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Backbeat
In Liverpool, England in 1960, art students and friends John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe have an altercation with a group of men outside a club, with Stu sustaining a head injury. Stu is a painter, and has joined John's rock-and-roll group the Beatles as their bass guitarist. The Beatles, their line-up comprising John, Stu, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best, travel by ship to Hamburg, Germany, and are introduced to the city's red-light district, the Reeperbahn. The band plays regularly at the Kaiserkeller club, and their sleeping quarters are the storeroom of the Bambi Kino, a small cinema. They meet German artist Klaus Voormann, and begin taking the drug Preludin to stay awake and play for long hours.
Klaus brings his girlfriend, German photographer Astrid Kirchherr, to see the Beatles perform, and introduces her to Stu. The Beatles and Astrid go to Bar Enfer, where a drunk John begins yelling at Stu over Astrid, before being escorted out by Paul. Later, the Beatles pose for photographs taken by Astrid. A record producer from Polydor Records comes to the Kaiserkeller to see the Beatles perform, but when he arrives, Stu is on stage singing " Love Me Tender " to Astrid, and the producer leaves, unimpressed. Paul wants Stu out of the band, but John states that if Stu leaves, he leaves as well.
The producer from Polydor returns to the Kaiserkeller and gives the Beatles the opportunity to perform on a record the following day. Stu says he is ill, so the other Beatles leave without him to attend the recording session, which sees them backing up singer Tony Sheridan. Astrid and Stu take photographs and have sex, and Klaus catches Stu and Astrid in bed together. Stu comes back to the Bambi Kino to find Ringo Starr, a drummer from another band, sleeping in his bunk bed. John remarks that he thought Stu had moved in "with the SS ", and informs Stu that the Beatles are now playing at the Top Ten Club. Stu chooses instead to focus on his paintings. John visits Astrid, who criticizes him for his anger and accuses him of being jealous of her relationship with Stu. The Beatles are suddenly deported when authorities discover that George is under the age of 18; Stu and Astrid bid each other goodbye.
By December 1960, Stu wants to return to Hamburg, as he has not painted since he left. John thinks that Astrid was insinuating he has homosexual feelings towards Stu. By March 1961, George has turned 18, and the Beatles return to Hamburg, where Stu reunites with Astrid, who gives him a " mop top " haircut. Stu later tells John that he no longer wants to be in the band, and the two have a physical fight over Astrid. During a game of limbo at a club, Stu collapses in pain. A doctor suggests the incident is the result of a head injury. Stu proposes marriage to Astrid, and is accepted into a German art school. Stu and Astrid visit a beach with John and John's girlfriend Cynthia Powell; there, John expresses feelings for Astrid, but notes she fell in love with Stu. Stu and Astrid go to see the Beatles perform, with Paul having taken over as bassist, and the group bids the two farewell before leaving Hamburg.
On 13 August 1961, Stu comes home to find Astrid and Klaus holding hands, watching the news about the Berlin Wall being erected. Enraged, Stu assaults Klaus and throws paint all over Astrid's photographs and darkroom. He later apologises to Astrid, stating that his behaviour was unlike himself. Astrid tells Stu that the Beatles will soon become famous, and that Stu will grow to resent her as a result, but Stu denies this. Stu collapses in pain and dies of a brain haemorrhage. The Beatles, with John, Paul and George now sporting mop-top hairstyles, come back to Hamburg, where Astrid informs John that Stu is dead. At the Beatles' next performance, John sings a verse from "Love Me Tender" before the group breaks into " Twist and Shout ". Astrid watches them perform before making her exit through the adoring crowd.