I have read a lot of Beatles-related books over the past dozen years that I've been writing this review blog but this is perhaps the most moving and the most insightful of all that I've read.

Mal Evans was possibly closer to the Beatles than other individual, from their early days at The Cavern Club, to their rise to fame, their international tours, and through their breakup. An argument can be made, of course, for a few other, perhaps more well-known individuals, but because of Mal's presence at so many places, I'd give him the edge.

Who was Mal Evans? To really answer that you should read this book (you should read it anyway, even if you don't care what the answer is). He is often considered to be the Beatles' roadie, or bodyguard, but he was so much more than that. He was exactly what the Beatles needed at the time, although it's more than likely that no one realized that, or just how much he provided, beyond lugging gear and removing rowdy fans. It is certain that he was underpaid as well as underappreciated.

Part of what makes this book such a fascinating read is that Mal is a classic tragic hero - he gave everything he had to serve ("What we do reflects on the band. It's about the band."), to hobnob with the famous, and it ultimately cost him everything as well.

Mal kept a diary/journal nearly all his life, providing fascinating insight to some of the more personal sides of the Beatles (as a group and as individuals).

More than most, Mal was a man of two worlds - a wife and two children at home, whom he loved and missed and truly wanted to support; and the life of music and fame and all the things that go with it (such as the constant parade of young women he could 'sample' before passing them along to the Beatles). Author Kenneth Womack remarks, more than once, that Mal wanted (and mostly succeeded) to live the life of a rock and roll superstar, but on (essentially) a minimum wage salary with a family tucked away elsewhere so that he had a safe place to fall back to.

Mal ultimately lived the way he did - with great deliberation, often recklessly, and without apology - because he expressly chose to do so, step by step. For him, being in close proximity to the Beatles' special brand of stardom trumped the joys and commitments of family. And with nary an exception, the Beatles won the sweepstakes every time.

Mal did manage to move beyond the Beatles, finding other musical talent (The Iveys/Badfinger) and producing other musicians, but he would return to any of the Beatles without hesitation if they requested (and they did).

Despite the 'safe' family at home in England, Mal did eventually leave them for a young American woman, but his demons (drugs and drink were popular in the 1960's/70's) caught up with him and his life ended tragically.

As I mention at the top, this is incredibly insightful to the Beatles' private world, and it's really moving. How is it that Mal could work for some of the richest men on the planet at the time, for a salary that barely paid the mortgage? Because he would. Playing 'star' was more important to him than anything else in the world, and that's where the tragedy is.

Looking for a good book? Living the Beatles Legend by Kenneth Womack is a powerful biography of Mal Evans, and by extension, a great peek into the often untold side of the Beatles'.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgally, in exchange for an honest review.

I love the Beatles, and I thought I knew a lot about Mal Evans already, but there was so much insightful information in this book! The first person perspective really provided some great insight to Evans and his experiences with the fab four. A wonderful book for fans!

I received this as a digital galley from NetGalley.

Well I didn't think I needed to hear yet enough Beatles' insider's perspective but I found myself somewhat charmed by Mal Evans' story. He was there from the Cavern until the legal breakup of the boys.

Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans
by Kenneth Womack

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It is May 1960 in England. Twenty-six-year-old Mal Evans follows the sounds of rock 'n' roll into the basement of a dank club called the Cavern, unaware that the Liverpool lads performing onstage would forever alter his life. Kenneth Womack (John Lennon 1980) pieces together Mal's fantastic and shockingly true 16-year journey with the band in Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans.

After Mal was introduced to the band, Paul McCartney took an instant liking to him, saying, "he was a lovely, big, huggable bear of a man." George Harrison told Mal: "Look, you're big and ugly enough, why don't you be a bouncer on the door?" When the group's flu-ridden road manager asked Mal if he would step in and drive the Beatles to London, Mal said yes. The windshield of their van was splintered during a winter storm on a country road, but Mal "punched the windscreen out completely, and drove on."

His quick thinking in unexpected situations made Mal an important multihyphenate to the group for the rest of his life, arguably a gatekeeper to the Beatles. His duties included driving and setting up equipment, but also making tea and providing occasional (uncompensated and uncredited) lyrics. Mal chronicled his adventures via journals and photos, which his son, Gary, and Womack have painstakingly reconstructed. The result is equal parts love letter to the famous group and a story of the tragic demise of a man who devoted his life to them. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer

The reason this book is so good is because it's from a first person source. Poor Mal Evans is dead many years now but thanks to his son and this author, he comes alive in this book which is based on his diaries and photographs. The diaries Mal kept were written while he The Beatles' bodyguard, roadie and all around good friend so the recollections are as fresh as the day they were written. I know a lot about the Beatles but there are still quite a few revelations contained in these pages. One of the best Beatles books I've read since Goeff Emerick's memoir.

