At the age of 81, British musician Chas Newby, who played bass guitar for the Beatles in their formative years, passed yesterday. His death’s cause has not been made public.
On Tuesday morning, tributes to the original left-handed bassist for the Beatles—who also performed with John Lennon in The Quarrymen—began to spread on social media.
The news was confirmed by Roag Best, the brother of former Beatles drummer Pete Best, on Facebook, who also expressed his deep sorrow for the passing of Chas Newby, a close family friend.
He praised Newby’s friendliness and easygoing demeanor while recognizing his achievements as a bass guitarist for both The Beatles and The Quarrymen. The Best family will mourn him terribly and will continue to think of him.
Upon learning of Chas Newby’s passing, The Cavern Club Liverpool, where the Beatles launched their career, posted their condolences on Facebook. They expressed their sympathies and emphasized how important he was as the first left-handed bass player in the Beatles.
Chas Newby was hailed as a “fill-in Beatle” and a deserving person by Beatles scholar Mark Lewishon on Twitter in his homage to him. Lewishon observed that during the Beatles’ trip back from Hamburg in 1960, which included a noteworthy performance in Litherland, Newby momentarily took the place of Stuart Sutcliffe. Newby had also recently been a member of The Quarrymen. He was personable and a delight to meet, according to Lewishon.
Chas Newby, a 1941 Liverpool native, rose to fame in 1960 during his brief time with the Beatles, playing a few live gigs alongside John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Lennon wanted Newby to continue the band’s West German tour, but the bassist elected to go back to school instead.
According to Newby, “I never intended to make a career out of music,” she said in a 2012 interview with the Sunday Mercury. “I desired to study chemistry. On the other hand, John, Paul, and George only desired to be musicians.
He afterward settled in Alcester and taught mathematics in high schools. He was a member of the Racketts, a local charity band, in Alcester. He started playing again with the Quarrymen in 2016.