Since WW2 and the following years of rationing, most British household’s preferred way of eating was based on “meat and two veg.” The following are some of the most popular dishes in 1960s UK, top of the list being Sunday roast with chicken, beef, pork or lamb.
Fish fingers Beans on toast Shepherd’s pie Boiled egg and soldiers Bangers and mash Fish and chips Scrambled Egg Beef Stew Pie & chips/mash Pork/lamb chops Steak & kidney pie Toad in the hole Jacket potato (with cheese and beans) Chicken casserole Omelette Cheese toasties Liver & onions
And the more exotic creeping in (especially in dinner parties):
Meatballs
Chicken a la king
Duck a l’orange
Beef Bourguignon
Spaghetti Bolognese
Pigs in blankets
Vol au vents
Shrimp/prawn cocktail
Pineapple and cheese ‘hedgehog’
Fondue
Ritz crackers with Dairylea cheese triangles
Vesta curries and Chow mein
And for afters:
Ambrosia rice pudding
Pineapple upside down cake
Baked Alaska
Tunnel of fudge cake
Mousse (jelly + evaporated milk)
Angel delight/Instant whip
Sherry trifle
Drink Beer was by far the most popular alcoholic drink in the 60s. People generally preferred bitter and increasingly one of the more popular keg brands: Watneys Red Barrel, Double Diamond, Whitbread Tankard or Younger’s Tartan, or pale ale. Lager was gaining popularity in the sixties; the well known brands being Carlsberg, Heineken, Skol or Harp. At home people drank bottled beer rather than cans.
Before the 1960s wine was only drunk by the upper classes. Now Blue Nun, Chianti and Mateus Rose were the wines of choice. Popular French white wines included Chablis, Poully-Fuissé, Macon, White Graves, Sauternes (sweet wine) German wines – Moselle, Hock, Riesling Rosé – Rosé D’Anjou, Mateus Red wines – Bordeaux (Clarets – Médoc or St Emilion) Chianti (the bottles were used to hold candles) Babycham was a favourite with the ladies along with Cinzano, also port and lemon and rum and coke were popular. For spirits, Haig whiskey, VAT 69 and Remy Martin cognac.
Soft drinks included ‘health’ drinks Ribena and Lucozade, and many fizzies, delivered to your door by the “pop man”: Cherryade, Tizer, Wrights lemonade, dandelion and burdock, creme soda and ginger beer. Squash (or cordial) flavours included orange, blackcurrant and lemon barley water. Hot drinks apart from the ubiquitous tea saw instant coffee growing in popularity, and many people ended the day with a milky nightcap of Cocoa, Bournvita, or the gloriously malty Ovaltine and Horlicks.
’64 was a fine vintage for pop music with Beatlemania hitting the US, Top of the Pops debuting on UK TV, and the Rolling Stones having a sucessful US tour. Davie Jones & King Bees released their debut single “I Can’t Help Thinking About Me.” The group disbanded but the lead singer went on to have a long, fabulous career as David Bowie. It was probably the hardest choice yet knowing what to exclude. I’d forgotten how many top tunes there were in 1964.
1. The Searchers – Needles And Pins 01-64 2. Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas – Little Children – 03-64 3. Peter & Gordon – A World Without Love – 04-64 4. The Animals – House Of The Rising Sun – 07-64 5. The Bachelors – Ramona – 06-64 6. Cilla Black – Anyone Who Had A Heart – 02-64 7. Petula Clark – Downtown – 12-64 8. Doris Day – Move Over Darling – 04-64 9. The Dave Clark Five – Bits And Pieces – 02-64 10. The Kinks – You Really Got Me – 08-64 11. Kathy Kirby – Secret Love – 11-63 12. Sandie Shaw – Always Something There To Remind Me – 10-64 13. Dusty Springfield – I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself – 07-64
And here’s the ones which make it into the top 13.
