"GOOD OL´FREDA" IN TENNESSEE

More than 50 years after she began working for the Beatles, Freda Kelly is sharing her story

The 2013 documentary “Good Ol’ Freda” will be shown at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 in the Martha Street Culp auditorium, Tennessee. 

The films tells the story of Freda Kelly, who started working as the secretary for the Beatles when she was 17.

Director and producer Kathy McCabe and Kelly will be present for a question and answer session after the screening.

Kelly was working as a secretary in Liverpool, England, when she first became familiar with the Beatles after attending many of their performances at a local club.

When Brian Epstein, the band’s manager, asked Kelly to work as his secretary, she could not have known that she would spend the next 11 years working for one of the most influential bands in history.

As the Fab Four became an international sensation, Kelly ran the fan club and wrote the band’s newsletter.

The film’s title comes from the Beatles’ 1963 Christmas record. Part of the recording features George Harrison thanking “Freda Kelly in Liverpool,” while the other Beatles chime in, “Good ol’ Freda!”

Today, Kelly still lives near Liverpool and has worked as a secretary at a firm for about 23 years. Until the documentary was made, even those people closest to her knew very little about her former job.

“Lots of people didn’t know what I did in the past, and then there’s still a few who haven’t got an inkling now,” Kelly said. “But even the neighbors didn’t know or anything, so my private life is still quite private.”

After encouragement from family members, she decided telling her story would not be such a bad idea.

“My daughter said would I not do something for my grandson, you know, ‘cause I’m getting old and my memory box is going,” Kelly said.

Freda with the Ringo´s parents

Kelly has attended many screenings and done many onstage interviews, but she prefers one-on-one contact.

Audience members will sometimes share memories of receiving replies from Kelly on behalf of the fan club.

“One guy … he said he’d been dying to meet me for ages because I’d changed his life,” Kelly said. “And I said, ‘In what way?’ and he said, ‘Well, I wrote to you when I was nine to join the fan club, and you gave me my first ticket to see a Beatles concert for free.’ So that was nice, things like that.”

The documentary has been a way for Kelly, who said she will always be a Beatles fan, to connect with other fans.

“That’s helped because I didn’t do that before,” Kelly said. “Because once I left the fan club and closed the fan club, I just got on with my life.”

The film is currently touring 18 sites across the southeastern United States as part of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers.

“I’m really pleased, naturally, with the way it’s gone,” Kelly said. “I didn’t expect it to go this way. This has been a surprise to me, certainly.”

When asked who was her favorite Beatle, she replied with a teasing laugh and offered incentive to attend the screening.

“If you do see the film, that will answer the question,” Kelly said. “I won’t spoil it for you.”