b. Anthony Sheridan McGinnity, 21 May 1940, Norwich, Norfolk, England. Sheridan formed his first band, the Saints, in 1955, before moving to London. There he joined Vince Taylor And The Playboys in early 1959, with whom he played a residency in Hamburg, Germany. A popular attraction at clubs such as the Kaiserkeller with the Jets, that group soon evolved into the Beat Brothers with a line-up of Sheridan (vocals/guitar), Ken Packwood (guitar), Rick Richards (guitar), Colin Melander (bass), Ian Hines (keyboards) and Jimmy Doyle (drums), although their various formations changed almost constantly. Some of the more interesting personnel to pass through the Beat Brothers in these nebulous days at the Kaiserkeller were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best. This line-up undertook a recording session in 1961 with producer Bert Kaempfert at the controls, recording "My Bonnie" and "The Saints" among other songs. By the following year, the Beat Brothers had been joined by Ringo Starr, Roy Young (keyboards) and Rikky Barnes (saxophone).
Sheridan's first appearance at the infamous Star Club arrived on 12 May 1962, fronting the Tony Sheridan Quartet, who were later retitled the Star Combo. By 1964 he had teamed up with Glaswegian expatriates Bobb Patrick Big Six. However, with the Hamburg beat boom all but over by 1964, Sheridan travelled to Vietnam to play US army bases, accompanied by Volker Tonndorf (bass), Jimmy Doyle (drums) and vocalist Barbara Evers. He eventually returned to Hamburg to turn solo in 1968, where his cult status endured into the following decades. Sheridan then converted to the Sannyasin religion, renamed himself Swami Probhu Sharan, living with his family in Ottersberg near Bremen, Germany.