Dionne Warwick – Walk On By – 05-64
Dave Berry – The Crying Game – 09-64
The Merseybeats – Wishin’ And Hopin’ – 08-64
Mary Wells – My Guy – 06-64
The Honeycombs – Have I The Right? – 08-64
Manfred Mann – Do Wah Diddy Diddy – 07-64
The Kinks – All Day And All Of The Night – 11-64
The Zombies – She’s Not There – 09-64
The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night – 07-64
The Shangri-Las – Remember (Walkin’ In The Sand) – 11-64
Freddie & The Dreamers – You Were Made For Me – 11-63
The Beach Boys – I Get Around – 08-64
The Supremes – Baby Love – 11-64
The Hollies – Here I Go Again – 06-64
Dean Martin – Everybody Loves Somebody – 09-64
The Swinging Blue Jeans – The Hippy Hippy Shake – 01-64
Roy Orbison – Oh Pretty Woman – 09-64
The Rolling Stones – It’s All Over Now – 07-64
The Ronettes – Baby I Love You 02-64
Millie – My Boy Lollipop – 04-64
The 1960s saw a dramatic change in menswear – for the past 150 years, clothing for men had been tailor-made, and plain and sombre in appearance. Men’s fashion was generally based on a conservative template people didn’t question: a shirt and tie; a plain, handmade suit; a jumper hand-knitted by a relative. Designer John Stephen opened his first boutique in Carnaby Street in 1957, selling cheap, sharp and colourful suits to men who became an important influence on London’s street style.
Young men dressed much the same way as their fathers did. But in the late 1950s, the Mods (short for ‘Modernists’) signalled the birth of a confident new youth culture, demanding clothes that made a statement. In London, people began wearing clothes heavily influenced by Continental style, specifically Italian slimline suits, with their ‘bumfreezer’ short jackets, and the beatnik looks of the Parisian Left Bank.
As the 1960s gathered pace, the standard template for a man’s suit began to accommodate subtly daring new elements: the collarless jacket (a look popularised by The Beatles in 1963, the year they launched their first album) and slim-fitting trousers, matched with heeled boots rather than shoes. Boutiques selling off-the-peg menswear spread across London, while traditional tailors and shirt-makers began to embrace society’s increasingly informal new mood. Flamboyant elements such as embroidery and vividly printed shirts became acceptable parts of the everyday male dress code. The frenetic energy of Swinging London found its way across the country with bright prints and colours for men – a striking change after such a long period of stagnation. Ties widened as the decade progressed, and shirts incorporated brighter colours and patterns, influenced more by rock stars replacing the movie stars who’d been the primary style icons for several decades.
By the mid-1960s, fashion-conscious young Londoners were challenging the staid rules of masculine etiquette that had persisted since Victorian times. Circulating in the overlapping worlds of fashion, music, the (newly influential) media and high society, a social group forged a bold new identity – the ‘modern dandy’, unashamed to wear frills, velvet and other elements previously judged to be too feminine for a man. A group of entrepreneurs capitalised on this shift in taste, setting up shops that married traditional tailoring techniques with the design flair of graduates from recently established Menswear courses. Around 1963, two distinct subcultures emerged: Mods and Rockers.
Mods were driven by fashion and music, and many rode scooters. They wore suits and other cleancut outfits, and listened to music genres such as modern jazz, soul, Motown and ska. Also British blues-rooted bands like the Yardbirds, the Small Faces, and the Who, who wrote a portrait of the cultures with their 1973 album Quadrophenia. The Rockers’ life revolved around motorcycling and they generally wore protective clothing such as black leather jackets and motorcycle boots. The style was influenced by Marlon Brando in the 1953 film The Wild One. The common rocker hairstyle was a pompadour, while their music genre of choice was 1950s rock and roll and R&B, played by artists including Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, and Bo Diddley, as well as British musicians such as Billy Fury and Johnny Kidd.
Men’s fashion was influenced by military elements, with many rock influences contributing to its popularity. In 1966, Mick Jagger wore a Victorian guardsman’s jacket during a televised performance on Ready Steady Go! He and Jimi Hendrix both sported military jackets during performances, while The Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band showed the band wearing neon versions of the styles. Partly thanks to this style, army-and-navy surplus clothing stores and second-hand stores became popular in the late 1960s. Menswear saw an influence from space as Pierre Cardin designed futuristic clothing for men, too. Although his ‘Cosmos’ collection of 1966/7 was too extreme to enter the mainstream, elements of the look such as turtle-neck sweaters, and zipped tunics in bonded jersey, were worn with more accessible styles.
