Derek Taylor

Derek Taylor (7 May 1932 - 8 September 1997) was an English journalist, writer and publicist. He is best known for his work as press officer for The Beatles and The Beach Boys, creating campaign tag-lines such as "The Beatles Are Coming" and "Brian Wilson Is a Genius". He started his career as a local journalist in Liverpool aged 17 working for the Hoylake and West Kirby Advertiser followed by the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo before becoming 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. 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 the band's break-up and maintained a friendship with John Lennon until the latter's death in 1980. In addition to working as editor on Harrison's 1980 autobiography, "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".