Davinia Taylor looked radiant as ever as she attended the press launch of Mal ‘Big Mal’ Evan’s The Beatles notebook on Tuesday.
The former Hollyoaks actress, 44, has owned the notebook, which contains Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics to Hey Jude, for several years and has now donated it to the The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool.
Davinia cut a casual figure at the event where she donned a black shirt along with a matching pair of jeans.
Looking good: Davinia Taylor looked radiant as ever as she attended the press launch of Mal ‘Big Mal’ Evan’s The Beatles notebook on Tuesday
Styling her blonde locks into an updo, Davinia also donned a pair of gold hoop earrings as she posed for the camera.
Mal Evans served as road manager and personal assistant for The Beatles from 1963 until their breakup in 1970.
The notebook, from 1967-68 covers the period from when The Beatles finished touring and were spending more time songwriting.
The notebook, now valued at more than £1million, was given to Davinia by her father, toilet roll tycoon Alan Murphy for her 21st birthday.
Pose: The former Hollyoaks actress, 44, cut a casual figure at the event where she donned a black shirt along with a matching pair of jeans
She told the PA News Agency: ‘At the time I was an actor in Hollyoaks playing Jude Cunningham.
‘Round about my birthday, Sotheby’s had a big auction and my dad was at home in Wigan, a few bottles of wine in and started bidding against an American for the Hey Jude lyrics.
‘He won – he said: “It’s not going to America, it’s staying in Liverpool”.’
Davinia said her father paid ‘something stupid’ for the notebook, adding: ‘I think he wanted to pay no more than £5,000, but a bit of vino and that Scouse swagger and I think it went for something crazy like £100,000.’
Davinia was famed for her position in the notorious Primrose Hill party set, where she joined her then-husband Dave Gardner in partying through the Nineties with pals including Kate Moss, Sadie Frost and Jude Law.
History: Mal Evans served as road manager and personal assistant for The Beatles from 1963 until their breakup in 1970
Gift: The notebook is now owned by Davinia after her father Alan Murphy gave it to her for her 21st birthday
Details: The notebook, from 1967-68 covers the period from when The Beatles finished touring and were spending more time songwriting
Reflecting on the period, she said: ‘I think those of us who lived through the Nineties and Noughties excess are all pretty lucky. Now there’s camera phones and social media, there’s a bit more self-regulation.’
Davinia, who has been sober for 13 years after battling alcohol addiction, said: ‘And to be honest, everyone was at it, because sober wasn’t a thing back then.
‘I think I knew one sober person. And I would think ‘Oooh, that’s odd! Why would you do that? Isn’t that awfully boring?’.
Davina has since ditched her party girl ways in favour of a cleaner existence, after a 12-week rehab stint in South Africa where she was eventually able to kick her habits.
Beloved: For many music lovers, Hey Jude remains one of the most iconic recordings in the canon of popular song. The notebook has been lent to The Beatles (pictured) Story museum in Liverpool, where it will go on display from February 22
Band: The words were scribbled down by Paul McCartney (middle) in a notebook owned by the band’s personal assistant, Mal Evans (right)
The actress described her battle with alcoholism as a an ‘eternal hell’, because she knew she shouldn’t be drinking but was in a heavy period of withdrawal
Once she got clean, Davinia said she became addicted to other areas of life, such as eating when she gained ‘stones’, before eventually finding a happier balance.
She shares son Grey, 13, with Dave, and Luxx, nine, whose father has never been revealed, and Asa, six, and four-year-old Jude with her partner Matthew Leyden.
Davinia recently told The Sun how she wishes her mother, who died in 2013, could see the woman she has become.
She said: ‘For her to see me now, as a mother – happy, settled and not needing the fineries to support my ego – would have made her really proud.’
Back in the day: Davinia was famed for her position in the notorious Primrose Hill party set, where she joined her then-husband Dave Gardner in partying through the Nineties (pictured with Fran Culter in 2000)
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