The German photographer shot some of the earliest pictures of the Beatles and helped shape their iconic visual style. Tributes poured in following her death, with Ringo Starr calling her "a beautiful human being."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Perrey
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Astrid Kirchherr, a German photographer famous for her early images of the Beatles in the 1960s, has died at the age of 81.
She died on Tuesday in her hometown of Hamburg just days before her 82nd birthday, her friend and fellow photographer Kai-Uwe Franz said on Friday.
German newspaper Die Zeit reported that she passed away following a "short, serious illness."
Kirchherr took some of the earliest pictures of the band during their time in Hamburg. In addition to her striking images, she's also credited with influencing the style of band's clothes and their infamous mop-top hairdos.
Astrid Kirchherr (center) in Hamburg in 2009Image: Getty Images/K. Angerer
'A beautiful human being'
Tributes for Kirchherr poured in across the Beatles universe following the announcement of her death, with Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn tweeting that she was an "intelligent" as well as "loving and uplifting."
"Her gift to the Beatles was immeasurable," Lewisohn wrote.
Olivia Harrison, George Harrison's widow, tweeted that Kirchherr was "so thoughtful and kind and talented, with an eye to capture the soul."
"God bless Astrid a beautiful human being," Ringo Starr tweeted, posting a picture of Kirchherr with the band.
'My whole life changed'
Kirchherr was working as a photographer's assistant when she first met the band in Hamburg in 1960. At the time, the band was comprised of the original members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best.
"It was like a merry-go-round in my head, they looked absolutely astonishing," Kirchherr later told Beatles biographer Bob Spitz. "My whole life changed in a couple of minutes. All I wanted was to be with them and to know them.''
Best was later replaced by drummer Ringo Starr in 1962 and McCartney took over on bass for Sutcliffe after he left the band and got engaged to Kirchherr.
Kirchherr and Sutcliffe fell in love and married, although their relationship ended tragically when Sutcliffe died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1962 at the age of 21.
"He was, and still is, the love of my life," she told NPR in 2010. "I never, ever — and I was married a couple of times — met another man who was so fascinating, so beautiful, and so soft and well-mannered. You name it and that he was, and such a gifted artist.''
Kirchherr went on to work as a freelance photographer and interior designer. In recent years, she helped run a photography shop in Hamburg. Her photographs of the Beatles have been included in exhibitions around the world, including at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
rs/stb (AP, dpa)
John Lennon's life in 11 songs
Beatle legend John Lennon would have turned 75 on October 9. Here's a look at what his songs reveal about the man.
Image: imago/LFI
'Hello Little Girl'
Born John Winston Lennon on October 9, 1940, the native Liverpudlian kicked off his music career at 15 with The Quarrymen. At the band's second gig, Lennon met the young Paul McCartney and invited him to join the group. Lennon soon wrote his first song: "Hello Little Girl." 14-year-old George Harrison joined the band, followed by Stuart Sutcliffe in 1960. The Beatles were born.
The band, then featuring Pete Best on drums, decamped to Hamburg for a 48-night residency - honing its live show and experiencing first-hand the city's drug culture and liberal attitudes toward sex. "I might have been born in Liverpool - but I grew up in Hamburg," Lennon said. Returning to England, Lennon penned his first hit: "Please Please Me," the title track of their 1963 debut album.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
'A Hard Day's Night'
Lennon was a keen drawer and actor. In 1964 he wrote the title track for "A Hard Day's Night" - the band's debut film. Capturing the crescendo of Beatlemania, it proved a lasting influence over cinema. Lennon also starred in Richard Lester's 1967 black comedy "How I Won the War." In 2009, director Sam Taylor-Wood released "Nowhere Boy" (pictured), a film based on Lennon's adolescence.
Image: Senator Film
'The Ballad of John and Yoko'
Lennon met Cynthia Powell at Liverpool Art Collage in 1957. They married in 1962, and their son Julian was born in 1963. After meeting Japanese visual artist Yoko Ono in 1966, the two officially became a couple in 1968. The media's obsession with the notorious pair set the tone for The Beatles' 1969 No. 1 single "The Ballad of John and Yoko." It was the band's last number No. 1 hit in the UK.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Bob Dear
'Julia'
Lennon had a troubled relationship with women and publically admitted to having physically abused Cynthia. His relationship with Yoko was famously tempestuous. He also had a strained relationship with his mother Julia (portrayed here in "Nowhere Boy" by Anne-Marie Duff). John Lennon largely grew up with an aunt, and Julia was killed in an accident in 1958. "Julia" from 1968 was dedicated to her.
Image: Senator Film
'Tomorrow Never Knows'
By the mid-1960s, Lennon had become increasingly fascinated by countercultural guru Timothy Leary, Eastern mysticism and psychedelics. "Tomorrow Never Knows" was Lennon's own transcendental paean to LSD: inviting listeners to "turn off your mind, relax and float downstream." Many wrongly assumed that Lennon's surrealist "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was also a loosely veiled acronym for LSD.
Image: Getty Images
'Revolution 1'
He never shied away from attacking the establishment. With its wailing riff, "Revolution 1" of 1968 became an anti-establishment anthem. By stating that The Beatles were bigger than Jesus in 1966, Lennon caused global controversy, which led to public burnings of Beatles albums. In 1970's "God," Lennon sang: "I don't believe in Jesus…I don't believe in Beatles! I just believe in me. Yoko and me."
Image: Getty Images
'All You Need is Love'
Despite his rebellious image, Lennon became the most public advocate for world peace at the height of the Vietnam and Cold Wars. Released in 1967, "All You Need Is Love" became the hymn of the "Summer of Love." He and Ono staged a "bed-in" peace protest in Canada in 1969 (pictured), from where Lennon penned one of the most iconic peace anthems of all time, "Give Peace a Chance."
Image: AP
'How Do You Sleep?'
The Beatles split acrimoniously in 1970. In 1971, Paul McCartney wrote "Too Many People" - a swipe at John and Ono's righteous political grandstanding. Deeply insulted, Lennon retaliated that year with "How Do You Sleep" - suggesting the only decent song McCartney ever wrote was "Yesterday." Lennon remained on friendly terms with Ringo Starr and George Harrison and later reconciled with McCartney.
Image: Jim Marshall Pho
'Just Like (Starting Over)'
In 1975, Lennon decided to take a break from music. He'd reunited with Ono after an 18-month separation - what he called his "lost weekend" - and their child Sean was born on October 9, Lennon's 35th birthday. After five years of blissful domestic obscurity, Lennon returned to music with the symbolic single "(Just Like) Starting Over" on October 20, 1980. Nearly two months later, he was murdered.
Image: AP
'Imagine'
Despite Lennon's death, his songs have been kept alive by his legion of fans - and peace monuments have been named in his honor in Reykjavik, New York, Lima, Havana, Liverpool, and beyond. "Imagine," his most enduring and defining song, has been covered by everyone from Madonna to Stevie Wonder and Elton John - and is consistently ranked as one of the greatest and most-played songs of all time.