At the end of the decade, violence in Vietnam and student uprisings in France signalled newly aware times, and consumerist enthusiasm for ‘the next new thing’ began to feel inappropriate. A growing interest in historic revival and various cultures encouraged British people to trawl second-hand shops looking for vintage clothes – particularly the fashions of the 1930s and 1940s and men’s suits began to widen again. People sought garments with connections to other parts of the world to create looks through less consumerist means, rejecting the synthetic materials of the earlier part of the decade. Like women’s fashion, menswear turned to Eastern influences, and the boldly patterned suit jacket George Harrison wore in the mid-sixties foreshadowed the style to come.
Tie-dye, loose-fitting shirts, and velvet vests were all a part of the men’s hippie aesthetic in the later part of the 1960s while colour continued to remain front and centre. As the 1960s moved into the 1970s, taking inspiration from the 1930s and 1940s, lapels and trousers took on exaggeratedly wide dimensions, and the traditional distinctions between menswear and womenswear became blurred. Blue denim jeans, at first a counter-cultural garment, were widely worn and promoted by global brands.
1. The Beatles – I Want To Hold Your Hand – 12-63
2. Dusty Springfield – I Only Want To Be With You – 11-63
3. Kathy Kirby – Secret Love – 11-63
4. Andy Williams – Can’t Get Used To Losing You – 04-63
5. The Dave Clark Five – Glad All Over – 12-63
6. Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas – Do You Want To Know A Secret – 05-63
7. The Crystals – Then He Kissed Me – 09-63
8. The Bachelors – Charmaine – 03-63
9. The Four Seasons – Big Girls Don’t Cry – 02-63
10. Cliff Richard – Summer Holiday – 02-63
11. Rick Nelson – Fools Rush In – 11-63
12. Gene Pitney – Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa – 12-63
13. The Chiffons – He’s So Fine – 05-63
And the ones that got away: The Ronettes – Be My Baby – 10-63 Peter, Paul & Mary – Blowin’ In The Wind – 11-63 The Singing Nun – Dominique – 12-63 Gerry & The Pacemakers – You’ll Never Walk Alone – 10-63 The Beatles – She Loves You – 08-63 The Crystals – Da Doo Ron Ron – 06-63 The Springfields – Island Of Dreams – 02-63 The Surfaris – Wipe Out – 08-63 Mel Tormé – Coming Home Baby – 01-63 Bobby Vee – The Night Has A Thousand Eyes – 02-63
This was very much the age of the space-race, with huge investment in the technology required to get a man into space, and many advances in miniaturisation thanks to the first silicon chip.
1960 Artificial sun tanning cream is developed. Jan 1: The USS George Washington, a state-of-the-art nuclear-powered submarine, is commissioned. Apr 1: Tiros 1, the first weather satellite, is launched. May 16: Theodore Maiman used a synthetic ruby to produce a laser. Aug 25: A Halogen Lamp which could fit into a standard lightbulb socket was invented by a general electric engineer, Fredrick Moby.
1961 The USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, run by eight nuclear reactors, is commissioned by the US Navy. Jan 31: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launches into space a capsule containing a chimpanzee, and successfully recovers the animal. Feb 6: Texas Instruments files a patent for the first “Solid Circuit” silicon chip used in electronics, invented by Jack Kilby. Apr 1: Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin is the first Russian launched into space. Apr 23: The first industrial robot arm was used in a die-casting factory. Apr 25: The first patent for an integrated circuit awarded to Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductors. May 5: Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. is the first American launched into space
1962 Kelvinator produces a dishwasher that employs high-frequency sound waves, rather than soap and water. Feb 14: Space War Video Game Realeased. This was the first computer game invented by Steve Russell, and the team took 200 hours to write the game. Jun 19: The first compact audio cassette tape released by Philips in the Netherlands. Jun 16: Cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova is the first woman in space. Dec 14: The U.S. scientific space probe Mariner 2 reaches Venus 109 days after its launch.
