Yeah, that's sad news. I also saw him in a documentary about the Star Club recently. He seemed to be a cool guy, not embittered or anything like that. On the contrary he was excited and enthusiastically talking about rock'n'roll. He certainly played a role in the formation of "beat" music and thus 60s rock'n'roll in general. Paul McCartney has called him "the teacher".
Before going to Hamburg he had toured through the UK with Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran. He should have been sitting in that car in which Eddie Cochran died, but he was late so they left without him.
When talking to "old" beat fans I had the impression that there was a lot of respect for him, not so much because of his music on records but because of the role he played in the genesis of that scene. He certainly was a guy who loved and lived for rock'n'roll. RIP
