Memories of the Swinging Sixties

I went to see The Beatles at the Hammersmith Odeon a couple of times. My friend and I used to go to the NME Poll Winners Concert which meant we got to see almost everybody. I particularly remember The Stones, The Kinks and Tom Jones. I remember seeing Manfred Mann at a tiny club in Hounslow the week that 54321 made it to number one. A high point was seeing Bob Dylan at the Albert Hall in 1965 or 66 I think.

Helen Shapiro!

bonji Years later we went to a club in Plymouth to hear her singing jazz. She still had a fabulous voice, really suited to jazz.

We also saw Lonnie Donegan there, another memory from my teens.

Talking about my Generation by The Who.. I thought it was so cool..

Reading everyone else's testaments with interest, I hold the 60s in my heart as a special decade, but in truth my experiences didn't amount to much I was barely 17 when the new decade of the '70s began and that was really my time, I went to loads of concerts, saw everyone Led Zeppelin, Bowie, all the big names, but somehow the sixties, a bit like the roaring 20s is remembered as such a seminal decade.

The sixties started for me with the advent of The Beatles, there were a couple of wilderness years before 1963 and then it exploded kind of peaking in the mid 60s. Living near London it felt as if we were at the epicentre of everything that was happening and towards the end of the 60s, the place to be appeared to shift off to the West Coast of America. I particularly remember 1967 when Whiter Shade of Pale was number 1 forever , or seemed like it, and being mesmerised by it's dreamy nonsensical lyrics. Mid teens, friends and I spent much time on the train up to London at the weekends, so we could walk up and down Carnaby Street, not that much of it to walk, unlike The Kings Road, Chelsea which was considerably longer. We enjoyed parading up and down those streets, no money to spend of course, well we could just about afford a pop art carrier bag and that was it from some on trend emporium and that was it! It was a few years hence when I was at work and able to buy a few coveted pieces in Biba which had moved to the big store in Kensington by then.

A friend and I aged about 13 travelled to nearby Weybridge in search of John Lennon's House, which, surprise! surprise! we did find, minus him though only to be expected, but we did get to see the giant model of the Chelsea Boot in the garden. It was in the exclusive enclave of the St George's Hill Estate which wouldn't be accessible now which was adjacent to a very expensive golf course, although somehow I don't think John Lennon was ever attracted to golf the security wasn't a thing then so anyone could just wander about all over the place. George Harrison got married to Patti Boyd in my home town and when friends and I at school we got wind of that, we hot footed it down to the registry office, but sadly it was all over by then.

1965 I'm at university and Marianne Faithfull is singing "As Tears Go By" at our college ball. I'm dancing in the arms of my beloved. We never lost the magic.

Memories, memories, just a magical time. April 1963, with ‘O’ levels to take that summer we went on a weekend school trip to Wicken Bonhunt in Hertfordshire. Before coming home on the Sunday we were all waiting for the countdown show on the radio to confirm that The Beatles had made it to number one with From Me To You. 1963 just a lovely year for me at the age of 16 with good ‘O’ level results to come and the songs of Bobby Vee, Helen Shapiro, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Neil Sedaka, Johnny Tillotson, Billy Fury etc to transport me back to school socials and unforgettable memories. Such a special time that sadly I don’t think today’s young people can experience.

I too loved ‘A whiter shade of pale’ the words were very odd though.

Paul Jones and another from his band, forgotten the name, are on tour at present and we went to see their acoustic set. Really good night.

I liked 1 2 3 by Len Barry. For some odd reason I liked ‘Running Bear’ by Johnny Preston. Also the Marrakesh Express.

Thanks to Alexa I listen to these old favourites over and over.

My latest passion is GI Blues by Elvis.

I would love to time travel and go back to the 60s.

As a teenager I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia. There were several English teenagers living out there (fathers in the Foreign Office) and we had one record. ‘Silence is Golden’ by the Tremoloes and the flip side ‘Crying in the Streets’. We played and played it and it mysteriously disappeared. Never sure which parents were to blame for its loss.

Yep that’s it thanks Just looked up the words was it really deemed bad enough to ban !!!

That was similar to Tell Laura I love her.

‘Terry’ was banned by both BBC and ITV as it was deemed to be in ‘bad taste’.

Crossed posts.

‘Terry’ by Twinkle? BB

By Twinkle!

Was it 'Terry'?

Can you remember Millie and ‘my boy lollipop’ loved Labie Sifre and ‘something so strong’ Then there was the ‘Itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini’ I was an Adam Faith fan couldn’t stand Cliff much too clean cut Elvis for me
What was the song about the girl killed on a motorbike can’t remember the name ?

Waterloo Sunset always takes me back to the 60s. The song was originally written about Waterloo in Liverpool and the dirty old river was the Mersey.
I went to see Cliff Richard with Lulu as supporting act. Can't stand either of them now.

I was in Halls of Residence near Didsbury, but could never get tickets for TOTP. I am jealous. I saw the Hollies as the warm up band to the Stones back in London. Stones were wonderful, Hollies not so much.

Being collected by coach and taken to the church in Didsbury where they filmed Top of the Pops. They thought because we were art students we would be trendy dressers, but we were a scruffy bunch with very little money. We were pushed into a studio and had to dance to Billy,J. Kramer and "Trains and Boats and Planes". Most of us were Stones and Dylan fans. To make matters worse the Hollies were in the next studio rehearsing. Guess where we wanted to be.

Playing truant to see The Beatles, George ❤️ chatting to us, sitting behind them on stage at a TV recording. Seeing The Stones and many more. The clothes, the music.
So many songs bring back memories of those days. Good Vibrations, Sorrow by The Merseybeats, San Francisco - too many to list. I have a particular memory of Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks Black and white fashion, psychedelic fashion, mini skirts, white boots, Dusty Springfield eyes, halter neck evening dresses. Sigh.

We had a very young female PE teacher and whenever I hear Whiter shade of Pale I am back in our school gym on a very hot, summer day laying on the floor listening to that. Prior to her arrival we just did work on the horse, ropes and wall bars but she decided to teach us relaxation which was very new to us all. she played that a lot and it was just lovely to listen in silence.

What a unique decade the 60s were for most of us who were teens then. Great music and fashion, no social media. Every thing ahead of us. Simple stuff...Woolworths sweet counter, Honey magazine, record booths, Etam and Dorothy Perkins, cheap makeup, Biba fashion and shop if you were lucky, Carnaby Street, transistor radios and Dansette record players, Twiggy. All the bands starting out. Just such an exciting time.

I am astonished B9 Exchange, I did not know Cliff Richards lived in Totteridge. I lived there until I married so was there in the sixties. There were lots of celebrities living up on the Common.
had a boyfriend who played base guitar in a band whose lead singer was Cliff’s cousin I believe. I met Cliff at a concert where they were all playing. He seemed very nice and quite reserved but what a change when he sang I think it was ‘ Move It’ couldn’t hear a word above the girlish screams!
. The song I remember was on my first holiday abroad with my best friend. We went by train to Italy on the riviera and everywhere was playing ‘Volare’. Fabulous holiday!

Christmas 1964 at the age of 9 I got my first (second hand) Dansette record player from my parents and a £1 note from my Nanny, which set me off on a lifelong love of music 🎶 and gigs.
Singles were 6s 8d, three for a £1, and I bought Little Children, Down Town and The Three Bells which I still have.

I went to see many groups perform at Mountford Hall Liverpool Andy Fairweather low was one of my favourites.