Derek Taylor joins Apple

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On this day, Derek Taylor moved back from California to London, to become head of press office at Apple.

One Sunday morning, I met the four Beatles and we were talking about Apple and what was going to happen, and what we were going to do, when one of them said, ‘Aye, I’ll tell you who will be great with this, Derek Taylor. Our old mate, Derek.’ Derek was a hell of a character, and, at this time, was in Los Angeles. The Beatles said, ‘Derek will be great for Apple,’ and I said, ‘Yes, great. Doing what?’ They said, ‘Well, we’ll think of something.’ So, I rang Derek, and said to him, ‘Hello, I’ve got some people here, they want to talk to you.’ There and then, during that phone conversation, Derek agreed to pack up in Los Angeles and come over to England to work for Apple.

Alistair Taylor – From “The Beatles: Off the Record” by Keith Badman

From Wikipedia:

[…] 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. Taylor oversaw the public launch of the company’s record label, Apple Records, in August 1968, marked by the release of the Beatles’ single “Hey Jude“. As part of the campaign, “Hey Jude” and three other Apple singles were compiled in a gift box and despatched to Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother and the British prime minister. 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.” That same year, Taylor provided uncredited contributions to the lyrics of two songs issued on the band’s double album, The Beatles: “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” and “Savoy Truffle“. […]

Last updated on September 27, 2021