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Living the Beatles Legend

On the Road with the Fab Four: The Mal Evans Story

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Living the Beatles Legend

By: Kenneth Womack
Narrated by: Kenneth Womack
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About this listen

The first full-length biography of Mal Evans, the Beatles’ beloved roadie, assistant, confidant and friend

A towering figure in horn-rimmed glasses, Malcolm ‘Mal’ Evans was an invaluable member of the Beatles’ inner circle. Serving as their long-time roadie, personal assistant and protector, he was a sometime lyricist, occasional performer and regular fixer at the height of the group’s fame and beyond.

But Mal’s dedication to his beloved ‘boys’ and his own desire for stardom took its toll, leading to the dissolution of his marriage and his untimely death in January 1976.

Until now, Mal’s extraordinary life has remained shrouded in mystery. Drawing on hundreds of exclusive interviews and with full access to Mal’s unpublished archives – including his personal diaries, manuscripts and memorabilia – renowned Beatles scholar Kenneth Womack paints the first complete portrait of this complicated figure at the heart of the Beatles’ story.

Living the Beatles Legend is a fascinating but ultimately tragic tale about life at the edges of superstardom.

©2023 Kenneth Womack (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity

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All stars
Most relevant
Loads of great detailed stories in the book, and more “warts and all” than other Beatles books I’ve read/listened to. Really well put together.

It should have been read by someone else though. The narration is really lifeless, with everything sounding the same.

Lots of mispronunciations of British place names are grating eg Burnmuth, Toks-teth, Gross-vener House.

Also, American terms such as “sophomore”, or referring to someone as weighing 250 pounds just wouldn’t be in anything Mal would have written.

The narration is a big part of the enjoyment of an audiobook. Mispronounced words should have been picked up, but a better narrator is the bigger issue.

Great content, but the narration is annoying

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I noticed that some readers are not happy with Ken Womack's narration but I found it fine -I even enjoy Ken's mispronunciation of English words and place names. The story of Mal is a transatlantic story, beginning in the U.SA with the western movies and the music whch would loom large in the early lives of all the Liuerpool boys who feature in this book and ending tragically in the U.S.A in 1976. This is a bittersweet story and one that all fans of the Beatles need to read, it makes you thimk about all the other people throughout human history who dedicate themselves to supporting
others. I am glad that we get to hear the voice of Gary Evans (Mal and Lil's son) at the beginning of the book and feel enriched by reading Mal's incredible story.

Thankyou Ken and Mal

Catching sparks from the sun

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Just a bit too much trivia. One anecdote amounted to his wife and son being locked out of the house and his coming home from work to let them in. Similar things have happened to almost everyone.

Great Evocation of the 50s and 60s

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It has been a joy to get to know Mal Evans - I wish we'd been friends, not only for his stories but also as a person in his own right. However, there are huge problems with this book, especially the audio version. Firstly, 19 hours is ridiculous, especially as well over half of it contains irrelevant details and is repetitive. Yes, there are wonderful stories in here, unfortunately, mixed with dull, unnecessary information. The author also reads the book. Sadly, as an American, he regularly mispronounces British words. To my English ears, this is truly irritating. I highly recommend that an abridged version be created, read by a Liverpudlian actor with excellent delivery, and then this would be a best seller. Finally, my frustration with audiobooks is that you miss out on photographs and illustrations. For a small fee, I'd be delighted to have these digitally. Audible - please resolve this, as it would be extra revenue for the company and author.

Wow - what a life, but needs editing

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Awful commentary! Audio levels up and down too . Despite this if you’re a Beatles fan or just curious this gives a fly on the wall view of what life was like inside the Biggest band ever. Fantastic stories from Mal , I’ve waited a while for this and even the commentary couldn’t put me off

Fantastic insight into the biggest band on the planet

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