Derek Taylor

Derek Taylor was a British journalist working for the Daily Express when he was assigned to write a review of a Beatles concert on 30 May 1963. He sang their praises in his article and soon became a trusted journalist in their inner circle, especially as he was a fellow Liverpudlian.

In early 1964, Brian Epstein poached Taylor away from his newspaper job, putting him in charge of Beatles press releases and acting as media liaison for himself and the group. He subsequently became Epstein’s personal assistant for a short period.

Taylor assisted Epstein in the writing of his autobiography, A Cellarful of Noise (1964) and served as press officer for the Beatles’ first concert tour of the US in the summer of 1964.

After a falling out with Epstein, he resigned from his position at the end of the tour and went to work for the Daily Mirror.

He left the UK in 1965 and moved with his growing family to California, where he started his own public relations company, providing publicity for groups such as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and the Mamas & the Papas.

At the request of George Harrison, Taylor returned to England in April 1968 to work for the Beatles again, this time as the press officer for their newly created Apple Corps. He oversaw the launch of the company’s record label, Apple Records, in August 1968, marked by the release of the Beatles’ single Hey Jude.

Taylor frequently clashed with Paul McCartney, about whom he later wrote: “I don’t think I ever hated anyone as much as I hated Paul in the summer of 1968.”

He helped stage John Lennon and Yoko Ono‘s 1969 campaign for world peace and left Apple in late 1970, having confirmed The Beatles’ breakup.

Taylor went to work for the newly launched UK record company WEA, serving as Director of Special Projects and working with artists such as The Rolling Stones, Yes, America, Neil Young, Carly Simon and Alice Cooper. He then worked as Vice President of Marketing for Warner Bros. Records.

Derek Taylor died of throat cancer at his home in Sudbury, Suffolk, on 8 September 1997, aged 65.