Derek Bill

[Shady]

RIP.

A lot of the hardcore fans leaving to soon 

[Don Malcolm]

Thanks for the clarification, bgas...what an amazing story that is. When you stop to think about it, Mike's actually the "white sheep" of his family!!

Condolences to Derek's family on a most untimely passing.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I hate those goons. Sleeping with Marilyn behind Brian's back was bad enough, I also have heard he beat up Brian on several occasions.

Anywho, very unfortunate... another great fan/man lost...

[Mikie]

Thanks for the clarification, bgas...what an amazing story that is. When you stop to think about it, Mike's actually the "white sheep" of his family!!

Condolences to Derek's family on a most untimely passing.

You want clarification, Don?  Listen to the story as decribed by AGD (and Peter). They were closer to Derek than any of us and they know the truth.

[KittyKat]

Thanks for the clarification, bgas...what an amazing story that is. When you stop to think about it, Mike's actually the "white sheep" of his family!!

Condolences to Derek's family on a most untimely passing.

You want clarification, Don?  Listen to the story as decribed by AGD (and Peter). They were closer to Derek than any of us and they know the truth.

Uh, not to open a can of worms, but doesn't bgas have direct quotes?  Also, I think I know who bgas is, going by a couple of initials in his posting handle, and he's in the music industry, right?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Thanks for the clarification, bgas...what an amazing story that is. When you stop to think about it, Mike's actually the "white sheep" of his family!!

Condolences to Derek's family on a most untimely passing.

You want clarification, Don?  Listen to the story as decribed by AGD (and Peter). They were closer to Derek than any of us and they know the truth.

Uh, not to open a can of worms, but doesn't bgas have direct quotes?  Also, I think I know who bgas is, going by a couple of initials in his posting handle, and he's in the music industry, right?

No, he's not and his posting handle has nothing to do with his name: it comes from an obscure J&D instrumental. He's a serious collector.

Further:

Decades later I learned that I was actually a patsy of sorts. Stan Love and Rocky Pamplin had trashed the Brother offices - including gold records - after being fired....only to be rehired a day later. The group was in Hawaii at the time, and so Stan & Rocky had only a week to find replacement gold records.

No disrespect to Derek, but that's not the case: late December 1979 the band were in LA frantically recording KTSA. He was relating 2nd/3rd hand info. What I related was what Derek told me back in 1980. Whatever, all this is besides the point. Another great fan has left us too soon - that's all that matters

[celticsurfer]

that story is from december 1978 not 1979 Andrew! the last BBcollectors (Hawthorne hotshots and smile covers) we got were 1978 stuff!
Also I still have press cuttings about that police raid elsewhere in my collection.
Also that period was a troubled one with Brian/ Marilyn divorce.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Apologies for being a year out... but the bit about them recording fit to bust still holds true - just substitute Light Album for KTSA.

[Mikie]

that story is from december 1978 not 1979 Andrew! the last BBcollectors (Hawthorne Hotshots and Smile covers) we got were 1978 stuff!

Don't forget the KPUK 45 sleeve after that; the last one in the series.  And numerous vinyl album boots after that (B. Elliott) which I remember procuring through Derek.

[Bill Tobelman]

First time I encountered Derek Bill he was answering the phone for Brad Elliot. Later on he was battling with Brad over money or something. Then Derek was having lunch with Frank Holmes. Then Derek was getting into Nick Lowe's music & digging some stuff Lowe said about Brian Wilson in BOMP.

Didn't know him very well but every encounter with him was very positive. I liked him.

[KittyKat]

Reading about this guy Derek reminds me that there's a lifestyle that no longer exists. People who really lived for the music, had no internet, and did everything on vinyl and tape and via snail mail.  Everything now is passed through file sharing.  People just sit at home in front of their computer waiting for things to come to them for free.

[Loaf]

Reading about this guy Derek reminds me that there's a lifestyle that no longer exists. People who really lived for the music, had no internet, and did everything on vinyl and tape and via snail mail.  Everything now is passed through file sharing.  People just sit at home in front of their computer waiting for things to come to them for free.

But better for free than paying bootleggers

[Dave Modny]

I remember when I first got into the Beach Boys in the late '90s/early 00's, his was one of the names posting or mentioned a lot on the Beach Boys Usenet message boards.  There were two Usenet groups for the band and there were a lot of really knowledgeable people posting on them.

This is where I remember Derek from as well -- both the alt. and rec. newsgroups. Probably the very first online BB's stomping grounds of more than a few folks way back when. Yet, it sometimes doesn't seem that long ago.


My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

[37!ws]

Holy crap...I feel like a total ass. I completely, COMPLETELY missed this thread. I had no idea Derek died until I looked at the acknowledgments in James' new book just yesterday.   The Mrs. and I had numerous online interactions with him over many years. In fact, he commissioned The Mrs. to whip up a web page for him to sell some of his Beach Boys collectibles many years ago, and he paid her via her choice of items from the for-sale collection. (She didn't take anything huge -- just a couple of albums to fill in the gaps in our collection.)

[Bicyclerider]

I'm right there with you - I only found out through reading the book's acknowledgements.  Derek was a great guy, sold me the Smile booklet and got me in touch with Frank himself.  A huge loss for Beach Boy fandom.