jo lewis

Director. Films, XR, Games. BIFA voter. London

[jo lewis @ninedogtree]

My Ep of @rentheseries drops on Saturday- see you there!

[Dr. M.F. Khan @Dr_TheHistories]

Stuart Sutcliffe collapsed in his art class in Hamburg, Germany, in February 1962. He had been complaining of headaches for months, and they were steadily getting worse. He couldn't see clearly anymore, and the light hurt his eyes.

When he fell to the floor, the class panicked. Stuart was only 21 years old—a young Scottish painter, engaged to a beautiful German photographer, and studying under one of the most famous artists in Europe.

He also had a secret life he had just left behind. He used to be in a band. That band was called the Beatles.

Six months later, they would have their first hit. Eighteen months later, they would change music forever. But Stuart wouldn't live to see any of it.

Here is how he got there.

Stuart was born on June 23, 1940, in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of a schoolteacher and a civil servant. The family moved to Liverpool when Stuart was three. His father went to sea, and his mother raised the children. Stuart was different from other kids—quiet, smart, sensitive, he drew constantly and painted obsessively.

In 1956, at age 16, he started at the Liverpool College of Art. That was where he met John Lennon.

John was loud and rough; Stuart was quiet and elegant. Despite their differences, they became best friends. John was already trying to start a rock band with his school friend Paul McCartney. They called themselves the Quarrymen, then the Silver Beetles, and went through a few other names.

The band desperately needed a bass player. Stuart didn't play any instrument and didn't really care about rock music, but he had just sold one of his paintings for £65—big money for a teenager back then. John talked him into spending that money on a Höfner bass guitar, and then taught him three basic chords.

Stuart officially joined the band in May 1960. He couldn't really play, so he would often stand on stage with his back to the crowd so people couldn't see his fingers. He couldn't sing well either, but he had something the rest of the band didn't have: he was incredibly beautiful.

Tall, with dark hair, sharp cheekbones, and wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses before anyone else, he looked like a movie star. Whenever Stuart sang Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender," girls in the audience screamed louder than they did for any of the other Beatles. It even made Paul McCartney a little jealous.

Stuart and John also invented something else: the band's name. Both were huge fans of Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets, and wanted a similar name with a double meaning based on a bug. They came up with "Beetles," and John tweaked the spelling to "Beatles"—like a musical beat.

In August 1960, the band got an offer to play in Hamburg, Germany. It meant playing eight hours a night, six nights a week—a few months of brutal, exhausting work. They took the gig.

Hamburg changed everything. The Beatles played in seedy clubs and lived in tiny, cramped rooms behind a movie theater. They slept on bunk beds, and through the grind, they grew tougher, faster, and much better.

It was also where Stuart met someone special in the audience: Astrid Kirchherr. A German photographer, she was 22, tall, blonde, and exceptionally cool, specializing in taking photos of art-school groups. She came to a Beatles show, and she and Stuart locked eyes. By November 1960, they were engaged, exchanging rings in the German tradition.

Astrid was the first person to take serious photographs of the Beatles. Her black-and-white shots later became legendary: the young Beatles in leather jackets, smoking, looking dangerous.

She did something else, too. Stuart asked her to cut his hair, and she gave him a French art-school cut, brushed forward and cut straight across the forehead. At first, the other Beatles laughed at him and called him a "mop top." A few months later, they all wanted the same look. It became the most famous haircut in music history, and Stuart wore it first.

© Reddit

#drthehistories

[Carl Woodward @mrcarl_woodward]

Rosamund Pike scolds audience member texting on their phone during her theatre show.

“You know who you are and I’m not going to single you out.”

[jo lewis @ninedogtree]

@jakelangi ❤️

[Jake Langi @jakelangi]

My son, Cannon, is nonverbal, Autistic, & has a rare genetic disease.

He has many struggles but he’s happy, works hard, & he listens.

Today, he received the Outstanding Student Award.

It’s the first time he’s ever received an end-of-year recognition & I’m so proud of him.

[The Owen Hart Foundation @owen_foundation]

AEW's OHF Owen Cup Tournament kicks off tomorrow in Queens New York and the OHF wishes all men's and women's tournament contenders good luck in their fierce battles to win much-earned coveted shots at the title in London England at Wembley Stadium August 30th 2026. See you there! https://t.co/p1td7dMjXp

[Henshi @HenshiG]

In 1942, in Nazi-occupied Tunisia—the only Arab country to suffer direct German occupation—a drunken officer bragged at dinner about the Jewish woman he planned to seize from a forced brothel.

He named her.

Across the table sat Khaled Abdul-Wahab, a 31-year-old wealthy Muslim Tunisian who had studied art and architecture in New York, spoke fluent German, and was trusted by the Nazis. They invited him to their tables. He smiled, poured the wine, finished the meal… then raced through the night.

