Backbeat- the word on the street

Generations of us have been captured by their sound, spellbound by their beat and mesmerised by their style, but how many of us are familiar with the 5th member of the legendary Beatles – Stuart Sutcliffe?


In the theatre adaption of Iain Softley’s 1994 film Backbeat, brought to the Citizens Theatre Glasgow for its world premier, we see the true meaning of music come alive as the lights come on while telling the tragic story of the greatly talented Stuart Sutcliffe, a man who had to choose between his best friend, the woman he loved and the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band the world has ever seen.

Backbeat surrounds ‘the Hamburg Years’, of what was to become the most successful band in modern times , though this story provides a fascinating look into the triangular relationship between Stu Sutcliffe, the band’s original bassist, John Lennon, his best friend, and Astrid Kircherr, the stunning German photographer who Sutcliffe fell passionately in love with.



It was Sutcliffe’s struggle between Lennon and music, and Astrid and art, which makes the troubled focus of Backbeat. The imminent death of Stu following a brain haemorrhage aged just 22 in the year before ‘Beatle Mania’ took hold, adds to the emotion of this remarkable and vivid portrait of the 1960’s.



Director of both the film and theatre piece Iain Softley was very excited at finally seeing his work brought to the stage, he said: “When I was making the film, I was also visualising a theatre production of Backbeat, where Stu’s dramatic paintings and Astrid’s stunning photography could be woven into the narrative along with great live music. I am so delighted that, after all these years, we can bring Backbeat to the theatre, and to debut in Scotland where Stu was born.”



Backbeat emerges as a hugely entertaining show, featuring fine performances from Isabella Calthorpe as Astrid, Alex Robertson as an eerily lookalike Sutcliffe, Andrew Knott as Lennon, and Jamie Blackley and Daniel Healy as Harrison and McCartney. There's a superbly effective set designed by Christopher Oram that perfectly captures the early-1960s atmosphere. The music itself gives off a remarkably edgy guitar-pop sound with the cast having been turned into ‘Twist and Shout’ sensations.

Young or old, music fans of all genres will appreciate this little piece of instrumental history.