Stuart Sutcliffe, the original bass player in the Beatles, died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 21 on April 10, 1962. By the time of his death, Sutcliffe had left the band to attend art college in Hamburg and live with his girlfriend, photographer Astrid Kircherr. While still in the group in January of 1961, Sutcliffe was either kicked in the head or thrown headfirst into a wall during a fight after one of the band’s shows. John Lennon and Pete Best came to his aid but it was believed the head trauma later caused the aneurysm. He initially refused treatment and eventually collapsed while in an art class the following year. One version of the story says that it was, in fact, Lennon who gave Sutcliffe the beating after deciding to leave the band. In “Lennon Revealed” by Larry Cane, Stuart’s sister Pauline says that they had fought, but it’s unlikely that Lennon caused the injury:“I did say it didn’t help, but that’s a long way from saying he was responsible,” she explained.