How Yoko Ono Saved Beatles’ Historical Documents From Destruction
In 1994, Yoko Ono gave Paul McCartney demo tapes that would eventually become the 2023 Beatles song “Now and Then.” She helped bring a major piece of Beatles’ history to the world decades after her husband’s death. Several years before she gave McCartney the tapes, Ono also helped preserve more of the Beatles’ history. After Ono learned Beatles road manager Mal Evans’ memoir was slated for destruction, she stepped in to save it.
Beatles’ road manager Mal Evans wrote a book that was nearly destroyed
In 1988, artist Leena Kutti accepted a temporary position at New York publishing house G.P. Putnam’s Sons. She was to go through their storage room and clear it out. This meant throwing away much of the artwork and manuscripts stored there.
While sifting through boxes, Kutti discovered thousands of vintage photographs of The Beatles and a manuscript titled Living the Beatles’ Legend: Or 200 Miles to Go by Malcolm Evans. Evans, she would later learn, had been The Beatles’ road manager. In 1976, the Los Angeles police responded to a call from Evans’ friend, who said Evans was distressed and in possession of a gun. When they arrived, they shot and killed him.
Kutti knew this manuscript was valuable, so she met with senior Putnam’s employee Louise Bates. Bates seemed concerned about the discovery and wanted to meet with lawyers before making any decisions. This worried Kutti, who decided to take matters into her own hands. She traveled to Ono’s apartment building and handed the doorman a letter for her.
“This is regarding some of Malcolm Evans’s personal effects,” she wrote, per the book Living The Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans by Kenneth Womack (via Salon). “I feel they should be returned directly to the family.”
Yoko Ono stepped in on behalf of the Beatles’ road manager
Kutti wasn’t sure Ono would actually involve herself, so she made copies of the documents as a backup. In reality, though, Ono had quickly informed Apple Corps’ lawyers about the situation. Apple reached out to Putnam’s and took possession of the manuscript and other artifacts. Putnam’s expressed that they would not attempt to publish the material.
Ono also made Kutti’s involvement clear. Evans’ widow, Lily, sent her a card expressing her gratitude to be reunited with her late husband’s writing. Apple had returned the manuscript to her.
Ono also met with Lily and her children over dinner. While Kutti had discovered the box, Ono had wielded the muscle of Apple to get the documents back to Evans’ family. They reminisced about the Beatles’ days and expressed sadness that they had all lost loved ones to gun violence.
Yoko Ono helped bring the Beatles’ song ‘Now and Then’ to the public
In 1994, Ono helped preserve further Beatles’ history. Lennon had recorded a demo for the song “Now and Then” in the 1970s. He’d recorded it at home, and The Beatles thought it would be a perfect addition to The Beatles Anthology. Unfortunately, the poor quality made the recording a challenge to use.
Still, The Beatles held onto the tape just as Ono had in the years after Lennon’s death. In 2021, director Peter Jackson used audio restoration technology for The Beatles: Get Back. They realized the same technology could be applied to “Now and Then.”
Touchingly, Jackson’s production company called the technology machine-assisted learning, or Mal for short. The name was a tribute to Evans.
