Introduction

Hunter Davies is a British author, journalist and broadcaster whose name is closely tied to The Beatles.

He got access few writers could dream of.

Davies spent extensive time with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr while working on his famous 1968 book about the group. He met their families, friends and people from their early lives.

That work still follows him.

But there is much more.

Davies has written about football, travel, writers, relationships and everyday British life. Bloomsbury says his career includes more than 100 books, while his journalism has appeared in publications including Punch, The Guardian, New Statesman and The Sunday Times.

And he is still writing.

In September 2026, aged 90, Davies published Get Back: The Boys Who Became The Beatles, returning to dozens of notebooks from his original Beatles research.

Quick Facts About Hunter Davies

Fact	Detail
Full name	Edward Hunter Davies
Known as	Hunter Davies
Born	7 January 1936
Age in 2026	90
Birthplace	Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Nationality	British
Profession	Author, journalist and broadcaster
Known for	His authorised book about The Beatles
Major football book	The Glory Game
Honour	OBE for services to literature
Late wife	Margaret Forster
Children	Caitlin, Jake and Flora
Latest major book	Get Back: The Boys Who Became The Beatles
Latest book release	17 September 2026

Who Is Hunter Davies?

Hunter Davies is one of those writers whose career does not fit neatly into one box.

Books? Yes.

Newspapers? Plenty.

Football? A big part.

The Beatles? That is where many readers know him best.

Davies became closely associated with the band after being allowed unusual access to all four Beatles and people around them. The resulting book first appeared in 1968 and remains the work most strongly connected with his name.

His publisher still describes him as the author of the only authorised account of The Beatles of its kind.

That connection has lasted for decades.

Davies later edited The Lennon Letters in 2012 and published The Beatles Lyrics in 2014.

Then came another return.

His September 2026 book Get Back uses material from 39 notebooks filled during his earlier interviews and meetings.

Early Life and Education

Davies was born in Scotland in 1936.

His full professional name is Edward Hunter Davies.

His childhood included time in Scotland before his family settled in Carlisle in northern England. Football became an interest early in life, something that later became a serious part of his writing career.

He went on to study at Durham University.

Writing soon pulled him in.

Student journalism gave Davies a place to learn the trade before professional newspaper work followed.

That choice stuck.

For decades.

How Hunter Davies Started His Writing Career

Davies moved into professional journalism after university.

His work eventually appeared across major British publications, including Punch, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and New Statesman. Bloomsbury’s current author profile still lists those publications when describing his career.

Books followed too.

His fiction work included Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, which later reached the screen.

Yet a very different project was about to change how readers knew his name.

The Beatles entered the picture.

Hunter Davies and The Beatles

This was the big break.

Davies gained direct access to The Beatles during the band’s extraordinary rise.

He did not simply study press reports.

He met them.

He talked with them.

He spent time around their homes and people from their lives.

His contacts went beyond John, Paul, George and Ringo. Davies also spoke with parents, friends, teachers, former girlfriends and musicians connected with their early years.

That material became the basis of his 1968 Beatles book.

The access matters.

Why?

Because Davies was recording the band while its members were still together and while many people from their childhood and early careers could speak directly about what had happened.

Decades later, much of that source material still existed.

Davies kept the notebooks.

The 39 Beatles Notebooks

This is one of the most interesting parts of his career.

Davies retained 39 notebooks connected with his Beatles research.

He returned to them for Get Back: The Boys Who Became The Beatles, released on 17 September 2026.

The new book shifts attention towards their early years.

Their childhoods matter here.

So do their families.

Davies looks at the world the four boys came from before international fame arrived. Penguin says the book draws on interview material from the notebooks, including conversations with family members, school friends, teachers and people from their early musical circles.

So this is not simply another look at Beatlemania.

It goes further back.

Before the crowds.

Before the money.

Before global fame.

Hunter Davies and Football

Football is another major part of Davies’s work.

He is closely associated with The Glory Game, his account of life around Tottenham Hotspur.

Davies received unusually close access to the club.

He watched more than matches.

He got close to the players and the day-to-day life around professional football, giving readers a view of the game that was harder to get from ordinary match reports.

The book became one of his best-known titles outside his Beatles work.

Football stayed with him for decades.

Then came The Fan.

Nearly 30 Years Writing “The Fan”

Davies began his New Statesman football column, The Fan, in 1996.

It was not originally meant to last nearly three decades.

It did anyway.

In his final column, published on 24 September 2025, Davies explained that the feature started around Euro 1996. It carried on season after season.

Almost 30 years passed.

Then he called time.

Davies said the column was ending while he was approaching 90 and had two new book commissions demanding his attention.

That is quite an exit.

Stop one job.

Write more books.

