1964: The Year the Swinging Sixties Began

by Christopher Sandford

A kaleidoscopic social history of the year that shaped the modern world

1964  is a living history of one of the most pivotal years in the twentieth century. In Britain, a new Labor government promised to bring the 'white heat of technology'. The Beatles and Rolling Stones cemented their grip on the charts, while the introduction of BBC Two ended the two-channel monopoly and brought the first-ever broadcasts of Top of the Pops  and Match of the Day . The rapid availability of the female contraceptive pill brought with it the sexual revolution, while the launch of The Sun  redefined at a stroke what a popular daily paper could look like. On the world stage, this was the year of the escalating Vietnam War, Nelson Mandela's sentence to life imprisonment and the first official warnings about the dangers of smoking cigarettes. Drawing on previously unpublished diaries and interviews, Christopher Sandford tells the full and colorful story of the year that ushered in the modern era.

Genres: History, Music, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Published February 29, 2024

About the author

Christopher Sandford has published acclaimed biographies of Kurt Cobain, Steve McQueen, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, and Roman Polanski. He has worked as a film and music writer and reviewer for over 20 years and frequently contributes to newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic. Rolling Stone has called him "the preeminent author in his field today."

His latest project, MASTERS OF MYSTERY (forthcoming November 2011, Palgrave Macmillan) explores Arthur Conan Doyle's and Harry Houdini's incredible friendship and fascination with Spiritualism.

Reviews

[Chris thewlis]

Nostalgia brilliantly researched and written.

Thoroughly enjoyable read. Was Britain really on the verge of such a wonderfully exciting time from this year on throughout the rest of the decade? Hard to believe when there is rather a lot of doom and gloom written in the pages of this book ,not only about the UK but the goings on throughout the rest of the world, due in no small part due to its leaders. Excellent book!

[Simon Jones]

This is a very readable and enjoyable romp through the history of 1964, reminiscent of the output of Dominic Sandbrook. It's very heavy on the activities of the Beatles and the Stones during the year in question, probably because the author's written books about both groups before. In addition, Sandford has a preference for the salacious over the serious; this isn't an academic work. However, after reading it, I felt informed as well as entertained.

[Steve Marshall]

Tom Wolfe once wrote that the sixties didn’t begin until the Beatles arrived in America in 1964. This is a detailed and readable exploration of that pivotal year