got the shock of my life...He's the right age, but when he looked up, and I saw this shadow, my arms were geese pimpling. The way he talked, the way he smoked, his gestures, were just like Stu's. I was very impressed."
Today, Astrid lives in Hamburg. She has been married twice and has no children. As for her marriages, Astrid said, "Perhaps I was more critical of men, having met Stu. He was so clever and artistic. Perhaps he spoiled me." Astrid isn't definite as to what her future will be ("I've done so many things in life I can't make a final statement.") The memories of Stuart and The Beatles remain with her, says Astrid, because "they were my youth."
