A Brief History Of The Swinging Sixties

After the devastation of World War II, the British people indulged in a brief spell of wild euphoria and jubilation across the land, before the population prepared for the difficult years ahead to rebuild the nation and its economy. Britain was still a colonial power in 1945, which had somewhat alleviated its massive debt situation to America. Nevertheless, Britain immediately requested further loans from America and Canada which did amount to over 2 billion, soon after, the British government began the race to rebuild its economy and national defence, as the United Kingdom was also eager to acquire a nuclear defence status. Britain’s general election in 1945 gave the Labour Party a victory by an overwhelming majority, as a consequence, over the following 5 years the Labour Party proceeded to impose a strict policy of rationing and austerity upon the United Kingdom. Also, the Labour Party nationalised the British coal and water industries, the British railway and aviation industries, the British gas and electricity industries, the British Iron and steel industries, and the Bank of England. Those policies were party undertaken to exercise greater control over the economy and provide as many jobs as possible. However, the jewel in the crown for the Labour Party was the creation of the National Health Service, which was officially founded on 5 July 1948. In that era, the Labour Party’s socialist policies proved the perfect vaccine to cure the ailing British economy. Most of the population lived in rented accommodation as the UK was undergoing a housing shortage. But over the following years, Britain's economy accelerated rapidly to eventually become Europe’s biggest producer of coal, steel, cars, and textiles, and by 1950, the United Kingdom accounted for a quarter of world trade in the manufacturing industries.

Britain in The 1960s

By 1952, the UK became the third world nuclear power, after conducting a nuclear test off the coast of Australia. Also, in 1952, Britain was said to be the most urbanized and industrialized nation in the world, however, Britain paid a high price for its rapid industrialisation achievements, as 1952 was also infamous for the London smog, which lasted five days between the 5th and 9th of December 1952, the smog caused the death of about 4,000 people from heart and lung diseases. The dawn of the 1960s in Britain witnessed unprecedented job creation and employment, as a consequence, people's standard of living rose dramatically which led to a surge in consumer spending that culminated in an economic boom. Also, important, Britain underwent a cultural revolution, which was impacted by the advent of television and the birth of mass media. The sixties were widely considered by many to be a magical era in English history. On reflection, it is generally accepted that the phrase ‘Swinging London’ encapsulated an infectious air of optimism, a sense of pride, widespread success, and confidence, which permeated within the capital and well beyond it. The term ‘Swinging London’ was seized upon by certain journalists working within the London media, which resulted in the birth of the well-known catchphrase the Swinging Sixties. Nevertheless, many people had contrasting views about the sixties, especially the older generation, and certain politicians who had claimed that the 1960s was a decade of excessive indulgence, decadence, and moral decline.

England was granted the honour of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 1966. This privilege was undoubtedly one of the factors, which had contributed to the great success of the British economy throughout the 1960s. Britain witnessed manufacturing and artistic innovations, the rise of mass media, the reverberating impact of the music and fashion industries, as well as the significant repercussions of social, cultural, and political changes. It is said that London sparkled with talent, iconic personalities, and famous places to visit. Fashion became an excessive indulgence, not just for the rich and famous. There were iconic shopping areas, such as Carnaby Street, King's Road and Kensington High Street. Dame Barbara Mary Quant was a talented British fashion designer, who became well-known for popularizing the daring mini skirt during the sixties. The UK was blessed with several famous fashion models in that era, two of whom were Jean Rosemary Shrimpton, and Dame Lesley Lawson, otherwise known as Twiggy, each had appeared on the front covers of famous magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, Glamour Elle, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Tatler. During the 1960s, Jean Shrimpton and Lesley Lawson were the highest-paid female models in the world and their success was said to have given birth to the term supermodels.

1960s Blue Beat Music

Before the birth of reggae music, Jamaican musicians and vocalists began to experiment with a new type of sound, which was based upon the infusion of Rhythm & Blues, Calypso, Modern Jazz, and Mento, which is a style of Jamaican folk music. This new music genre was called Blue Beat, an exciting upbeat dance sound that became very popular in many nightclubs across Britain. Blue Beat Records was founded in London, England in 1960, by Jamaican music artists Derrick Morgan and Jimmy Cliff, this record label released Jamaican rhythm and blues and ska music in the 1960s. This type of revolutionary dance music was contributed to by famous black musicians such as Cecil Bustamente Campbell, otherwise known as Prince Buster, who created hits such as 'One Step Beyond' (1964), 'Madness'(1963), and 'Al Capone' (1964). Desmond Dekker made hits '007 Shanty Town' (1967) and 'Israelites' (1968). Dandy Livingstone's breakthrough song 'Rudy, A Message to You' (1967), and legendary singer Millie Small, with her hit song ‘My Boy Lollipop’ (1964). The original skinhead subculture first began within white British working-class communities in poor regions of London, in the 60s. It is said that the traditional skinhead attire was originally adopted from young Jamaican immigrants after they first arrived in London during the 1960s, and in later years, the skinhead movement became associated with Neo-Nazism.

