Early years Beatles photographer Astrid Kirchherr dead at 81

Kirchherr posing in front of her photograph of John Lennon taken in the early 1960s in Germany. Photo: AFP

German photographer Astrid Kirchherr, whose striking images of The Beatles in the early 1960s helped turn them into cultural icons, has died aged 81, German media reported Saturday.

Kirchherr passed away in Hamburg following a serious illness, those close to her told several media outlets, including the weekly Die Zeit and NDR public television.

She met and befriended The Beatles in 1960 during a tour in Hamburg, before they achieved worldwide fame.

At the time, the group was made up of five members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, as well as bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best, who was later replaced by Ringo Starr.

Kirchherr is often credited as the first to capture The Beatles' image and fashion evolution. The band in the early 1960s (from left) Best, Harrison, Lennon, McCartney and Sutcliffe. Photo: Astrid Kirchherr

Sutcliffe fell in love with Kirchherr and stayed on in Hamburg, but died from a brain haemorrhage in 1962.

Kirchherr took numerous photos of the group, showing them both as rebels and romantics. She later lived mainly off the reproduction rights of the pictures, NDR said.

She was also behind the group's so-called mop-top hairstyles of the early 1960s.

The photographer later kept in touch with The Beatles, Harrison in particular. - AFP