Okay, so may I test your Beatles knowledge here for a minute? Do you know who Freda Kelly is?

If your not sure, here is a clue from George Harrison:

That little excerpt comes from the very first Christmas disc sent to members of The Beatles Fan Club during the holiday season of 1963. Liverpudlian Freda Kelly was the Beatles Fan Club Secretary from 1963 until it closed in 1972, two years after the breakup of The Beatles. The Official Beatles Fan Club originally formed in May of 1962 and was managed by Bobbie Brown, but when Bobbie became engaged in 1963, Freda took over and remained the secretary until the end. Freda first met The Beatles way back in the days when they were playing The Cavern Club in Liverpool and was actually one of the Cavernites – a group of protesters fighting to keep the Cavern from closing down, in both 1963, and 1966 (it was eventually destroyed in 1973 and later rebuilt across the street from the original location).

Freda was in Beatles manager Brian Epstein’s inner circle of confidants and was along for many Beatles happenings and even visited their homes. And, in the office, she handled sacks and sacks (and sacks!) of mail from Beatles fans around the world. Forty years ago, after the fan club was no more, Freda continued with her private life, content with her memories of the Beatles days. But now, film makers have encouraged her to go public and make a film of her story and experiences during that magical period.

Happy Nat w/Freda Kelly, March 2011

I had the pleasure of meeting Freda back in March 2011 and she is the sweetest woman in the world! She spoke briefly with me and you can hear that interview here (though it is noisy as a Beatlefest was going on around us).

Good Ol’ Freda is a documentary film about the untold story of Freda Kelly, The Beatles’ trusted secretary and friend throughout their rise to fame. The movie’s title comes from the line The Beatles shouted out to her on that same Christmas recording I shared with you above. TheBeatlesRarity.com is currently joining in the effort to raise the funds to make the film a reality. If you’d like to help, please visit Kickstarter.com, a website where you can make a donation to a film and get a reward in return (signed DVDs, photos of Freda with the Beatles, movie credit, even lunch or a personal tour of Liverpool with Freda!). We are trying to raise $50,000 by 11-11-11. Click here for a direct link to Freda’s Kickstarter page, if you would like to read more about it and support this very worthwhile film.

Here is a fascinating video clip showing a few never before seen photos of The Beatles with Freda.

Good Ol’ Freda – Kickstarter Video from Tripod Media on Vimeo.

It’s been 50 years since Freda began her work for the Fab Four and this movie will be the first time she’s sharing her memories, so please help out if you can. You can also join the Good Ol’ Freda Facebook group here and she is on Twitter at @goodolfreda.

As mentioned above, donors for Freda’s movie will be receiving rewards such as signed DVDs, photos of Freda with the Beatles, movie credit, even lunch or a personal tour of Liverpool with Freda! They will also be listed on Freda’s website (currently under construction) at www.fredakelly.com.

The Director of Good Ol’ Freda is Ryan White, the producer/director of Pelada, an award-winning documentary about a trip to 25 countries told through the lens of pick-up soccer. The film premiered at the prestigious SXSW Film Festival in 2010 and has played in over 20 film festivals worldwide. It’s been broadcast in as many countries and received rave reviews from Variety, The New York Times, and Sports Illustrated. Prior to Pelada, White had a longstanding collaboration with eight-time Emmy winner Sherry Jones.

Good Ol’ Freda is scheduled for release in late 2012 or early 2013 and will be the first Beatles documentary of its kind.

To view the official press release of on the film, click here.

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