Fifth Beatle
Fifth Beatle
The band's members have offered their own views as to who should be described with the title. McCartney said in a 1997 interview that "if anyone was the fifth Beatle", it was manager Brian Epstein, and later applied the honorific to producer George Martin in a 2016 memorial post. Harrison said at the Beatles' 1988 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that there were only two "fifth Beatles": Derek Taylor, the Beatles' public relations manager, and Neil Aspinall, their road manager-turned-business-executive. Others referred to as the "fifth Beatle" include their early drummer, Pete Best, original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, and keyboardist Billy Preston.
Early group members
Though best-known as a four-man ensemble, The Beatles were in their early career a quintet.
Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Sutcliffe was the original bassist of the five-member Beatles. He played with the band primarily during their days as a club act in Hamburg, West Germany. When the band returned to Liverpool in 1961, Sutcliffe remained behind in Hamburg. He died of a brain hemorrhage shortly thereafter. Instead of replacing him with a new member, Paul McCartney changed from rhythm guitar (with Lennon) to bass and the band continued as a four-piece.
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