 This 1965 English tour was largely orchestrated by the group 's publicist Derek Taylor , in an attempt to capitalize on the number 1 chart success of the " Mr. Tambourine Man " single . Unfortunately , the tour was overhyped from the start , with the band being touted as " America 's answer to the Beatles " , a label that proved impossible for the Byrds to live up to . During concert performances , a combination of poor sound , group illness , ragged musicianship , and the band 's notoriously lackluster stage presence , all combined to alienate audiences and served to provoke a merciless castigating of the band in the British press . 
