Back in the early sixties, the Beatles were a five-piece skiffle/blues band featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best. Both Sutcliffe and Best legitimately lay claim to the sobriquet 'The Fifth Beatle' although in 1960, one or the other must have been the fourth.

The five-piece visited Germany regularly between '60 and '63, and it was during one Hamburg trip that Stuart Sutcliffe met photographer Astrid Kirchherr and fell in love.

The pair were later engaged and Sutcliffe, feeling at home amid the German art scene, left The Beatles in 1961. Paul McCartney picked up the bass and five became four. Subsequently, Pete Best would be sacked from the band and replaced with Ringo Starr, the 'sixth Beatle'.

Sutcliffe was never to fully appreciate the role he had in The Beatles as, just seven months after leaving - and before the band's late '62 breakthrough with 'Love Me Do' - he died.

In 1994, the film Backbeat, a study of the relationship between Sutcliffe, Lennon and Kirchherr, sought to shed some light on the band's pre-fame days. The musical does not feature any original Beatles material however, focussing instead on the blues and rock'n'roll covers the band mostly performed then. Seventeen years on, Backbeat was revived as a stage show and is now playing at the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End.

Tickets cost £55 for weeknight performances and £57.50 for Friday and Saturday shows, however, we're running a special offer with top price stall tickets reduced from £55 to just £32.50 from Monday to Thursday performances until 26th January 2012 (excludes 26th Dec to 1st Jan).

Click the Book This Offer button for further details, choice of performance and terms and conditions. Enjoy the show!