The sixties have lasted a long time! in The odd entries from life …….

Fifty years ago …..

Billboard Hot 100. One – Can’t Buy Me Love, Two – Twist And Shout, Three – She Loves You, Four – I Want To Hold Your Hand and Five – Please Please Me.

Earlier in the year we had programmes about the Beatles braking in to America via the Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles had done their thing in Britain and Europe in 1963, I remember them going to the USA in January 64; and the multitude of screaming fans to see John Paul George and Ringo off! I was twelve when this was happing, and here we are fifty years on; and I’m trying not to do the maths!

All this was brought up by ITV Television showing ‘A Grammy Salute’ programme ‘The Beatles: The Night That Changed America’ I suppose that was when the 60’s began to swing, well London was swinging the further away from our capital we were; the latter the swinging arrived!

I have felt I was lucky to be young then, British bands flowed across the Atlantic in the footsteps of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones were our second band, they lead the English rhythm and Blues invasion; taking coals to Newcastle! Kith Richards was asked ‘great music – where did it come from’ Richards replied ‘It’s your music you haven’t been tacking attention’

While the Beatles and the Stones were becoming the top bands I was listening to the Yeardbirds, a band that never reach to top but had our greatest guitar players in there line up, Eric Clapton - Jeff Beck and then Jimmy Page. For me the best British band of the sixties was Cream, also I was fan of Simon and Garfunkel, I enjoyed their take on British folk songs, the bands I really liked all had one thing in common, they all broke up – Pink Floyd being the third band I liked.

I only saw Pink Floyd of those three bands live, I did see the Yeardbirds in there latter years, when the preformed at the Music Hall in Shrewsbury. Cream formed up a few years ago but I didn’t get tickets, it’s strange how things work, two days before the Cream concert in London Par-in-law had a stroke; so I wouldn’t have got there ….

Next year The Who are going to have a last world tour, I intend to see them after fifty years, the sixties have lasted a long time!

Last updated May 03, 2014