The cover of Jon Savage’s 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded
Jon Savage brings his new book 1966 to Liverpool with the acclaimed journalist live in conversation Getintothis’ Paul Fitzgerald previews an anthology of the year pop made one of its biggest marks
Acclaimed music writer Jon Savage is to appear live in conversation with Kevin Sampson next Thursday to discuss his new work, 1966. The writer, best known for his brilliant and definitive history of punk, England’s Dreaming, has, in this new work, created a monument to the year that came to define the very peak of the decade.
Pop music, art, fashion, and politics, together with the newly discovered and widespread use of recreational drugs, brought about a change in minds, a change in attitudes, massive sweeping cultural changes which still inspire to this day, some 50 years later.
The book, which has already seen widespread acclaim, explores the year chronologically beginning with obscure Birmingham band The Ugly’s and their forbidding nuclear warning track The Quiet Explosion, and takes in themes such as the Vietnam War, women’s rights and the LSD boom through the lense of pop culture along the way.
In terms of popular culture, nothing would be the same after ’66, the year that saw 7 inch singles outsell the album for the first time. Taking the lead from the music of bands such as The Beatles, The Who, The Velvet Underground, The Byrds and The Kinks, Savage archives these important pop culture moments with an archival and instinctive clarity.
Savage joins Kevin Sampson to discuss all things 66 on Thursday 14 January at 6.30pm.
Tickets, priced at £3 are available in advance from Waterstones in Liverpool One, or on the night.
