J. E. A. Tyler was an author and journalist specializing in music, historical biography, archaeology and anthropology. He had a colourful life, stowing away to Hamburg as a teenager where he hung out with The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. He joined the Royal Tank Regiment, fought in Aden and was the last British soldier to be injured by a musket ball. He worked as a publicist for Emerson Lake and Palmer then joined NME where he hired writers such as Nick Kent, Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill. His books include The Beatles: An Illustrated Record (1974) and I Hate Rock and Roll (1983). He died in 2006.