He pounded on the door of the woman’s family at midnight. “Pack nothing. Come now.” He gathered 25 terrified Jews—mothers, fathers, children, cousins—and drove them nearly 20 miles to his family farm. For four agonizing months, he hid them in the olive press, stables, and storage sheds.

He fed them as supplies ran desperately low. He kept crying babies silent. When German soldiers came to count Jews, the hidden families pinned on their yellow stars, stood motionless, then tore them off the moment the danger passed.

One terrifying night, a drunk soldier stumbled upon them and threatened to kill everyone. An 11-year-old girl, hiding under a bed, watched in horror—until Khaled appeared like a guardian angel.

He calmly disarmed the soldier and sent him away.

No one on that farm died.

In May 1943, the British liberated Tunisia. The 25 returned home alive. Khaled went back to his quiet life—painting, raising daughters, serving his country—and never spoke of it again. Not to his wife. Not to his children.

He died in 1997 at 86. His secret died with him.

A decade later, his daughter Faiza sat in a Paris café reading a newspaper. An American historian was describing a Tunisian Arab who had hidden 25 Jews. He named her father. She was 45 years old and hearing the story for the first time. “I rediscovered my father,” she said.

Khaled was nominated to be the first Arab recognized as Righteous Among the Nations—Israel’s highest honor for those who saved Jews. The committee declined.

Today, those 25 souls have hundreds of descendants living in Israel, France, America, and Tunisia. The little girl under the bed grew up, built a family in Paris. None of them would exist if Khaled had looked away that night.

He had everything to lose. He acted anyway. Then he carried the silence for the rest of his life.

The world almost forgot him twice.
Now you know his name: Khaled Abdul-Wahab.

A true hero. A Muslim who stood against evil when it mattered most.

Colorized image of black and white photo poster by Israel the Jewish State.

[The Owen Hart Foundation @owen_foundation]

Ron McNeill's Official Music Video 'Calling All You Heroes' is out and OHF's Doc Hart along with OHF committee member Ashid Bahl (Founder/Director of FTLOCS) were very honored to be a part of it. Well done Ron and Georgie in collaboration with Canadian country music great Julian Austin. What a beautiful song and profound message to send to the world in these very troubled times.
https://t.co/hVn6iclRaQ

[Eric Idle @EricIdle]

8 o’clock tomorrow. Tuesday May 5th. In Fredericksburg (Copenhagen) At the Falconer Salen. I have a new song I want to try out specially for you Danes. Hope to see you there.

[EmmaJane @EmmaJanesLife]

This morning we met a Dad with his two kids who were doing litter picking out of the hedgerows. I stopped to thank them & told the kids they are awesome. Dad proudly said they wanted to do something environmental in honour of #DavidAttenborough 100th Birthday ❤️❤️❤️

[jo lewis @ninedogtree]

@senveben22119 hippo

[Eric Idle @EricIdle]

Stay the fuck clear…

[jo lewis @ninedogtree]

love this ❤️🎬🤩

[Adrian Edmondson ❎ @AdrianEdmondson]

Just heard someone say 'Who was that guitarist in The Rolling Stones - Ronnie Corbett?'

[jo lewis @ninedogtree]

proud to say I’m now a full voting member of BIFA

[Live Nation UK @LiveNationUK]

AEW: All in returns to London in August, bringing its signature high-impact action & must-see moments back to Wembley Stadium

Tickets on sale now 🙌

[cinesthetic. @TheCinesthetic]

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL was released 51 years ago today.

Led Zeppelin invested £31,500 for the filming, Pink Floyd put in £21,000, & Ian Anderson contributed £6,300, because no studio would fund a comedy about King Arthur and the Holy Grail.

[jo lewis @ninedogtree]

@owen_foundation ❤️🎬🎉

[The Owen Hart Foundation @owen_foundation]

The OHF celebrated the wrap of the OWEN documentary as it nears completion, at the famous home of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts - BAFTA Exclusive Club with UK producers Lee Brazier and Jo Lewis. A private screening is in the works before it's released to mulitple international film festivals and then streamed on CRAVE. Be sure to watch for this fabulous work of art over 10 years in the making. Coming soon! https://t.co/p1td7dMjXp

[Empire @empiremagazine]

A TV adaptation of the post-apocalyptic survival action game Atomfall is on the way.

Two Brothers Pictures, the production company behind Fleabag and The Assassin, will be working with game studio Rebellion to bring the game to screens.

Read more: https://t.co/fUjWvKTy2C

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

I thank His Majesty King Charles III @RoyalFamily, the United Kingdom, and all valiant American hearts for this clarion call for unity in support of Ukraine across the Atlantic. This is exactly what is needed to bring dignified and lasting peace to Ukraine and all of Europe. The people of Ukraine deeply appreciate all the support provided by the United Kingdom and the United States. Thank you.