Editing Derek Taylor

{{Short description|English journalist, writer, publicist and record producer}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2010}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Derek Taylor
| image = Derek Taylor by Phil Franks (C).jpg
| caption = Taylor in 1970
| pseudonym = 
| birth_name = Derek Wyn Taylor
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1932|05|07}}
| birth_place = [[Wirral Peninsula|Wirral]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1997|09|08|1932|05|07}}
| death_place = [[Sudbury, Suffolk|Sudbury]], [[Suffolk]], England
| occupation = {{hlist|Journalist|writer|publicist|record producer}}
| years active = 1949−1997
| nationality = British<ref>{{Cite web |title=Derek WYN TAYLOR personal appointments - Find and update company information |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/-TY50u1huTPXhw8so0eplp-iYw8/appointments |access-date=10 December 2023 |publisher=[[gov.uk]]}}</ref>
| spouse = {{marriage|Joan Doughty|1958}}
| children = 6
| notableworks = ''[[A Cellarful of Noise]]'' (co-author)<br>''[[I, Me, Mine]]'' (editor)
}}

'''Derek Wyn Taylor''' (7 May 1932 – 8 September 1997){{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=415}} was a British journalist, writer, publicist and record producer. He is best known for his role as press officer to [[the Beatles]],{{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=415}} with whom he worked in 1964 and then from 1968 to 1970, and was one of several associates to earn the moniker "[[the Fifth Beatle]]". Before returning to London to head the publicity for the Beatles' [[Apple Corps]] organisation in 1968, he worked as the publicist for California-based bands such as [[the Byrds]], [[the Beach Boys]] and [[the Mamas and the Papas]]. Taylor was known for his forward-thinking and extravagant promotional campaigns, exemplified in taglines such as "The Beatles Are Coming" and "[[Brian Wilson is a genius|Brian Wilson Is a Genius]]".{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=63}} He was equally dedicated to the 1967 [[Summer of Love]] ethos and helped stage that year's [[Monterey Pop Festival]].<ref name="IndependentObituary" />

Taylor started his career as a local journalist on the Wirral, now part of Merseyside, aged 17 working for the Hoylake and West Kirby Advertiser followed by the ''[[Liverpool Daily Post and Echo]]''.<ref name="IndependentObituary"/> He then became a North England-based writer for national British newspapers that included the ''[[News Chronicle]]'', the ''[[Sunday Dispatch]]'' and the ''[[Sunday Express]]''. He also served as a regular columnist and theatre critic for the ''[[Daily Express]]'' from 1952.<ref name="IndependentObituary"/> During the 1970s, Taylor worked for [[Warner Bros. Records]] and then [[HandMade Films]]. The term "[[pocket symphony]]" is generally attributed to Taylor for his description of the Beach Boys' 1966 single "[[Good Vibrations]]".

A trusted confidant of the Beatles, Taylor remained particularly close to [[George Harrison]] long after [[Break-up of the Beatles|the band's break-up]] and maintained a friendship with [[John Lennon]] until the latter's [[Murder of John Lennon|murder]] in 1980. In addition to working as editor on Harrison's 1980 autobiography, ''[[I, Me, Mine (book)|I, Me, Mine]]'', Taylor authored books such as ''As Time Goes By'', ''The Making of Raiders of The Lost Ark'', ''Fifty Years Adrift (In An Open Necked Shirt)'' and ''It Was Twenty Years Ago Today''. Having returned to Apple in the early 1990s, Taylor died of cancer in September 1997 while working on the ''[[The Beatles Anthology (book)|Beatles Anthology]]'' book.

==Work with the Beatles==
Taylor was a national journalist working for the ''Daily Express'' when he was assigned to write a review of a [[The Beatles|Beatles]] concert on 30 May 1963.{{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=415}} He had been expected by his editors to write a piece critical of what at that time was considered by the national press as an inconsequential teen fad. However, he was enchanted by the group and instead sang their praises. Shortly afterwards, he was invited to meet the Beatles and soon became a trusted journalist in their circle, especially as he was a fellow Liverpudlian.<ref name="Unterberger/AM">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/derek-taylor-mn0000243028/biography|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|title=Derek Taylor|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref>

As the band gained national attention in Britain, Taylor's editors conceived of running a column ostensibly written by a Beatle to boost circulation, to be [[ghostwriter|ghostwritten]] by Taylor. [[George Harrison]] was the Beatle eventually decided upon. Although Harrison was initially only given the right to approve or disapprove of the content, Harrison's dissection of the first draft turned the column into an ongoing collaboration between the two, with Harrison providing the stories and Taylor providing the polish.

