Beatles' secretary, "Good Ol' Freda," breaks silence in film

For Freda Kelly, secretary to the Beatles and head of the band's fan club, work sometimes involved trailing the Fab Four to the barber shop, sweeping their locks from the floor and mailing strands of hair to adoring female fans.

Kelly, one of the Beatles' longest-serving employees, worked for the British band for more than a decade but had never shared her stories publicly until now.

She breaks her silence in a new documentary, "Good Ol' Freda," which had its world premiere on Saturday on the second day of the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin.

"It's such a classic Cinderella story: Girl picks the job of a lifetime," director Ryan White told Reuters.

The tale is sure to delight fans of the Beatles, but White seeks to tell a story that transcends that audience, a story about an amazing decade in an otherwise ordinary life.

The film features four Beatles songs, which required the permission of many people, including the two surviving Beatles. It also includes never-before-seen photos of the band.

Kelly closed down the Beatles' fan club offices after the band broke up in 1970, taking with her boxes of autographs, photos and memorabilia. She did not sell them, instead giving them away to fans over the years, White said.

Kelly, who attended Saturday's premiere and answered questions from audience members, says in the film that she did anything she could for club members.

"I was one of them," Kelly says. "I was a fan myself."