I find it interesting that the letter that George Harrison sent to Mal Evans, giving his approval of Mal's book has surfaced but Mal's manuscript is still MIA.
I'm a bit surprised that George gave his permission before (presumably) seeing the draft manuscript. George strikes me as having been quite cautious in the area of Beatle History and fiercely protective of his privacy.
Interestingly enough---George wrote a very similar letter to Alf that is included in the book I just reviewed. There wasn't a letter from Ringo, which I wondered why. -
Of course, he gave permission. And to Alf, too. Has anyone ever been in a band? The crew who works for you - and does all the unglamorous work - they are cherished and beloved.
Also - did you read the letter? They had a verbal conversation about it. You have no idea what kind of book Mal was writing; but I'm sure the tone of it would have been similar to the interviews he did on the radio, right before his death. In those interviews, he is so proud and affectionate about the Beatles, and Beatles years, and only tells fun, interesting stories, not "dirt".
It's not surprising at all that George (who was the most candid, and always ready to talk truth) would give permission to Mal, nor any of the other Beatles. It would have been surprising if he didn't. No one was employing Mal at that time, they were probably worried about him.
Lastly, they have a history of giving their blessing to projects. Most recently "Good Ole Freda". If you're family to them, if you took a punch for them (like Mal and Alf), I think giving permission to one of their books is not a big stretch.
It's very sad that Mal's 'diary' has been 'MIA' for so many years. George would be the type to give his permission, why not, what did he have to 'hide'?? I was so looking forward to 'Good Ol' Freda' and when I finally got to see it, boy o boy was that a huge disappointment. There was nothing that she said that wasn't already public knowledge or at least known by real fans. What I find utterly amazing is, with all that has been written, real, assumed or just not true, that not woman ever came forward to claim that she had an affair with any of The Beatles during their heyday and as solo artists. Where is the woman that supposedly had sex with John while Yoko was in the next room? At least the Stones had the balls to come out and tell you themselves all their carrying on antics on and off the road. Come on now, if anyone of you had even the briefest contact with any Beatle, you'd be shouting it from the rooftops and telling the worlds newspapers! :)
There were four letters sent to Mal, one from each Beatle granting permission. I held all four originals in my hands around 1990. They were in the possession of The Beatles autograph expert Frank Caiazzo and later sold to a private collector.
I'm a bit surprised that George gave his permission before (presumably) seeing the draft manuscript. George strikes me as having been quite cautious in the area of Beatle History and fiercely protective of his privacy.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough---George wrote a very similar letter to Alf that is included in the book I just reviewed. There wasn't a letter from Ringo, which I wondered why. -
DeleteOf course, he gave permission. And to Alf, too. Has anyone ever been in a band? The crew who works for you - and does all the unglamorous work - they are cherished and beloved.
DeleteAlso - did you read the letter? They had a verbal conversation about it. You have no idea what kind of book Mal was writing; but I'm sure the tone of it would have been similar to the interviews he did on the radio, right before his death. In those interviews, he is so proud and affectionate about the Beatles, and Beatles years, and only tells fun, interesting stories, not "dirt".
It's not surprising at all that George (who was the most candid, and always ready to talk truth) would give permission to Mal, nor any of the other Beatles. It would have been surprising if he didn't. No one was employing Mal at that time, they were probably worried about him.
Lastly, they have a history of giving their blessing to projects. Most recently "Good Ole Freda". If you're family to them, if you took a punch for them (like Mal and Alf), I think giving permission to one of their books is not a big stretch.
It's very sad that Mal's 'diary' has been 'MIA' for so many years. George would be the type to give his permission, why not, what did he have to 'hide'?? I was so looking forward to 'Good Ol' Freda' and when I finally got to see it, boy o boy was that a huge disappointment. There was nothing that she said that wasn't already public knowledge or at least known by real fans. What I find utterly amazing is, with all that has been written, real, assumed or just not true, that not woman ever came forward to claim that she had an affair with any of The Beatles during their heyday and as solo artists. Where is the woman that supposedly had sex with John while Yoko was in the next room? At least the Stones had the balls to come out and tell you themselves all their carrying on antics on and off the road. Come on now, if anyone of you had even the briefest contact with any Beatle, you'd be shouting it from the rooftops and telling the worlds newspapers! :)
ReplyDeleteThere were four letters sent to Mal, one from each Beatle granting permission. I held all four originals in my hands around 1990. They were in the possession of The Beatles autograph expert Frank Caiazzo and later sold to a private collector.
ReplyDeletewould have loved to read a book by Mal
ReplyDelete