Mal Evans
Malcolm 'Mal' Evans (27 May 1935 – 5 January 1976) was a road manager and assistant to The Beatles, the most popular rock and roll band of the 1960s.
Mal Evans | |
|---|---|
| Born | Malcolm Frederick Evans 27 May 1935 |
| Died | 5 January 1976 (aged 40) |
| Cause of death | Shot by the police |
| Occupation(s) | Telephone engineer, Road manager, Personal assistant, Record producer |
| Known for | The Beatles' assistant and road manager |
| Spouse | Lily (Lil) Evans |
| Children | Gary Evans, b. 1961 and Julie Evans, b. 1966 |
Evans was hired to help Neil Aspinall, who was the band's original road manager. Tall and strong, Evans was sometimes called "The Gentle Giant". His wife was called Lil.
Aspinall's and Evans's jobs changed through the years. At first they were in charge of driving the Beatles's musical equipment to places where they were to perform, setting it up ahead of time, and taking it down later to prepare for their next show. As the band became popular, they had other people to help.
Evans sometimes served as a bodyguard to the Beatles, protecting them from fans who got out of control, or might want to hurt members of the band. He also sometimes forged their autographs on photographs, when the band themselves did not have the chance to sign them, and helped choose girls from concert audiences to meet later with the band. (Aspinall also did these duties.) After the Beatles stopped performing live in 1966, he worked for them in other ways.
Along with playing musical instruments on a few of their songs (organ on "You Won't See Me", trumpet on "Helter Skelter", tambourine on "Dear Prudence", and an anvil on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"), and singing on "Yellow Submarine" and "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", Evans also helped with lyrics from time to time. Paul McCartney paid him in cash for help with "Fixing A Hole", instead of giving him co-credit.
Evans appeared on-camera in both Magical Mystery Tour (as a magician), and Let it Be. He is seen during the rooftop concert in Let it Be, stalling the police who had come to stop the Beatles from performing. The sound of their music had caused a traffic jam on the street below.
He was also responsible for Badfinger being signed to the Beatles's record label, Apple Records.
Evans was fired in 1970 by Allen Klein, who had taken over many of the jobs once held by the late Beatles manager, Brian Epstein. Later Evans separated from his wife, and moved to the United States. During 1974 he was a companion and helper to John Lennon, who was staying in Los Angeles while separated from his wife, Yoko Ono.
Early in 1976, Evans had a fight with his girlfriend, who called the police when he locked himself in a room with a air rifle. Fearing he might hurt other people, the police shot him dead. The policeman in charge admitted the shooting "was all a mistake".
Evans wrote an autobiography, Living with the Beatles Legend, which has never been published in full, but extracts were printed in 2005.