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". 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. 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".