Describe popular culture in Britain at the beginning of the 1960`s
To many people at the time, they were the “swinging sixties”. They were a decade when fashions changed continuously and young people appeared to have more freedom then ever before. It was time that many people look back on with found memories, but which other blame for some of the failings in society.
The sixties consisted of stars like Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard and Marlin Monroue which I will be mentioning in this essay as well as other stars. These stars were like the modern David Beckham, Tom Cruise and J-lo. In 1958 the National Service ended which was a huge relief for some. People in England were looking to America for their icons, but America band members or artists were not allowed to enter the country, then so people like Cliff Richard was formed. Moreover in the 1960’s Britain had not yet developed its own style therefore was still in America’s shadow. The traditional and cultural values in the 1950’s were now about to change. These were many due to the development of TV, radio and theatre which I will be exploring in this essay. By the end of the 1950’s music was still heavily influenced by America a lot of people were listening to American stars like Elvis Presley. But by the beginning of the 1960’s British artists like Billy Fury, Cliff Richard and Adam Faith all started to appear in the charts. Many of these British starts were producing new records but mainly basing them Elvis rock music.
The British fashion was changing very rapidly and stars like Jackie Kennedy influenced them a lot. Wearing shifts and A-line dressed which had been designed in during the 1954 and 1955 were not worn until the 1960’s. These gave women a new sense of freedom. Moreover the British film was not as popular as it was in America but brand new films featuring pop starts interested a lot of teenagers. There was now new British humour which people had never seen before. Radio was introduced and started showing some distinctive style. Radio shows such as “Beyond the Fringe” was a mocking comedy that criticized the way the country was run making people think more about politics.
Many television programmes were brought so people watch television at home but there were only two channels BBC and ITV which could only run for about five to six hours a day. In 1960 the first episode of “Coronation Street” appeared in black and white in TV sets all over the country. Finally there was theatre which consisted of plays developed to mirror real life situations. As well as this it also helped to break down class barriers. Youth culture began to expand and grow by the late 60’s rival groups such as “Mods” who drove Italian scooters instead of motorbikes were formed also girls began to wear more mini skirts whereas they were very strict. Prices generally went up as wages rose by 34% in the 1960’s.
In some respects it started popular music, fashion and a rise economy. Youth culture changed Britain’s youth forever.In conclusion much of Britain’s popular culture was a mix of American and 1950’s Britain but changes were beginning to develop which would lead to a new British culture and a new era.