In early 1964, Beatles manager [[Brian Epstein]] hired 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.{{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=415}} Taylor assisted Epstein in the writing of his autobiography, ''[[A Cellarful of Noise]]''. Taylor conducted interviews with Epstein for the book and then shaped the transcriptions of the audio recordings into a narrative, retaining most of Epstein's basic words.

Taylor served as press officer for the Beatles' first concert tour of the US in the summer of 1964. After a falling out with Epstein,{{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=415}} he resigned from his position at the end of the tour, in September. Brian Epstein demanded that Taylor continue working for a three-month notice period, however. After this, he went to work for the ''Daily Mirror''.<ref name="BeatlesBible">{{cite web|url=http://www.beatlesbible.com/people/derek-taylor/|title=Derek Taylor|date=22 May 2008 }}</ref>

==As a publicist in California==
In 1965, Taylor left the UK and moved with his growing family to California. There he started his own [[public relations]] company,<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news|first=Allan |last=Kozinn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/09/arts/derek-taylor-beatles-spokesman-dies-at-65.html |title=Derek Taylor, Beatles' Spokesman, Dies at 65 |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 September 1997 |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> providing publicity for groups such as [[the Byrds]], [[the Beach Boys]] and [[Paul Revere and the Raiders]],<ref name="Unterberger/AM" /> as well as [[the Mamas & the Papas]].<ref name="RBP">{{cite web|url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Writer/derek-taylor |title=Derek Taylor |publisher=[[Rock's Backpages]] |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> According to music critic [[Richie Unterberger]], through his time working in Hollywood, Taylor "became, probably, the most famous rock publicist of the mid-'60s".<ref name="Unterberger/AM" />

Among Taylor's strategies, he touted the Byrds as a new breed of American band with parallels to the Beatles.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Derek|last=Taylor|title=Derek Taylor Reports: The Byrds Fly High And It's Time To Crow |magazine=[[KRLA Beat]]|date=23 June 1965|page=3}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/derek-taylor-reports-the-byrds-fly-high-and-its-time-to-crow Rock's Backpages] (subscription required).</ref> He also encouraged nascent rock journalists to perceive Beach Boys founder [[Brian Wilson]] as a musical genius.{{sfn|Gaines|1995|pp=152, 169}}<ref>{{cite news|first=Barney|last=Hoskins|title='Brian Wilson is a Genius': The Birth of a Cult|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=1 September 1995}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/brian-wilson-is-a-genius-the-birth-of-a-cult Rock's Backpages] (subscription required).</ref> Using his connections in Britain, Taylor ensured that the Beach Boys' 1966 album ''[[Pet Sounds]]'' received a level of acclaim from UK music critics and Wilson's peers, including [[John Lennon]] and [[Paul McCartney]], that had not been forthcoming in the United States.{{sfn|Granata|2003|pp=190–91, 201–02}}

In June 1967, Taylor helped organise the [[Monterey Pop Festival]], serving as the event's publicist and spokesman.<ref name="IndependentObituary">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-derek-taylor-1238372.html|title=Obituary: Derek Taylor|first=Chris|last=Welch|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=10 September 1997|access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref> For a few weeks in the autumn of 1967, Taylor hosted a Sunday-evening freeform radio program on Pasadena station [[KWVE (AM)|KRLA]]. Having contributed to the station's magazine, ''[[KRLA Beat]]'', since 1965,<ref name="RBP" /> he became editor in 1967, helping to guide the magazine's focus towards US [[Counterculture of the 1960s|countercultural issues]] and [[psychedelia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://krlabeat.sakionline.net/history.html|title=KRLA Beat History: L.A.'s rock journalism starts here|publisher=krlabeat.sakionline.net|access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref>

George Harrison's song "[[Blue Jay Way]]" was written during Harrison's 1967 visit to California, on a foggy night waiting for Taylor and his wife Joan to arrive at his rented home in the [[Hollywood Hills]]. During the same visit, Taylor accompanied Harrison on his trip to the [[Haight-Ashbury]] district of [[San Francisco]].<ref name="BeatlesBible"/>

Taylor was a catalyst in [[Harry Nilsson]]'s musical career;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9529179/the-legacy-harry-nilsson|title=Deconstructing Harry|first=Sean|last=Fennessey|publisher=[[Grantland]]|date=2 August 2013|access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> hearing Nilsson's song "1941" on a car radio, he bought a case (twenty-five copies) of his album ''[[Pandemonium Shadow Show]]'', sending copies to various members of the music-industry. Among the recipients were all four Beatles, who became enamoured of Nilsson's talent and invited him to London. Nilsson subsequently became a collaborator and good friend of both Lennon and [[Ringo Starr]]. In 1973, Taylor produced Nilsson's album ''[[A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night]]''.

