The family of Chas Newby have paid tribute to their "amazing" dad who died after a battle with cancer.
Chas died on Monday, May 22 aged 81. The bassist played with The Beatles for a series of gigs in December 1960, where he filled in for Stuart Sutcliffe when The Beatles returned to Liverpool from West Germany.
The 81-year-old had played bass for The Quarrymen, who reformed in 1997, since 2016. Chas toured with his band members in Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain, Hungary, Mexico - and of course in Liverpool at Strawberry Field, St Peter's, the Philharmonic, the Cavern Club and at the Casbah.
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Chas' son, Steve Newby, 50, and daughter Jacqui Bryan, 46, paid tribute to their dad who they said filled their lives with music and love.
Speaking to the ECHO, Steve said: "He was the best bloke in the world. You couldn't say a bad word about him. Dad was always working hard and gave his time up for other people, including us."
Jacqui said there was always music playing in the house, with Chas playing his old records and teaching his children guitar.
Steve added: "Even to the point when I went off to university and when I got back after a period down there, one of my right-handed guitars suddenly became left-handed. He decided to repair it but make it work for him which I thought was quite cool.
"Music has always been a big part of it and always involved locally, with friends and things."
Chas, who was from Everton but later moved to Warwickshire, was a former engineer and maths teacher. He was also a "Red through and through", with many trips to Anfield.
He played four gigs for The Beatles, 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 McCartney played rhythm guitar, so Chas joked his real claim to fame is that he was the first left handed bass player in the Beatles.
The grandad-of-four told the ECHO in 2019: "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."
Talking about how he discovered his dad played with The Beatles, Steve said: "I kind of discovered the story when we were asked in school to come up with a piece about someone in your family who did something of note, whether it was a medal in the war or sporting achievement. This little story came out and I was like 'what, really?'
"So of course I just wrote this down for my school project and came back with it and my teacher was like 'what's this you what? Hang on a minute' and then all of a sudden I realised the significance of what he was doing and what a good thing to be involved in."
Music played a huge part in Steve and Jacqui's life, with Steve playing with his dad and Chas performing at Jacqui's wedding. Just six months ago Chas performed with The Quarrymen at the Jacaranda for a Dutch TV documentary. He had also played for a Strawberry Fields fundraiser.
Steve and Jacqui said they have been "blown away" and "overwhelmed" with the response and support they have had from Liverpool and across the world, with many people paying tribute to Chas.
Steve said: "At the moment, I am absolutely blown out by the response we have had and the awareness around the world in such a short space of time."
The family have asked any donations in memory of Chas can be made to Shakespeare Hospice here.
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