| Part of thecounterculture of the 1960s | |
 | |
| Date | 1960s |
|---|---|
| Location | United Kingdom |
| Also known as | Swinging London |
| Outcome | Changing social, political and cultural values |
TheSwinging Sixties was ayouth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasisingmodernity and fun-lovinghedonism, withSwinging London denoted as its centre.[1] It saw a flourishing in art, music and fashion, and was symbolised by the city's "pop and fashion exports", such asthe Beatles, as themultimedia leaders of theBritish Invasion of musical acts; themod andpsychedelic subcultures;Mary Quant'sminiskirt designs; popular fashion models such asTwiggy andJean Shrimpton; the iconic status of popular shopping areas such as London'sKing's Road,Kensington andCarnaby Street; the political activism of theanti-nuclear movement; and thesexual liberation movement.[1]
Music was an essential part of the revolution, with "the London sound" being regarded as includingthe Beatles,the Rolling Stones,the Who,the Kinks andthe Small Faces, bands that were additionally the mainstay ofpirate radio stations likeRadio Caroline,Wonderful Radio London andSwinging Radio England.[2] Swinging London also reachedBritish cinema, which according to theBritish Film Institute "saw a surge in formal experimentation, freedom of expression, colour, and comedy", with films that exploredcountercultural andsatirical themes.[1] During this period, "creative types of all kinds gravitated to the capital, from artists and writers to magazine publishers, photographers, advertisers, film-makers and product designers".[2]
Shaping thepopular consciousness of aspirational Britain in the 1960s, the period was aWest End–centred phenomenon regarded as happening among young,middle class people, and was often considered as "simply a diversion" by them. The swinging scene also served as aconsumerist counterpart to the more overtly political and radicalBritish underground of the same period. English cultural geographer Simon Rycroft wrote that "whilst it is important to acknowledge the exclusivity and the dissenting voices, it does not lessen the importance of Swinging London as a powerful moment of image making with very real material effect."[3] The "Swinging" period had ended by the early 1970s.[4]
The Swinging Sixties was ayouth movement emphasising the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and acultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the British economy after post-Second World Warausterity, which lasted through much of the 1950s.[5]
During the 1960s, London underwent a "metamorphosis from a gloomy, grimypost-war capital into a bright, shining epicentre ofstyle".[2] The phenomenon has been agreed to have been caused by the large number of young people in the city—due to thebaby boom of the 1950s—and thepostwar economic boom.[2] Following the abolition of thenational service for men in 1960, these young peopleenjoyed greater freedom and fewer responsibilities than their parents' generation,[2] and "[fanned] changes to social and sexual politics".[1]
The 1966Time magazine issue that coined the "Swinging" name noted: “In this century, every decade has had its city”. It noted that thefin de siècle belonged toVienna, the 1920s toParis, the next periods toBerlin,New York City, and then the "la dolce vita" ofRome in the 1950s, and “Today it is London”.[6]
The Swinging Sixties movement was predominantly a feature of the LondonWest End and not representative of the entire city.[3][7] BritishGQ magazine described: "In the early Sixties, theEast End was as different from the West End as England was from France."[7]David Bailey who was a major figure of the Swinging era, described his native London East End as: “rows and rows of little 1880 houses. People were so poor you’d see market stalls covered in second-hand false teeth. It was quiet there, too, and cars were still something of a novelty, even in the early Sixties.[7]
"The Swinging City" was defined byTime magazine on the cover of its issue of 15 April 1966.[6] In aPiri Halasz article 'Great Britain: You Can Walk Across It on the Grass',[8] the magazine pronounced London the global hub of youthful creativity, hedonism and excitement: "In a decade dominated by youth, London has burst into bloom. It swings; it is the scene",[9][10] and celebrated in the name of thepirate radio station,Swinging Radio England, that began shortly afterwards.
The term "swinging" in the sense ofhip or fashionable had been used since the early 1960s, including byNorman Vaughan in his "swinging/dodgy" patter onSunday Night at the London Palladium. In 1965,Diana Vreeland, editor ofVogue magazine, said that "London is the most swinging city in the world at the moment."[11] Later that year, the American singerRoger Miller had a hit record with "England Swings", although the lyrics mostly relate to traditional notions of Britain.
Already heralded byColin MacInnes' 1959 novelAbsolute Beginners which captured London's emerging youth culture,[12] Swinging London was underway by the mid-1960s and included music bythe Beatles,the Rolling Stones,the Kinks,the Who,Small Faces,the Animals,Dusty Springfield,Lulu,Cilla Black,Sandie Shaw and other artists from what was known in the US as the "British Invasion".[13]Psychedelic rock from artists such asPink Floyd,Cream,Procol Harum,the Jimi Hendrix Experience andTraffic grew significantly in popularity.
