Paul McCartney Pays Tribute To Beatles Photographer Astrid Kirchherr
Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Astrid Kirchherr
Paul McCartney has paid tribute to Astrid Kirchherr.
Following news the German photographer “who gave the Beatles their style” has died age 81, Paul McCartney has posted a message via his official Instagram account.
“Very sad news this week about Astrid Kirchherr,” McCartney writes, “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.”
Kirchherr first befriended the Beatles at Hamburg music venbue the Kaiserkeller in 1960.
“Astrid looked unique,” the Beatle continues. “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.”
The first professional photographer to shoot the band she would also cut their now-iconic Mop Tops.
“Astrid took beautiful photographs of us,” the Beatle shares of her talent behind the lens. “She used black and white film and achieved a stunning mood in her pictures that we all loved. She had a great sense of humor 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,” Paul McCartney concludes. “I will miss her but will always remember her and her cheeky grin with great fondness. God bless you Astrid, see ya love!”
Kirchherr was also familiar with Starr’s pre-Beatles outfit Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpool group well known on the Hamburg club circuit.
After dating former Beatle Stuart Sutcliff before his death in 1962, she would marry Ringo Starr’s replacement in The Hurricanes in 1970.
(The pair would divorce in 1985.)
Kirchherr would later shoot Starr along with the rest of the Beatles behind-the-scenes on their breakthrough concert film A Hard Day’s Night and several other occasions.
Exasperated by the tag of “The Beatles Photographer”, she would later retire from professional photography in 1970.
Far from disenchanted with the band, she would continue to share fond memories of her Hamburg days with various Beatles biographies and assisted in organizing fan conventions in the German city.
Kirchherr is reported to have died in Hamburg on May 13.
She was 7 days shy of her 82nd birthday.
Others, including Ringo Starr, son of John Lennon, Julian Lennon as well as George Harrison‘s wife Olivia Harrison and Dhani Harrison, have also offered their condolences.
