Derek Taylor was The Beatles' press officer, close friend to all the group's members, and a noted journalist and music publicist.
He was born in Liverpool on 7 May 1932. After leaving school he began working as a journalist for The Hoylake and West Kirby Advertiser before moving to the Liverpool Daily Post & Echo. He also wrote for the News Chronicle and the Sunday Dispatch.
In 1958 Taylor married Joan Doughty in Bebington, Wirral. In 1962 he became the theatre critic and columnist for the Daily Express' northern edition, which was based in Manchester, and additionally contributed to the Sunday Express.
Taylor first met The Beatles after being sent to cover their concert at the Manchester Odeon on 30 May 1963. The Daily Express, then somewhat sniffy about young rock 'n' roll groups, expected him to produce a negative report; instead he was fulsome in his praise.
I was still only thirty, but sufficiently unaware of the 'young' world in mid-spring 1963 to have not heard of this rising phenomenon. I was working as a journalist for the Daily Express in Manchester and went to cover a one-night stand at the Odeon, starring The Beatles and Roy Orbison. I watched the show and when, two hours later, it was all over bar the screaming, I went to the telephone and dictated my review without a note, just as it came, and they printed it.I believed that in The Beatles the world had found the truest folk heroes of the century or, indeed, of any other time. From that day, 30th May 1963, I have never wavered in my certainty that they painted a new rainbow right across the world, with crocks of gold at each end and then some.
Anthology
Taylor swiftly became acquainted with The Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein. He continued to write about them in the Express, producing a number of exclusive stories and gaining their confidence.
With The Beatles' profile in the ascendant, Taylor's editors floated the idea of a column supposedly authored by a Beatle, to be ghostwritten by Taylor. George Harrison was chosen, and was initially given approval of Taylor's copy. However, the first installment didn't go quite as well as planned.
I was pleased when George's Daily Express column fell to me, but I started on the wrong foot. I did a real ghosting job. George's father was a bus driver, so I invented a conversation between his father and him in typical popular-newspaper style. It went like this: 'So my dad said to me, "don't worry about me, son, you stick to your guitar and I'll carry on driving the big green jobs."'I went down to London to deliver George's first column and I was asked by Brian, 'Oh, would you read it out for the boys? I'd like them to hear it.' So I had to take this column out of my pocket and, as if George had written it, I started reading it: '...stick to your guitar and I'll carry on driving the big green jobs.' And George said, 'What are big green jobs?' I said, 'Um, buses - Liverpool buses.' George said, 'I didn't know they were called "big green jobs".' John said, 'I didn't know they were, either.' I said, 'Well, I don't know that they are.' I had just made it up. Which, of course, is what happens on newspapers and that's why all these things sound so phoney.
Anyway, the long and short of it was, after I'd passed the test by admitting that I'd made up 'big green jobs', George said, 'I'll help you write the column - we can do it together.'
Anthology
Subsequent articles were more of a collaboration between the two, with Harrison giving Taylor ideas, which were then written up for publication.
Related articles:
- Live: Odeon Cinema, Manchester
- The Beatles' final press release
- Travel: John, Paul and George fly to Paris
- Day off in Los Angeles
- George and Pattie Harrison fly to Los Angeles
During his time in LA, one of Derek Taylor's clients in his public relations company was Mae West.
I wonder if Derek is still alive? I was one of four young men who broke into the Pigman Ranch compound on Sept 19, 1964 when the Beatles were staying there for a rest. My home was about 30 miles south in Hardy, Arkansas. We saw on TV early that morning that the four had landed at nearby Walunt Ridge and were headed to the ranch in Alton, Mo.
We drove up there and could not get in the main ranch gate, so we drove aroung the back of the ranch, where it was totally ungarded and crawled thru the cattle and over a hedge fence. There we jumped down close to a large swimming pool, were four or five men were setting in pool chairs. A large man, who apperared to be a guard came out of the fenced pool after us. Then one of the other men told him to stop and he would "take care" of the matter. It was John Lennon and he called us to come over to the pool. He was so nice to us and talked with great interest in who we were and etc. It was a wonderful evening that I will never forget. Only the few of us saw this happen.
I have read that Derek Taylor was with them on this trip. If so, I would like to contact him to see what his memory was of the event. I know those at the pool were Lennon, McCartney, and Ringo, because we coulde see them very well, although they never showed us any attention or spoke. Lennon told us one of them was the manager, and I assumed it was Epstein. He did tell us George was in the farmhouse, which was a couple hundred feet away.
Derek Taylor died in 1997, as it says at the end of this article.
There's a page on 19 September 1964 here. If you're able to, could you take a look at the map at the bottom of the page and let me know if the location is correct (and if not, where it should be)?
Thanks for sharing your memories of that day. You're so lucky to have met John Lennon.
Jo, thanks for the reply. I have looked at this map quite extensively but can not get the detail to say for sure. Since 1964 a whole lot of the timber (oak) in the Ozarks has been cleared for pasture. This site does not look exactly right because, while it was off Highway 160, we had to drive on a gravel road for about 5 or six miles. We had just about given up, when we came upon several cars parked around the gate of a farm. Then we were sure we had the right place because there were about 15 or 20 kids milling around the gate but the guard would not let them in. I remember that from the gate a road went up a hill for about one-quarter mile to the house and compound. While we did not come in that way, we did leave from this road, so I am certain about that.
I visited with a life-long resident of Alton, about two years ago and we discussed the Pigman Ranch. Being a person interested and involved in politics, I was fasciated to learn that the Pigman Ranch was originally owned by a Medical Doctor, who had his practice in Kansas City, and he was a pilot and flew a small plane to KC to work every week. This Dr. whose's name I can not remember, was a big player in the Old Pendergrass Democratic Party Political Machine from which our President Harry Truman came from.
I will look at some other maps, and If I can find a more accurate description, I will email to you.
Ed Wiles
Great anecdote Ed!
That "large man" who chased you - I wonder if that was Mal Evans?
Wish it was me!... But then, I would have only been three years old! I'm not certain that I would have been able to hurdle the cows or scale the fence!... Lucky Sod!