==The Beatles' Apple Corps==
In April 1968, at Harrison's request, Taylor returned to England to work for the Beatles again, as the press officer for their newly created [[Apple Corps]].{{sfn|Black|2003|p=89}} Taylor oversaw the public launch of the company's record label, [[Apple Records]], in August 1968,{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=49}} marked by the release of the Beatles' single "[[Hey Jude]]".{{sfn|Black|2003|p=90}} As part of the campaign, "Hey Jude" and three other Apple singles were compiled in a gift box and dispatched to [[Queen Elizabeth II]], [[the Queen Mother]] and the [[Harold Wilson|British prime minister]].{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=111}} During this period, 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."{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=49}} That same year, Taylor provided uncredited contributions to the lyrics of two songs issued on the band's double album, ''[[The Beatles (album)|The Beatles]]'': "[[Happiness Is a Warm Gun]]" and "[[Savoy Truffle]]".{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=317, 320}}

Between 1968 and 1970, Taylor had a major role in the company's activities, leading the publicity campaigns for the band's projects and for those of the other artists signed to Apple Records.{{sfn|Talevski|1999|pp=415–16}} Among these, he helped stage Lennon and [[Yoko Ono]]'s 1969 campaign for world peace. He is named in the lyrics of Lennon's song "[[Give Peace a Chance]]", along with [[Tommy Smothers]], [[Timothy Leary]] and [[Norman Mailer]], who like Taylor were all present at the recording of the song. In March 1970, Taylor commissioned the young photographer Les Smithers to photograph [[Badfinger]], a rock band signed to Apple Records. That portrait has now been acquired by the [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]].

Taylor's time as Apple press officer became as notable for its extravagance as much as the creativity of his campaigns and press releases.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=35, 81–82}}{{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=416}} With the appointment of [[Allen Klein]] as Apple's business manager in early 1969 – leading to a period that Taylor later described as "miserable" – expenditure and staff numbers were cut back drastically.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=81–82}} While describing Taylor as a "lavish spender", author Nick Talveski notes that much of his job entailed denying the media access to the Beatles. Talveski adds: "To his eternal credit, Taylor nevertheless became one of the most popular professionals in the [music] industry, one of very few men to perfect the art of saying 'no' graciously."{{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=415}} In her 2009 memoir, former Apple employee Chris O'Dell says that Taylor "stood for everything that was good and honest and funny and bright about Apple".{{sfn|O'Dell|Ketcham|2009|p=163}}

Taylor left the company in late 1970, having outlasted most of the other senior employees there, thanks to the affection and high regard in which he was held by Lennon, Harrison and Starr.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=139}} In April that year, Taylor had confirmed [[Break-up of the Beatles|The Beatles' break-up]] using deliberately vague terms, partly to mask his sadness:
<blockquote>Spring is here and Leeds play Chelsea tomorrow and Ringo and John and George and Paul are alive and well and full of hope. The world is still spinning and so are we and so are you. When the spinning stops – that'll be the time to worry. Not before …{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=128–29}}</blockquote>

==After the Beatles==
Taylor went to work for the newly launched UK record company WEA (later [[Warner Music Group]]),{{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=416}} the British umbrella company that distributed and marketed several labels owned in the US by [[Kinney National Company]]. These record labels included Warner Bros., Reprise, Elektra and Atlantic.<ref name="Unterberger/AM" /> Taylor served as Director of Special Projects, working with artists such as [[the Rolling Stones]], [[Yes (band)|Yes]], [[America (band)|America]], [[Neil Young]], [[Vivian Stanshall]], [[Carly Simon]] and [[Alice Cooper]]. He also presided over a revival of British jazz singer [[George Melly]], producing two albums for him. He was instrumental in signing seminal Liverpool Art School rock band [[Deaf School]], featuring future record producer [[Clive Langer]]. He was instrumental in the Rhead Brothers signing to WEA and received a dedication on both their 1977 album ''Dedicate'' and the re-issued ''Black Shaheen'' (2017).

Independently of his work for WEA, Taylor co-produced Nilsson's ''[[A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night]]'' in 1973.<ref name="Unterberger/AM" /> He had previously provided liner notes for Nilsson's ''[[Aerial Ballet]]'' album. (A story written by Taylor's daughter Vanessa was printed on the back cover of Nilsson's album ''[[Harry (album)|Harry]]''.)

