Recognised as one of the highlights of The Beatles Get Back film released last year was Mal Evans, the steadfast, reliable, amiable friend and facilitator of the band. His archives have for years been an elusive and near mythical source of knowledge that all fans have hoped would be released into the public domain. That wait is nearing an end.

Mal’s perspective as one of the inner circle would be fascinating and access to his treasure trove of artefacts, photo’s and incredibly his diaries, were given to esteemed Beatles author and scholar Kenneth Womack by the Mal Evan’s estate in 2020.

“My dad meant the world to me,” says Gary Evans. “He was my hero. Before Ken joined the project, I thought I knew the story of my dad. But what I knew was in monochrome; 15 months later it is like The Wizard of Oz (dad’s favorite film) because Ken has added so much color, so much light to his story. Ken has shown me that dad was the Beatles’ greatest friend. He was lucky to meet them, but they had more good fortune with dad walking down the Cavern steps for the first time.”

“What I’ve discovered in this archive is more than I could have ever truly imagined,” says Womack. “I am honored and thrilled to present this biography and accompanying materials with the historical integrity that they deserve.”

Womack is set to release a biography of The Beatles’ road manager in 2023 with a fully illustrated version including items from the Evans archive being published in 2024 by Harper Collins’ Dey Street Books. The project has been developed by Womack in collaboration with the Malcolm Frederick Evans Estate and Matthew Elblonk, a literary agent with DeFiore and Company. Carrie Thornton at Dey Street Books secured World English rights. Harper Nonfiction will publish in the UK.

By Gwyn Jenkins.