Paul Kantner, co-founder of Jefferson Airplane, once famously observed that if you can remember anything about the sixties you weren’t really there and it’s certainly true that, for many, the decade passed in a haze of love and illicit substances.
However, if you really can’t remember the 1960s – or are too young to have experienced it first-hand – don’t panic. From 15th October 2009 to January 24th 2010 Britain’s National Portrait Gallery is to present Beatles to Bowie: the 60s exposed. This ambitious exhibition will bring together 150 photographs, plus associated memorabilia that will explain why, for a brief period, London became the world’s cultural capital.
Visitors will be treated to the complete sixties experience, with photographs of icons such as Cliff Richard, Billy Fury, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, Marianne Faithfull and The Who. The arrival on the scene of David Bowie heralded the end of the decade, setting the scene for the seventies and the advent of Ziggy Stardust and so-called glam rock.
Whether you can remember firsthand such events as the Summer of Love and the release of Sergeant Pepper or not, this is a chance to immerse yourself in the era when Carnaby Street was the centre of the fashion world and British music achieved worldwide domination.
BIG