==Return to the United States==
In the mid-1970s Taylor served as a Vice-President of Marketing for Warner Bros. Records, where he was instrumental in the acquisition of the [[Rutles]] project, and supervised the worldwide marketing campaign for the album release and television special. A spoof on the Beatles' career and legacy, the Rutles' ''[[All You Need Is Cash]]'' special featured Harrison playing a reporter interviewing a Derek Taylor-like character, named Eric Manchester and played by [[Michael Palin]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Rodriguez|first=Robert|title=Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980|publisher=Backbeat Books|location=Milwaukee, WI|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4165-9093-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/missodellmyhardd00odel/page/308 308]|url=https://archive.org/details/missodellmyhardd00odel/page/308}}</ref> Taylor left Warner's in 1978.<ref name="BeatlesBible"/> As well as staying close to Harrison throughout the 1970s, Taylor maintained a correspondence with Lennon during the latter's years of retirement between 1975 and 1980. Taylor did not enjoy his second period in California, however, and returned to England after a couple of years.

==Back in England==
In the early 1980s he worked as a co-author on books with [[Michelle Phillips]] and [[Steven Spielberg]]. He also worked with George Harrison's film company, [[Handmade Films]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Olivia|last=Harrison|title=George Harrison: Living in the Material World|publisher=Abrams|location=New York, NY|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4197-0220-4|page=330}}</ref>

In January 1988, while accepting the Beatles' induction into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], Harrison named Taylor and [[Neil Aspinall]] as the two people worthy of the much-used title "[[the Fifth Beatle]]".{{sfn|O'Dell|Ketcham|2009|p=122}} In the early 1990s Taylor was asked to rejoin Apple to be in charge of marketing of the multiple projects planned for that decade. The projects included the CD release of the non-Beatle Apple catalogue and major Beatles releases such as ''[[Live at the BBC (The Beatles album)|Live at the BBC]]'' and compilation albums associated with ''[[The Beatles Anthology]]''.{{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=416}}

==Work as an author==
In 1973 he wrote a very informal memoir, ''As Time Goes By'', published by [[Sphere Books]] and reprinted by its Abacus imprint the following year. (It was re-issued in 2018.)

Over 1978–79, Taylor collaborated again with Harrison, helping him to complete his autobiography, ''[[I, Me, Mine]]'', published in 1980 by [[Genesis Publications]].{{cn|date=November 2024}} The following year, Taylor's on-set account of the production of ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' was published as ''The Making of Raiders of The Lost Ark'' by Ballantine Books.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Derek |title=The making of Raiders of the lost ark |date=1981 |publisher=Ballantine |isbn=978-0-345-29725-9 |editor-last=Holler |editor-first=Ann |edition=1st |location=New York}}</ref> He subsequently wrote his own autobiography, ''Fifty Years Adrift'', published in December 1983 by Genesis, for which Harrison provided a glowing introduction to the signed, limited-edition volume. Only 2000 copies were printed, and the book quickly became a collectors' item after Harrison joined Taylor in promoting the publication.

In 1987, Taylor's ''It Was Twenty Years Ago Today'' (published by Bantam Press in the UK, and Fireside for Simon & Schuster in the US)<ref name="Jensen/UPI">{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/15/TV-show-analyses-the-Beatles-era/9488548049600/ |first=Gregory|last=Jensen|title=TV show analyses the Beatles era|publisher=[[UPI]]|date=15 May 1987|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref> celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the release of the Beatles' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. It provides a detailed documentary of the people and events that shaped the album and the wider events of the [[Summer of Love]] counterculture.<ref name="Duffy/Sentinel">{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1987/06/01/everybodys-getting-on-sgt-pepper-bandwagon/ |first=Thom|last=Duffy|title=Everybody's Getting On 'Sgt. Pepper' Bandwagon|newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|date=1 June 1987|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref> The book includes archive interviews and photographs as well as extensive transcripts from a [[Granada TV]] documentary, which was also titled ''[[It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (film)|It Was Twenty Years Ago Today]]'' and for which Taylor served as consultant.<ref name="Jensen/UPI" />

''As Time Goes By: Living in the Sixties (Rock and Roll Remembrances Series No 3)'' (Popular Culture Ink) was published in June 1990 in the US.

''Getting sober...and loving it!'', co-authored with his wife Joan Taylor, was released in 1992. The book collects personal experiences from alcoholics, including himself, combined with practical information. Ringo Starr wrote the foreword.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Getting sober-- and loving it!|url=https://search.worldcat.org/es/title/26634811 |access-date=2024-11-24 |website= WorldCat.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Whelan |first=Luke |date=2022-06-25 |title=Barbara Bach: Bond girl beat dangerous addiction with Ringo Starr |url=https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1631006/barbara-bach-health-alcoholism-treatment-ringo-starr |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=Express.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

In the UK Bois Books published ''What You Cannot Finish'' and ''Take A Sad Song'' in 1995, coinciding with the release of the ''[[Beatles Anthology]]'' (Taylor was extensively interviewed for the TV program). Posthumous volumes include ''Beatles'' ([[Ebury Press]] 1999). In addition, an audio CD, ''Here There and Everywhere: Derek Taylor Interviews The Beatles'', was released on the Thunderbolt label in 2001.