There have been, and will continue to be, a plethora of books written about John, Paul, George And Ringo as "The Beatles" and as individuals. There is an unending interest and fascination with the lives of the Fab Four and I am almost certain that we as fans know just about all there is to know about them. How many bands are there in which we know the story of their Manager Brian Epstein, their Producer George Martin, and their Engineer for many albums Geoff Emerick? Not many i would guess...but always in the story albeit in the background were Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans.
Neil and Mal always faithful and trustworthy, a huge part of the history, yet rarely brought to the front in previous offerings.
In my opinion this is why the story of Mal Evans is an important addition to The Beatles canon. Not only do we recieve an in depth biography of the life of Mal Evans, we get somewhat different viewpoint and an inside peak of, as the title states, of "Living The Beatles Legend.
Make no mistake, this is a biography of Mal's storybook albeit ultimately tragic life, with he being the main character and not regulated to the fringes. This is a story of man who upon from looking from the outside, apeared to have it all, but in doing a deeper dive into his life we see that he sacrificed a " normal" life with his wife and kids to serve " the boys".
Based in extensive research by the author Kenneth Womack and with the assistance of Mal's son, Gary Evans and newly discovered diaries and photos of Mal's, this book is a must read for anyone with even just a passing interest of what one man's life within The Beatles orbit.

**Five Stars**

If you're a seasoned Beatle fan you have to know and easily recognize in Beatles photos their beloved roadie Mal Evans. This gentle giant with the black eyeglasses can be seen handling The Beatles equipment in the "Let it Be" movie, and even makes an appearance in the movie "Help!" as a swimmer. He was one of two faithful Liverpudlian roadies/personal assistants for The Beatles (the other being Neil Aspinall), but Evans was the more "accessible" and friendly one who wanted to be photographed with The Beatles and was something of a wannabe entertainer himself.

The book's forward is written by Gary Evans, Mal's eldest child. He whet the reader's appetite by describing his father's all encompassing love for The Beatles, the diaries, personal photos, Beatles memorabilia and manuscript for his Beatles memoir accumulated prior to his death in 1976. An incredible story follows where in 1988 several banker's boxes containing his father's Beatles treasures were festering in a NYC publisher's house basement where a temp was hired to sift through items to be purged. This worker quickly realized the magnitude of these historical materials (being a Beatles fan herself), but her supervisor seemed unmoved. That's when she took matters into her own hands and walked to Yoko Ono's Dakota apartment, handing an envelope marked "personal" to be delivered to Ono. Yoko indeed got the message and contacted Neil Aspinall in England (then managing director of Apple Corps) who immediately got lawyers involved and these materials sent to their rightful owner, Mal's wife Lily Evans.

It took decades for the Evans family to finally decide to use these materials to realize the book Mal planned, and veteran music author Kenneth Womack was chosen. I had read his excellent book "Solid State: The Story of "Abbey Road" and the End of the Beatles" a few years ago, so trusted that this offering would be of the same high quality. I was not disappointed. The book begins with Mal's family heritage, youth, marriage to Lily, and jobs as a telecommunications engineer and part-time Cavern Club bouncer in Liverpool. Like a lot of great memoirs, the day to day diaries add such authenticity to the story, making it come alive for the reader. I learned scores of many new private moments and anecdotes Mal experienced with each Beatle, which is such a gift to an avid Beatles fan. The Beatles were everything to Mal and he was always there for them, even after The Beatles breakup. There are so many Beatles related books out there fifty years on from this iconic band, but this one is a true gem that will bring you closer to The Beatles through Mal's eyes via Womack's masterful authorship.

Thank you to the publisher Dey Street Books who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Mal’s presence is heavy in photos of The Beatles and most recently in the Get Back movie. If you have read books about The Beatles you know who Mal is and why he was important to the Liverpool lads. What you may not know until you read this book, is that life was glamorous, but not easy. This book is going to take you deep into the famous roadie’s life, deep. I 100% admit that I knew who Mal was, I could recognize him in photos, Help and knew exactly what his job for the lads was and knew about how he died, but I knew nothing about his life when he went home. Mal lived two lives, that of a guy deeply imbedded into a mayhem world and a guy married with children.

I am going to recommend this for any Beatles fan, but maybe not someone just looking for a bio to read, it is deep in the Beatles world. I very much enjoyed it.