The 1960s Mods

The term Mods is an abbreviation for Modernists, and they originated from a small group of well-dressed fashion-conscious London-based mostly young white British men, in the late 1950s to early 1960s. They were termed Modernists because they listened to modern Jazz, Rhythm and Blues and particularly Ska or Blue beat music. The Mods frequented nightclubs such as the Flamingo nightclub in London and parties where young black and white people were permitted to congregate. Initially, the Mods were a subculture movement, which steadily increased in following, until they reached mainstream popularity around the late 1960s. The Mod generation was part of the so-called 'Baby Boom' phenomenon that occurred after World War II. The Mods gained a reputation for being brash, adventurous, and liberal-minded teenagers who had a passion for music and fashion, their typical smart dress attire included light grey suits, white corduroy trousers, polo necks, and light-coloured shirts, women Modernists often cut their hair short, and dressed in trousers and button-ups. In later years, Mods drove around in elaborately decorated scooters and developed a passion for listening to British pop rock bands such as the Who, the Small Faces, and the Animals. The Modernist culture eventually became very influential across many parts of Europe, and they were viewed as ambassadors of fashion, music, and pop art.

1960s British Pop Music

The Beatles were a young band that emerged from an era of new and exciting imported dance sounds, such as Rock & Roll, Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, and also Blue Beat. At the age of 16 John Lennon was learning his craft, playing in Liverpool as part of a band called the ‘Quarry Men’ a skiffle group. Paul McCartney and John Lennon first met on 6 July 1957, a fateful encounter of two gifted creative minds that would eventually help to change the course of British music. In the late 1950s, a significant portion of the British population did not have a television, and music was a cheap and convenient source of indulgence for most people, especially the younger generation. An impressive array of musical genres evolved during the 1960s, and the Beatles had opportunistically invented a new type of sound, which contained elements of Rock & Roll, Rhythm & Blues, skiffle, and Beat music, ultimately, the Beatles were able to produce a unique sound that possessed a distinctly European flavour. This new genre of music was witnessed as the dawn of modern British Pop Music.

On 5 October 1962, the Beatles made their first hit single Love Me Do, ultimately, the pride of Liverpool went on to receive lightning success across the United Kingdom, and meteoric success across the world. In the mid to late sixties, the Beatles attempted to recreate their style of music after becoming involved with and immersing themselves in, the philosophy of the hippie movement. The Beatles began to experiment with sounds which contained elements of traditional pop, ballads, psychedelic, and classical music, the crystallisation of such a composition presented a feast for musical connoisseurs everywhere, as a consequence, the Beatles were rewarded with even greater success and popularity around the world.

The Rolling Stones demonstrated their exceptional re-inventive and creative qualities, when they achieved a series of musical hits worldwide, beginning with their first hit 'It's All Over Now' in 1964. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Animals, Cilla Black, Lulu, Dusty Springfield and other British musical artists, who were performing during that decade, made such an impact on American audiences during the 1960s that the Times Magazine expressed the influx of British music into the USA as 'The British Invasion’. The sixties was the era in which the United Kingdom's wealth of talent dared to challenge America's status as the undisputed supreme force within the music industry.

The Swinging Sixties 

In the 1960s, Britain was widely acknowledged as the home of immense talent, including artists, fashion designers, photographers, writers, and filmmakers, London was viewed as the mecca for creativity and innovation. The great revolutionary guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, arrived in Britain in the late 1960s and successfully orchestrated his fame in London. Meanwhile, the Jaguar and the Mini car vied for the status of Britain's most iconic motor car of the 1960s. Barbara Castle became the first woman to be appointed Minister of Transport, in 1965, and then became the Minister of State for the Department of Employment in 1968. Colour televisions, microwave ovens, dishwashers, and a variety of other modern appliances became readily available for the insatiable appetites of British consumers, however, it was the transistor radio that became one of the most sought-after devices of the 1960s. Top of the Pops had a modest beginning in 1964, but ultimately it achieved a legendary status and became the world's longest-running weekly music show. In 1966, the Union Jack gloriously decorated streets and cities across the nation, when England won the World Cup for the first time. Britain was seen as a decade of youth-driven changes, many of the previously accepted standards of behaviour were abandoned with disdain by the younger generation. Meanwhile, the British fashion and music industries flourished after they had been dramatically transformed in the 1960s. During this decade there were significant long-term political, social, and cultural changes, such as a marked increase in universities funded by the state, enacted to encourage more working-class students to take up higher education, there was the abolition of capital punishment, in 1965, gambling was reformed and legalized in 1961, the contraceptive pill, a controversial subject, was legalized in 1961, homosexuality, a very controversial topic in that era, was legalized in 1967, abortion was also legalized in 1967, and the Divorce Reform Act was enacted in 1969, in addition, Britain witnessed the rise of women's liberation groups, the hippie movement, and the sexual revolution.

Written by Star_gazer

Published 15 June 2020