==Death==
Derek Taylor died of throat cancer at his home in [[Sudbury, Suffolk]], on 8 September 1997. At the time of his death he was still working for Apple, helping to compile the ''[[The Beatles Anthology (book)|Beatles Anthology]]'' book.{{sfn|Talevski|1999|pp=415–16}} His funeral took place in Sudbury, Suffolk on 12 September, attended by family and friends such as Harrison, Aspinall, Palin, [[Neil Innes]] and [[Jools Holland]].<ref>Keith Badman, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001'', [[Omnibus Press]] (London, 2001; {{ISBN|0-7119-8307-0}}), p. 575.</ref>

==Personal life==
Taylor was married to Joan Taylor (née Doughty) from 1958 until his death. The couple had six children: Timothy, Dominic, Gerard, Abigail, Vanessa and Annabel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/mal/MO/philm/derek_taylor/derek.txt|title=Obit|website=Ibiblio.org|access-date=26 January 2018}}</ref> Joan Taylor appeared in his stead in the 2011 documentary ''[[George Harrison: Living in the Material World]]''.

In 2013, American singer and [[Fleetwood Mac]] vocalist [[Stevie Nicks]] revealed that she had had a brief affair with Taylor in the late 1970s, and that she wrote the song "[[Beautiful Child (song)|Beautiful Child]]", included in the album ''[[Tusk (album)|Tusk]]'', about him.<ref>{{cite web|date=13 May 2013|url=https://stevienicks.info/2013/05/19/it-affected-me-very-much-stevie-nicks-on-the-beatles-connection-in-fleetwood-macs-beautiful-child/|title='It affected me very much': Stevie Nicks on the Beatles connection in Fleetwood Mac's Beautiful Child' – Stevie Nicks|website=Stevie Nicks Info|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book|first=Johnny |last=Black |chapter=A Slice of History |title=Mojo: The Beatles' Final Years Special Edition |publisher=Emap |location=London|year=2003|pages=86–92}}
* {{cite book|last=Doggett|first=Peter|title=You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup|publisher=It Books|location=New York, NY|year=2011|isbn=978-0-06-177418-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Gaines|first=Steven|title=Heroes and Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=New York, NY|year=1995|isbn=0-306-80647-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Granata|first=Charles L.|title=Wouldn't It Be Nice: Brian Wilson and the Making of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds|publisher=A Cappella Books|location=Chicago, IL|year=2003|isbn=1-55652-507-9|url=https://archive.org/details/wouldntitbenice00char}}
* {{cite book|last=Miles|first=Barry|title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years|year=2001|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|isbn=0-7119-8308-9 }}
* {{cite book |last1=O'Dell |first1=Chris |last2=with Ketcham |first2=Katherine |year=2009 |title=Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved |location=New York, NY |publisher=Touchstone |isbn=978-1-4165-9093-4 |ref={{SfnRef|O'Dell|Ketcham|2009}} |url=https://archive.org/details/missodellmyhardd00odel }}
* {{cite book|last=Priore|first=Domenic|author-link=Domenic Priore|title=Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=81YIAQAAMAAJ|year=2005|publisher=Sanctuary|location=London|isbn=1860746276}}
* {{cite book|last=Schaffner|first=Nicholas|title=The Beatles Forever|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York, NY|year=1978|isbn=0-07-055087-5|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesforever00scha}}
* {{cite book|first=Nick|last=Talevski|title=The Encyclopedia of Rock Obituaries|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|year=1999|isbn=0-7119-7548-5|url=https://archive.org/details/tombstoneblues00nick}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/mal/MO/philm/derek_taylor/ Philm Freax: Derek Taylor]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/mal/MO/philm/derek_taylor/derek.txt Official Apple Obituary]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080409125037/http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/derek.htm A tribute to Derek Taylor]
* {{Pop Chronicles|34|1}}

{{Apple Corps}}
{{The Beatles}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Derek}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]
[[Category:The Beatles]]
[[Category:Apple Corps]]
[[Category:Apple Records]]
[[Category:British music industry executives]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:British theatre critics]]
[[Category:English public relations people]]
[[Category:English music journalists]]