Being big beatles fan way back in the day, I remember Mal as part of their entourage. 50 years have past since I gave any real thought to the principals involved with the Beatles. It's been a joy over the past few years to see so many people who were involved with them coming forward to write their views of the Fab Four I hadn't complete forgotten about Mal Evans, but he was on my back burner. I am glad Kenneth Womack as put together this book to remind everyone of f him and how he worked for the Beatles. I think the Beatles really did him a dirty turn at the end. The book has lots of info I had complete forgotten about, and info I had never heard about. Beatle fans should add this one to their collections of books on the group. Nicely researched and written.

I’m actually torn on how to review this book..maybe I’ve just read too many Beatles books over the years but I would just rate this as okay. Mal Evans was with the Beatles from almost the beginning, acting as a bodyguard, driver, procurer and roadie. He went with them everywhere and considered himself both friend and fan. He also had a wife and two children, who he left home for months at a time. I felt this book almost tried too hard to gloss over the seedier aspects of Mal’s life with the Beatles, where drugs and women (sometimes SHOCKINGLY young) were a regular occurrence. These episodes were almost always cushioned with assurances that everyone loved Mal and he was just a big teddy bear. I absolutely know that this lifestyle is par for the course while on a rock tour, but I think it was written with more bias than I prefer. It was interesting to read about a person who was a side presence in all the other Beatles biography. He definitely led and interesting existence and it was fascinating to discover how the ways in which he did (and didn’t) move on after the Beatles broke up. There are many books to read about the Beatles and this is an interesting addition, but I had higher hopes. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Have you read dozens of books about the Beatles and know all sorts of trivia about them? Are you okay with messy books -- not because the book is not well-written, but because the story it tells doesn't have a neat and tidy ending? If so, Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans by Kenneth Womack is for you. It includes much of Mal Evans’ own autobiography, and comments from many of his family and friends. Recommended for the right people. #Beatles #Biography #netgalley

This book is a fascinating look into a previously overlooked member of the Beatles' inner circle whose tragic early death left him out of their sprawling legacy. I will be purchasing this book both for my library and for my personal collection.

Before I begin my review, let me quickly say that The Beatles are my favorite band. When I was 13 years old, I purchased The Beatles complete collections of CDs. I eventually added a little bit of memorabilia and a lot of posters to my collections. I even collected books because they were about The Beatles. I only ended up reading a few of them. As time passed, and I got married and had a kid, I gave most of the posters a friend of mine and sold about 95% of the book to a used bookstore. What remains is a small stash of posters that are in my closet, two shelfs in a bookcase with memorabilia, and a large bin also in my closet with mostly newspaper clippings from December 9, 1980, and several magazines (Life from 1964 and Playboy from 1965 – I actually have two copies of each). One of the posters I have was a promo for the Beatles Anthology which I got from the local ABC station. I just happened to be working for a computer company and was doing some work there when I saw it in somebody’s office (it could’ve been the General Manager). We got to talking about it and when I finished the job, he gave me one! I also have another Beatles Anthology poster that was autographed by Klauss Voormann (as he designed and drew it) and it’s also a limited edition (mine is number 306 of 555); I call this one my baby.

So, yeah, I was familiar with the namesake of Mal Evans, and was intrigued to read a lot more about him.

The Foreword of the book was written by Gary Evans, Mal’s son. Gary mentions that in addition to this book, another book will be published later that includes his dad’s personal diaries, drawings, and unpublished photographs from both his family and The Beatles. I can’t wait for that.

Mal was a part-time bouncer at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool. On a cold day in January of 1962, Mal and his wife had just arrived at the club to see The Beatles again. The Beatles road manager and driver, Neil Aspinall, was sick that day and he asked Mal if we could drive them to London. That started his journey with The Beatles, and it lasted through his death in 1976. How awesome is that?

In addition to being a driver, he also helped setup, takedown, and fix all the equipment The Beatles used. How awesome is that?

When crazy fans tried to get close to The Beatles, Mal was front and center and never allowed them to get hurt.

He was in most of the studio sessions for the albums and often provided food, drinks, drugs, or whatever else they needed. He even contributed to some of the songs.

When he wasn’t with the band, he was helping them as solo musicians. After they broke up, he worked for Apple Corps as a producer (and even wrote a few songs that got recorded).

Obviously, he was fully committed to his job and making sure John, Paul, George, and Ringo were good. It did take him away from his wife and two kids quite frequently, which was hard on him and his family.

As you can probably tell, I really enjoyed this book. It did take me a few more days than normal for me to complete it. But it was well worth it.