The girl who took the original pictures of the Beatles in Hamburg, Astrid Kirchherr, died on May 12th. Yesterday would have been her 82nd birthday. A number of remembrances were posted last week, but Paul McCartney finally published something on his website and Twitter overnight.
He writes:
“Very sad news this week about Astrid Kirchherr.
Astrid was a dear friend from my Hamburg days with The Beatles. Another friend, Klaus Voormann, told me she had passed away and this brought back memories of our days in the clubs in Hamburg. Astrid looked unique. She had a short blond haircut and wore a slim black, leather outfit which made her look like a funky pixie. She would come to the club with Klaus and another friend, Jürgen Vollmer, and the three of them made quite an impression on us four lads from Liverpool. Their wit and conversation was really stimulating and we fell in love with Astrid’s style. Astrid took beautiful photographs of us. She used black and white film and achieved a stunning mood in her pictures that we all loved. She had a great sense of humour and later went on to marry Stuart [Sutcliffe] our bass player. I have so many fond memories of our time together in the club or her home or a trip to the nearby seaside resort, Lübeck.
So sad for all of us who were her friends to lose such a lovely lady from our lives. I will miss her but will always remember her and her cheeky grin with great fondness. God bless you Astrid, see ya love!”
– Paul McCartney
