I Love The Swingin' 60s!

The historical period of 1960-1969, commonly known as "The '60s", was a decade of change on a global scale, most notably reflected in the cultural and political trends of western nations. Also known as the "Swinging Sixties" because of the libertine attitudes that emerged, the 1960s have become synonymous with all the new, exciting, radical and subversive events and trends of the period.*

Several Western governments turned to the left in the early 1960s. In the United States John F. Kennedy was elected to the presidency, Italy formed its first left-of-centre government, and in Britain the Labour Party gained power in 1964. In Brazil, João Goulart became president after Jânio Quadros resigned.*

Even to a young girl, more interested in her dolls than the politics of the day, it was an exciting time in which to grow up. Music was pushing back the boundaries of what was deemed acceptable; fashion was pushing back the boundaries of what was considered decent; television news broadcasts showed mass demonstrations by students; everyday food was becoming more exotic with the influence of Asian cuisine on the streets and in the home, and in 1969 two men first set foot on the Moon. It was a time of such all-pervading revolution that even the least politically-minded could not fail to notice it!

*Source: Wikipedia

The by-word for the 1960s could be "anything goes", and nowhere is this more true than in the popular music of the day. While the crooners from the 1950s still had their fans - and therefore their place in the "hit parade" - the rise of the counterculture movement, particularly among the youth, created a huge market for rock, soul, pop, reggae, folk and blues. This new, varied music scene reflected the political and cultural revolution that was taking place and much of it was also influenced by the advent of a more permissive movement that advocated free love and the use of drugs.

The list of innovative bands and performers of the decade, whose names are still spoken with a kind of reverence today, is seemingly endless, but among the best known are: The Beatles, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Bob Marley, Deep Purple, The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Bob Dylan, Santana, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas and Joan Baez.

My own tastes at the time - being still a very young girl - tended towards the middle-of-the-road (and relatively innocent) brand of pop music. I was a huge fan of The Beatles throughout their career, but as I entered my teenage years in the mid-late 60s, it was the romantic notions of songs such as Herb Alpert's This Guy's In Love With You, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's Young Girl and Chris Montez's The More I See You that filled my dreamy head and heart, rather than the dark and dangerous lyrics of more edgy performers.

The predominant lifestyle choice of 1960s youth was undoubtedly that of the "hippies", and the decade saw the birth - and perhaps the zenith - of the music festival age, culminating, of course, with the legendary Woodstock Festival and Altamont Free Concert in 1969.

Picture: cover art from The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album

If "anything goes" was an appropriate by-word for the music of the 1960s, it was equally appropriate for the fashions of the day. For girls and women, this meant that you could wear a skirt as long as you wished - mini, midi or maxi - and whatever fabric took your fancy. Popular styles were tie-dye, stylised daisy-print, swirling "psychadelic " colours, denim, fur trim, embroidery and beads.

One fashionable look was the "Mod", epitomised by the designs of Mary Quant and the stick-thin, little girl look of Twiggy. Moving away from the glamourous, pinched-waist, movie-star look of the 50s, girls who favoured this style wore straight "shift" dresses with hemlines ranging from just above the knee to as high as you dare! Geometric prints, block colours and black-and-white were the themes, complemented by coloured tights, long scarves and a hat - usually large and floppy-brimmed, crocheted "juliet cap" or french-style beret.

Another iconic 60s style was the hippy look, bringing in denim jeans and waistcoats, long floral fabric skirts, crocheted sleeveless jackets, long scarves (particularly tied around the forehead) and tie-dye - all accessorised with as many flowers and beads as you could muster.

It was the first "gender-blender" generation; breaking down the barriers between male and female identities went hand-in-hand with the rise of feminism, resulting in the almost androgynous look of the Mod girls, in their shapeless dresses and "masculine" trouser suits, as well as the classic "how-do-you-tell-them-apart?" look of Hippies, with both males and females dressed in jeans and afghan coats, their long hair adorned with flowers, scarves and beads (see photo below - sometimes a beard was the only clue!!).

Photo above used under Creative Commons from:Kiwe zhang

(Photo below used under Creative Commons from:paurian)

By the mid-1960s, certainly, most domestic households had a television set - monochrome, of course; colour came much later. The photo shows a more elegant American set on slim legs, but ours was an ungainly square (legless) box with a thick glass screen and a "clunker" on the side, with which to change channels ... of which there were only two in the UK: the BBC and the commercial channel, ITV. To work in the former (both TV and radio) a presenter would have to have a "BBC voice", which was a cultured, "plummy" voice bearing no hint of regional accent or dialect. The BBC was considered (at least in our house) the more "upper class" channel and ITV was only viewed under duress, each commercial break being greeted with sighs, tuts and moans!

The TV programmes reflected the many changes that were going on in society, including the burgeoning youth culture, with music shows like Ready, Steady, Go!, Juke Box Jury and the iconic Top of the Pops (which ran until 2006). Programme-makers were defying the status quo of politeness and ignorance; bringing more gritty realism into middle-class homes by screening Ken Loach's plays, Up The Junction (bad language, promiscuity and abortion) and Cathy Come Home (poverty, homelessness and Social Services' powers), and groundbreaking political satire shows, such as That Was The Week That Was, which almost didn't get aired, as the BBC got cold feet after seeing the pilot episode!

Music, satire and comedy were also strongly featured on the radio, along with quiz shows and news broadcasts, which also made up much of the televisual entertainment option, together with early soap operas and films.

There were cafes, dance halls and drama theatres, of course, but the place to go for a "date" was the cinema - known in those days as "the flicks". Snuggled up in the back row, in the dark and musty hall, many a young girl fought off (or didn't!) the advances of her male companion as they watched the likes of Sean Connery, Julie Christie and Sidney Poitier working their magic with glamour, excitement and yet more urban realism.

Photo used under Creative Commons from:Whiskeygonebad(edited)

What I remember about the food of my childhood and teenage years is a (probably unhealthy) mix of meat, pastry, cakes, biscuits and - especially - party food, all washed down with a glass of some lurid-coloured fizzy drink! Even here, though, there was a change in the air: the health-conscious were starting to count calories, a concept unheard of in the deprived post-war era of the '50s; young hippies were converting to vegetarianism; home-grown produce (popular during WW2) was enjoying a comeback; and Asian cuisine was finding its way not only on to the High Street, with restaurants and take-aways, but also into domestic kitchens, where even my own (far from experimental) mother learned how to knock up a mild, fruity curry and rice.

Restaurants were offering starters of fruit juice, soup, chilled melon or the seemingly sophisticated prawn cocktail; main courses of steak, chicken or fish, with "french fries" and vegetables or salad, and sometimes a sauce on the side; and desserts of fresh fruit salad, ice cream or the excitingly new and fashionable treat of Black Forest Gateau! Pubs were also beginning to offer food - namely chicken, fish or scampi, served with chips (UK name for fries) and delivered "in a basket", complete with red-and-white checked paper napkin.

But it was the "party food" of this period of my life that I recall with the most pleasure; perhaps that was because we had a lot of parties in our family, but I believe it was the norm in those days. Savoury delicacies would include sausage rolls, quiches, tiny triangular-cut sandwiches, crisps (chips), vols-au-vents stuffed with creamed chicken or mushroom, and the ubiquitous things-on-sticks (mini sausages, cheese and cocktail onions, cheese and pineapple - everyone's favourite!). The sweet treats would be a selection of biscuits and tiny cakes, possibly a charlotte russe and always a tipsy trifle, liberally dosed with sweet sherry.

Delicious memories indeed!

Photo used under Creative Commons from:drmvm