Bill Taylor

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: Uncovering the bedrock

Bill Taylor writes: Can’t see the wood for the trees? For the longest time, I couldn’t see the wool for the sweaters… Those chunky off-white Aran jumpers that became their trademark, and which my mother – “why can’t you dress... Read more →


Dylan: 'a real artist, a true poet.' The 'Judas' tour recalled, the man and his work acclaimed

Colin Randall writes: before Bill Taylor and I met and became friends as well as journalistic confreres, we were both fans of Bob Dylan. Had I caught the famed 1966 tour on which he 'went electric', I might have been... Read more →


Dylan: our favourite early covers - and yours

Colin Randall writes: Salut! Live’s editors - Andrew Curry, Bill Taylor and I - are all Dylan fans to one degree or another. So are and have been lots of other artists and countless among them have dipped gratefully for... Read more →


Dirty Old Town: enduring fascination with - and debate on - Ewan MacColl's song, now 75 years old

When Bill Taylor compared very different versions of Dirty Old Town - the song about Salford that Ewan MacColl wrote for a play in 1949 - in our Cover Story series, there was lively if modest interest. Bill's piece first... Read more →


When people take notice: the Artist of the Week series so far

Colin Randall writes: Unlike the newspapers for which I have worked, on the staff or as a contributor, Salut! Live does not hold editorial conferences (nor, as you'll have noticed, does it publish a print edition). The three of us... Read more →


War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing… except for some great pacifist music

Bill Taylor writes: Is it ironic that some of the best antiwar songs hardly mention the word “war” at all? They certainly don’t have it in their titles, nor do they bludgeon the listener with the bluntness of their message.... Read more →