Large venues, besides former music halls, includedHyde,Alexandra andFinsbury Parks,Clapham Common and theEmpire Pool (which became Wembley Arena). This sort of music was heard in the United Kingdom on TV shows such as the BBC'sTop of the Pops (where the Rolling Stones were the first band to perform with "I Wanna Be Your Man"), andITV'sReady Steady Go! (which would featureManfred Mann's "5-4-3-2-1" as its theme tune), on commercial radio stations such asRadio Luxembourg,Radio Caroline andRadio London, and from 1967 onBBC Radio One.[14][15]
The Rolling Stones' 1966 albumAftermath has been cited by music scholars as a reflection of Swinging London.Ian MacDonald said, with the album the Stones were chronicling the phenomenon, while Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon called it "the soundtrack of Swinging London, a gift to hip young people".[16]
During the Swinging Sixties, fashion and photography were featured inQueen magazine, which drew attention to fashion designerMary Quant.[17][18] Mod-related fashions such as theminiskirt stimulated fashionable Londonshopping areas such asCarnaby Street andKing's Road,Chelsea.[19][20]Vidal Sassoon created thebob cut hairstyle.[21]
The modelJean Shrimpton was another icon and one of the world's first supermodels.[23] She was the world's highest paid[24] and most photographed model[25] during this time. Shrimpton was called "The Face of the '60s",[26] in which she has been considered by many as "the symbol of Swinging London"[24] and the "embodiment of the 1960s".[27]
LikePattie Boyd, the wife of Beatles guitaristGeorge Harrison, Shrimpton gained international fame for her embodiment of the "British female 'look' – mini-skirt, long, straight hair and wide-eyed loveliness", characteristics that defined Western fashion following the arrival of the Beatles and other British Invasion acts in 1964.[28] Other popular models of the era includedVeruschka,Peggy Moffitt andPenelope Tree. The modelTwiggy has been called "the face of 1966" and "the Queen ofMod", a label she shared with, among others,Cathy McGowan, the host of the television rock showReady Steady Go! from 1964 to 1966.[29]
The British flag, theUnion Jack, became a symbol, assisted by events such as England's home victory in the1966 World Cup. TheJaguar E-Type sports car was a British icon of the 1960s.[30]
In late 1965, photographerDavid Bailey sought to define Swinging London in a series of large photographic prints.[31] Compiled into a set titledBox of Pin-Ups, they were published on 21 November that year.[32] His subjects included actorsMichael Caine andTerence Stamp; musiciansJohn Lennon,Paul McCartney,Mick Jagger and five other pop stars;Brian Epstein, as one of four individuals representing music management; hairdresserVidal Sassoon, ballet dancerRudolf Nureyev,Ad Lib club manager Brian Morris, and theKray twins; as well as leading figures in interior decoration,pop art, photography, fashion modelling, photographic design and creative advertising.[31]
Bailey's photographs reflected the rise of working-class artists, entertainers and entrepreneurs that characterised London during this period. Writing in his 1967 bookThe Young Meteors, journalistJonathan Aitken describedBox of Pin-Ups as "aDebrett of the new aristocracy".[33]
The phenomenon was featured in many films of the time, includingDarling (1965) starringJulie Christie,The Pleasure Girls (1965),[34]The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965),Michelangelo Antonioni'sBlowup (1966),Alfie (1966),Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966),Georgy Girl (1966),Kaleidoscope (1966),The Sandwich Man (1966),The Jokers (1967),Casino Royale (1967) starringPeter Sellers,Smashing Time (1967),To Sir, with Love (1967),Bedazzled (1967) starringDudley Moore andPeter Cook,Poor Cow (1967),I'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967),Tonite Let's All Make Love in London (1967),Up the Junction (1968),Joanna (1968),Otley (1968),Interlude (1968),The Strange Affair (1968),Baby Love (1968),The Touchables (1968),Wonderwall (1968),Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (1968),All Neat in Black Stockings (1969),The Italian Job (1969),Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969),The Magic Christian (1969),Performance (1970), andDeep End (1970).[35]
The comedy filmsAustin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) andAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), written by and starringMike Myers, resurrected the imagery of the Swinging London scene (but were filmed in Hollywood), as did the 2009 filmThe Boat That Rocked.[30] Another film about the era,Hippie Hippie Shake, was shelved.[36]
1950s and 1960s: the post-war investment boom. When the Queen came to the throne, the UK economy was still in its post-war boom period
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Working Title insists that the film won't go straight to DVD, with a smallish 100-print release scheduled for next February.
