CHAS NEWBY, THE BEATLES' FIRST LEFT-HANDED BASSIST DIES AT 81

 

SAD NEWS: Chas Newby (18 June 1941 – 22 May 2023) has passed away.

Chas Newby played bass with The Beatles for a quartet of gigs in December 1960, after they'd returned from Hamburg without Stuart Sutcliffe - and before Paul assumed the role.

The Beatles had a number of different members before the final, famous line-up.Chas Newby was a Beatle for two weeks, playing twice at the Casbah, once at the Grosvenor Ballroom in Wallasey, and at The Beatles’ famous first appearance at Litherland Town Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chas Newby was born on 18 June 1941 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK. Chas first played in a band called The Barmen, and then went on to put together a group called Blackjacks with Ken Brown and Pete Best.

On the recommendation of Pete Best, 19-year-old Chas filled in for Stuart Sutcliffe when The Beatles returned to Liverpool from West Germany.
He played four gigs, two in the Casbah Club, one in the Grosvenor Ballroom in Wallasey and a seminal first appearance at Litherland Town Hall.

At the time, Paul played rhythm guitar, so Chas joked that his real claim to fame is that he was the first left handed bass player in the Beatles.

The concerts Chas played as bassist in The Beatles:
- At Casbah Club (17 December, 1960)
- At Grosvenor Ballroomb (Christmas Eve 24 December, 1960)
- At Litherland Town Hall (27 December, 1960) 
- At  Casbah Club (New Year's Eve 31 December, 1960).

In 2019, Chas said: "I borrowed a bass from a guy called Tommy McGuirk, but of course Tommy was right handed, so I got this bass guitar and it's not as difficult as it sounds but I just played it upside down." 

After playing with the Beatles, Chas decided to return to college to study and lived the rest of his life out of the spotlight: John Lennon invited Newby to continue with the band on its second voyage to West Germany; Newby, unimpressed with the measly wages, declined the offer, choosing to pursue his academic career instead. Unlike his former bandmates, Newby has largely lived life out of the rock spotlight.

Although rumour has it that John wanted Chas to stay with the band, he said: "I can't for the life of me imagine that John Lennon was going to ditch his best mate (Stuart).
"John and Paul used to fight about Stuart, so I think what John wanted is for me and a couple of other guys, Billy Barlow and Kenny Brown to get out to Germany because I think he was trying to act as some sort of ambassador for Liverpool groups."

Newby taught mathematics at Droitwich Spa High School in Droitwich Spa and lived in Alcester, where he played in a charity group, the Racketts. Since 2016, Newby performed as a member of the Quarrymen, the band that was the precursor to the Beatles after meeting up with band member Rod Davis at BestFest in the Casbah Club.

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