More Than 100 Books

The Beatles may bring people to Hunter Davies, but his published work is much wider.

Bloomsbury says he has written more than 100 books.

His subjects have included writers, football, travel, places and his own life.

Among the figures he has written about are William Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter and Alfred Wainwright.

Place also matters in his work.

He spent many summers in the Lake District, later writing Lakeland: A Personal Journey.

Another book, The Heath, centres on Hampstead Heath, an area closely tied to his London life. Bloomsbury published the ebook edition in 2021.

Small observations often become stories.

That seems to suit him.

Marriage to Margaret Forster

Davies was married to acclaimed writer Margaret Forster.

They had known each other since their teenage years.

The couple married on 11 June 1960, one day after Forster completed her final university examination. Davies later confirmed that date himself while writing about her papers and diaries for The Guardian.

They had three children:

• Caitlin
• Jake
• Flora

Forster died on 8 February 2016.

Their marriage had lasted more than five decades. The Guardian confirmed that Davies and their three children survived her.

Her death later became part of Davies’s own writing.

Letters to Margaret

Davies kept talking to Margaret through words.

His book Letters to Margaret: Confessions to My Late Wife is built around letters addressed to his late wife.

The format has a personal root.

During their marriage, Margaret would ask him about his working day. After her death, Davies continued that conversation through letters.

Bloomsbury says the book contains 23 letters covering his later life, memories, relationships and work. The paperback edition was published in August 2025.

It is a very different side of his writing.

Less Beatles.

More home.

Love in Old Age and the Isle of Wight

Later life also became a subject.

In Love in Old Age: My Year in the Wight House, Davies wrote about spending time on the Isle of Wight during the Covid period and buying a property there.

Bloomsbury published the paperback in September 2023.

Current publisher profiles say Davies divides his time between North London and the Isle of Wight.

His personal writing has become more visible with age.

Quite literally.

He writes about it himself.

OBE and Career Recognition

Davies was appointed OBE for services to literature.

The honour recognised a writing career stretching across books, journalism and broadcasting.

He has also worked in radio and spent decades writing about British public life, sport, literature and popular culture.

His range is unusually wide.

One decade might bring The Beatles.

Another brings Tottenham.

Then the Lake District.

Then family life.

What Is Hunter Davies Doing Now?

As of September 2026, Davies is still an active author.

His latest major release is Get Back: The Boys Who Became The Beatles, published on 17 September 2026 by Ebury Spotlight.

The hardback runs to 352 pages.

The timing is striking.

Davies is 90.

Yet he has returned to research gathered more than half a century earlier and turned it into another book.

His New Statesman football column has ended, but his book work clearly has not.

Why Is Hunter Davies Best Known?

For most readers, the short answer is The Beatles.

His access to the group gave him source material that later writers could not recreate in the same circumstances.

He was there while all four members were alive, the band was together, and people from their early lives could be interviewed directly.

That old material keeps resurfacing.

Get Back proves it.

Yet focusing only on The Beatles misses much of his career.

Davies has also spent decades writing about football, British places, other writers, newspapers, family life and ageing.

That is a lot of ground.

And he kept notes.

Lots of them.

Final Thought

Hunter Davies built his career by getting close to people and listening.

That sounds simple.

It isn’t.

His Beatles work gave him the fame most readers recognise, while books such as The Glory Game, The Heath, Love in Old Age and Letters to Margaret show how far his interests spread.

At 90, the work continues.

His 2026 release Get Back takes readers back to interviews recorded decades ago and asks a basic question: who were John, Paul, George and Ringo before everybody knew their names?

For Davies, old notebooks still have stories left.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Hunter Davies?

Hunter Davies is a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his authorised 1968 book about The Beatles and has written widely about football, travel, literature and his own life.

How old is Hunter Davies?

Hunter Davies was born on 7 January 1936, making him 90 years old in September 2026.

What is Hunter Davies famous for?

He is most widely known for his authorised book about The Beatles. He received close access to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr while researching it.

Did Hunter Davies personally know The Beatles?

Yes. His publisher says Davies spent extensive time with all four Beatles, visited their homes and interviewed people from their families and early lives while researching his original book.

What is Hunter Davies’s latest book?

His latest major book is Get Back: The Boys Who Became The Beatles. It was released on 17 September 2026.

Was Hunter Davies married?

Yes. He married writer Margaret Forster on 11 June 1960. Their marriage continued until her death in February 2016.

Does Hunter Davies have children?

Yes. Hunter Davies and Margaret Forster had three children: Caitlin, Jake and Flora.

Did Hunter Davies write about football?

Yes. He wrote The Glory Game and produced the New Statesman column The Fan for almost 30 years. His final Fan column appeared in September 2025.

Shock Magazine