First published in 1970 - George Melly’s book was essential to anyone interested in understanding the seismic cultural shifts in 1960’s popular culture - whether it was music, art, literature , film or fashion.
Its significance lies in the fact it was a very early look at the cultural changes taking place, by someone who was part of the scene - but yet slightly outside of it -by virtue of being about 15 years older than the contemporary 60’s artists.
I read it in the early 80’s when there was still no real clear academic analysis of the 60’s.
George Melly (1926-2007) was a Liverpool born ,flamboyant jazz singer, raconteur and journalist.
I was privileged to have met him at a gig at Ronnie Scotts jazz club in London in the early 90’s.
Ever the humorous raconteur - his book really explained what was happening with his assertion that each new generation was seeking novelty and to be different from the previous one.
You could say he predicted the rise of punk in the mid 70’s and the ever -changing musical landscape which encompassed fashion and art …which in turn had been influenced by glam rock which emerged in the early 1970’s.
We have had 50 years of music journalism looking at this period and trying to understand it.
What makes Melly’s book unique is that he was the first -and he set the bar high for its readability and explanation of this unique era.
Check it out here: