Though not related to Mal, there was another person with the surname of Evans that was to touch the lives of the Beatles – her name was Shirley Evans!
Shirley (Surely) you jest – or just play the Accordion!!!
As you are aware, as a collector of Beatles print-related material, I also collect the signatures of people that may have played a role, however small, in their story. When the Beatles did their Magical Mystery Tour movie, they also wrote some incidental music for the film that did not appear on the official recording. From her obituary in the Guardian written by Phil Davison written and posted on Sun Sep 2010 12.42 EDT:
“John Lennon wrote an instrumental in her honour, “Shirley’s Wild Accordion”, with Evans playing the accordion, Paul McCartney on maracas and yelling “Go on, Shirl!”, Ringo Starr on drums and Evans’s then husband, Reg Wale, on percussion. Intended for the Magical Mystery Tour film and album, it was recorded at the De Lane Lea studios, with Lennon credited as producer of a Beatles’ track for the first time. Although Lennon told Evans he hoped the track would make her a fortune, it was cut from the film. An unknown number of copies of “Shirley’s Wild Accordion” were pressed, but the track was never released and is believed to be still languishing in archives. It remains much sought after by Beatles completists.”
Someone since that obituary has posted her recording of the song on YouTube. Prior to her passing in 2010, Shirley had issued a CD a few years back that appeared on eBay and signed so I purchased it for the collection. It is packed away currently so unfortunately the signature can’t be shown on this particular post. Shirley appears on the Magical Mystery Tour Bus in the movie!
John watching Shirley as she records her bit for the movie (Not sure who took this photo-so if you can help with attribution, we can update with proper acknowledgement).
The Beatles – Shirley’s Wild Accordion (Stereo) Previously UNRELEASED! – YouTube
Bought this on eBay several years ago a cd that was signed by Shirley!
This bio summary was included in the cd package:
Here are some details about Shirley’s life: Accordion Memorials – Shirley Evans (accordions.com) According to some reports Shirley had written a book: According to the link above: “She had for many years lived in Florida, working as a show business agent. Prior to her passing, Shirley had written ‘The Beatles and Me – and Shirley’s Wild Accordion’, a book which is as yet, unpublished.”
What an amazing story! Had you heard of Shirley and her Accordion before?
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