In 1961 Freda Kelly was 16, working in an office in downtown Liverpool. One day, her boss invited her to lunch at The Cavern Club, a venue famed for showcasing local talent, and among them was an enormously popular young band called The Beatles.
In a matter of months, Kelly had become friends with every one of The Beatles, relaying messages from ardent fans (who were often her own friends) to John, Paul, George and Pete Best (Ringo Starr had yet to join the group) and back again. Kelly was known for having a cool head on her shoulders — which allowed her to be a cut above the Liverpool lasses who screamed and writhed and all but prostrated themselves on the Cavern Club floor if it meant getting a wink from their favorite Beatle.
Fast forward some five decades, and 68-year-old Kelly recounts those days and many more in Ryan White's documentary "Good Ol' Freda." From 1961, when The Beatles ripped open the Liverpool music scene, to 1972, when their fan club closed two years after their breakup, Freda worked as their secretary. She took care of their fan mail and fan club; she handled bookings and assisted managerial duties for Brian Epstein, who was the one who'd plucked her off the floor at The Cavern Club and asked her to come on board; she went above and beyond, partly because she believed in being thorough, but mostly because she was a Beatles fan. "I could understand the fans and where they were coming from," she says. "I was one myself."