Tony Sheridan Dead at age 72 he was a Beatles Collaborator

Tony Sheridan, a singer and guitarist who collaborated with The Beatles on their early career died at the age of 72 on Saturday, February 16 in Hamburg, Germany. The death was announced by Tony's daughter, Wendy Clare Sheridan-McGinnity.

"Tony was a good guy who we knew and worked with from the early days in Hamburg," Paul McCartney said in a statement. "We regularly watched his late night performances and admired his style. He will be missed."

Tony was a part of The Beatles during their first commercial recording. His involvement in the Beatles was brief but it was crucial to their career.

Tony met the group which then included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best in 1960. The group arrived in Hamburg to work as a club band in the red-light district, where they performed at a neighboring club to where Tony had regular gigs, and they would see him after they finished their own shows. For a short period, they served as Tony's backing band.

In 1961, German producer and composer Bert Kaempfert offered Tony and The Beatles a recording contract. They recorded nine songs together, which Tony sang seven of them, "My Bonnie", "The Saints", "Why (Can't You Love Me Again)", "Nobody's Child", "Take Out Some Insurance On Me, Baby", "Sweet Georgia Brown", and "Swanee River".

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