Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans is a biography of the Beatles' road manager Mal Evans by Kenneth Womack. It was published on November 14, 2023 by HarperCollins.
 | |
| Author | Kenneth Womack |
|---|---|
| Subject | Mal Evans |
| Genre | Biography |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | November 14, 2023 |
| Pages | 592 |
| ISBN | 0-063-24851-4 |
Background
editMalcolm Frederick Evans (1935–1976) was employed as the road manager and personal assistant to the British rock band the Beatles from 1963 up until their break-up in 1970. By 1976, he had secured a publishing contract with G. P. Putnam's Sons for his memoir (to be titled either 200 Miles to Go or Living the Beatles Legend) and had received approval to publish it from all four Beatles, but died shortly before the manuscript was due.[1] In 1988, a box was found in the publisher's basement containing the full manuscript for the memoir along with his personal diaries, notebooks, and photos.[2] In 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Evans' son Gary asked the Beatles researcher Kenneth Womack to write a biography of Evans. When Womack agreed, Gary sent him the full contents of the box.[3][4] In addition to using its materials, Womack conducted over 200 interviews with people who had known Evans.[5][6]
Content
editThe book covers Evans' life from his childhood in Wales up until his death in 1976, which Womack argues was a suicide by cop.[4] Womack describes Evans' encounters with the celebrities Marlene Dietrich, Burt Lancaster, and Keith Moon, the difficulties of protecting the Beatles during Beatlemania, and Evans' infidelity and neglect of his family.[7] The book also contains scans of previously-unseen photographs and diary pages, including the final known picture of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, taken in 1974 during their only post-Beatles recording session together.[1]
Reception
editAlexandra Jacobs of The New York Times wrote that Womack told Evans' story "with rigor and care if not a sparkling prose style", and concluded that "[Evans] is here dusted off and given a proper salute".[7] Tim Adams of The Guardian noted that as the book approaches the subject's death it "becomes a kind of cautionary tale".[8] Dominic Green expressed a similar sentiment in The Wall Street Journal, also calling the book a "cautionary tale" and writing that "Evans loved Elvis, the movies and cowboy shootouts. Living the dream turned his life upside-down, then killed him."[9]
Sequel
editA second volume comprising only of unedited material from Evans' archive is planned for 2024.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Runtagh, Jordan (October 31, 2023). "New Biography of Beatles Roadie Mal Evans Uncovers Last Known Photo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney Together (Exclusive)". People. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ Womack, Kenneth (November 9, 2023). "How Yoko Ono and a publishing temp saved the Beatles' Holy Grail from the scrap heap". Salon. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Kriticos, Christian (November 7, 2023). "'It will change the way we think about their story': mythical archive of 'first Beatles historian' comes to light". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (December 10, 2023). "The High Life and Shocking Death of Beatles Sidekick Mal Evans". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ Pop Goes the 60s (November 30, 2023). MAL EVANS Living the Beatles Legend with Ken Womack | #187. Retrieved June 19, 2024 – via YouTube.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Parrillo, Rosemary (August 23, 2023). "Kenneth Womack seeks to 'set the record straight' with book about Beatles associate Mal Evans". NJArts.net. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Jacobs, Alexandra (November 15, 2023). "He Carried the Bags (and the Secrets) for the Beatles". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ Adams, Tim (November 26, 2023). "Living the Beatles Legend by Kenneth Womack review – a long and winding roadie's tale". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ Green, Dominic (January 8, 2024). "'Living the Beatles Legend' Review: Mal Evans on Tour". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024.