[Intro - Play: "Strawberry Fields Forever" by the Beatles]. "Strawberry Fields Forever" really demonstrates how new types of recording experiments were to establish a more psychedelic sound for the late 1960s; it contained more insightful lyricism than previous pop songs - a trend which was to be adopted by other songwriters of this era. It was also really rather groovy baby!
By 1965, "Pop" was a dominant force; in musical terms and in a wider cultural context. As we've already seen, mass produced throwaway society started a bit earlier in the United States than in the UK. In the 50s the British saw America as this shiny world full of exciting stuff to buy, which simply wasn't available in the UK. There was still rationing from the second world war in the 50s in Britain, and things were very auster, but America was undergoing a huge transformation. Supermarkets were invented, the drive by cinema was the entertainment of choice, and fast food for extra convenience could be purhcase - this was the new disposable age. Even British Artists were inspired by this. We think of the 60s as the era of Pop, and this was its classic age, but Pop's roots were laid down in the 1950's by British Artists such as Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi (later Art tutor of "fifth Beatle" Stuart Sutcliffe"), who were both dazzled and curious about this Brave New World. Later, American Artists in the 60s, such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein were to become more well known for this "Pop Art", but it orginated in the UK. Images of celebrity, everyday mass items such as the soup can, depersonalised images from the newreels of the new media, television, were depicted in their work. They worshipped at the alter of the new, and they helped to create a culture of advertising which has become even more heightened in the times we live in now.
Along with these visuals, the new "pop" music that was by this point becoming quite established, would become the dominant music type in the western world. The Beatles had made popular music more acceptable to an older and more straight-laced audience. What had started out as teenage rebellion with the the rock n roll of the 50's had gradually morphed into music that many adults could now listen to, and accept. As a result, a divide was beginning to crop up between the mainstream "pop" and edgier "rock" music which was starting to position itself as a more "cool" alternative to parent-friendly pop. Pop and rock have been doing battle ever since.
The popularity of British acts such as the Beatles and other Measeybeat types was to have three effects. First it became a clarion-call for other bored working class kids to drive their parents mad with noisey guitar practice in the garage; secondly, once they'd learnt to play said guitars, they then hoped to top the UK charts, which then only left room for the third option, world domination (or shorthand for conquering America anyway). This continuous influx of bands into the States has now been given a name by Americans, and they called it the "British Invasion", fighting talk surely, but then for the first time we were showing the Americans how it should be done, and they were doing it!
There was one band above all, who over the years have virtually been adopted by the Americans, a group of skinny, peculiar looking guys who looked like they might be trouble, the Rolling Stones. They initially went to number one in the States with a stomping tune called "Can't get no Satisfaction". At this time there were quite a few British bands experimenting with a strong, raw RnB sound such as the Yardbirds, the Animals, early Fleetwood Mac and the kings of killer riffs, the Kinks. More here please.
In 1966 the Beatles played their last concert, and retreated to the recording Studio. The masses of constantly screaming girls at gigs meant that they couldn't hear themselves performing their own songs on stage. A new era of experimentation in the studio was pioneered by the Beatles, along with their Producer George Martin, at the famous Abbey Road studios. This was to have a huge influence on how modern music acts worked in the studio. When Elvis was at Sun Studios in the 50s, the sound depended pretty much on how far away the musicians were stood away from the microphone. If you wanted the bass to sound louder, the bass player would just move nearer the mike, and if you needed less base, then the opposite would happen! But the studio was increasing becoming a very different place from the environment during those first pioneering days of rock "n" roll. There were more technicians, engineers and Producers were essential. Production during the late 60s was becoming as important as the original structure of the songs. Recordings weren't usually done in one "take" anymore.
A new kind of popular music springs up - the hippy music borrows from folk music, beat poetry - especially the writings of the beat generation, and Eastern mysticism and music. San Francisco and the summer of Love (1967). The beatniks. Even British folklore.
The birth of the underground. Young people created their own popular press with specialist zines, put on their own gigs and festivals - a reaction against the rampant consumerism that was driving the nation at the time.
The Beatles were one of the first artists to encompass many of these new concepts. When they first retreated into the studio, they were trying all kinds of revoultionary recording techniques under the tutelage of their producer George Martin. George Harrison was an early learner of the sitar and also influence the Beatles to visit a guru in India
In the States a singer called Bob Dylan was to have a huge impact on music and youth culture in general - he spoke about working for "the man" on tracks such as "Down on Maggie's Farm". There was much political activism against the war in Vietnam; the black conciousness movement was gathering pace and women's liberation was beginning to come to the forefront of cultural politics. Popular music for the first time began to have a political life-force - rebellious counter cultures weren't just about reacting to your parents, but about trying to change the world.
Clothing….bands from the early sixties wore
Mantra of the mid-60's onwards was "turn on, tune in, drop out"
Dylan goes electric.
The concept album begins
The end of the teeange dream - hippie hangover. The Rolling Stones at Altamount.
The Beatles were to break up in 1970.
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