1963 The USS Atlantis II clearly photographs the ocean floor. Oct 27: Video Disk invented by Dr. David Paul Gregg – a camera which could store several minutes’ worth of images onto an optical video disk.
1964 IBM produces a new product, the word processor, a hybrid of the typewriter and computer. May 1: BASIC (early computer language) invented by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz. Aug 5: Congress establishes the National Commission on Technology, Automation and Economic Progress, to analyze the impact of automation on unemployment.
1965 A computer at the New York Stock Exchange answers questions over the telephone using an artificial voice. Traffic control in Chicago, New York, and Detroit becomes computerized Jan 1: The first soft contact lens (invented by Kevin Tuohy in 1948) available. Feb 17: Ranger 8, a moon probe, blasts off into space and sends back more than seven thousand images of the moon’s surface before crashing into the lunar Sea of Tranquillity. Jul 15: Mariner 4 sends the first close-up photographs of Mars. Aug 5: Kevlar invented by Stephanie Kwolek – five times stronger than the same weight of steel. Aug 17: Compact Disk: the optical digital technology was initially met with scepticism, as people didn’t believe sound could be digitized.
1966 Jun 2: Sorcerer I makes the first soft landing on the moon. July: Fibre Optics proposed in England by Charles Keo and George Hockham. This study first theorized about using glass fibres to implement optical communication, the ideas (especially structural features and materials) described are the basis of today’s optical fibre communications. Sep 1: 1st video game that could be displayed on TV – Television engineer Ralph Baer created “The Brown Box.”
1967 Computer keyboards are developed, allowing immediate access between the operator and the computer. RCA develops a compact television camera weighing just over two pounds. A cordless, battery-powered telephone is developed. A solar-powered house is built. Mar 1: The first overseas direct telephone dialling begins. Aug 25: First Handheld calculator invented by Texas Instruments
1968 Scientists use radar to map the surface of Venus. The picosecond, the smallest period of time detectable, is measured at Bell Laboratories. Jan 1: First RAM chip – random-access memory allowed data to be accessed randomly, not just in the sequence it was recorded. Aug 16: The Poseidon 3, a new missile that can be launched from submarines, is tested. Oct 11: Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo flight, begins a seven-day mission. Dec 9: First computer mouse publicly unveiled in 1968 by the inventor, Douglas C. Engelbart.
1969 William Ducie and Tom Parry Jones developed and marketed the first electronic breathalyser. The Road Safety Act 1967 introduced the first legally enforceable maximum blood alcohol level for drivers in the UK and introduced the roadside breathalyser, made available to police forces across the country. Jan 22: The Atomic Energy Commission announces completion of the world’s largest superconducting magnet. Jul 16: Apollo 11 is launched. This flight culminates in the landing of the first human on the surface of the moon. Sep 2: Fred J. Gentile and Jack Wu Chang invented the ATM network and were recognized by the United States Patent Office. The first ATM in the United States was installed in Rockville Centre, New York. Oct 29: The first documented ARPANET connection was from UCLA to SRI. The ARPANET’s technology and deployment laid the foundation for the development of the Internet. Nov 18: Americans land on the moon for the second time in Apollo 12.
1. Chris Montez – Let’s Dance – 10-62 2. Brian Hyland – Sealed With A Kiss – 08-62 3. Neil Sedaka – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do – 08-62 4. Little Eva – The Loco-Motion – 09-62 5. B. Bumble & The Stingers – Nut Rocker – 04-62 6. Ray Charles – Your Cheatin’ Heart – 12-62 7. Cliff Richard – The Young Ones – 01-62 8. Chubby Checker – Let’s Twist Again – 01-62 9. The Everly Brothers – Cryin’ In The Rain – 01-62 10. The Four Seasons – Sherry – 10-62 11. Dion – The Wanderer – 03-62 12. Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling In Love – 02-62 13. Carole King – It Might As Well Rain Until September – 09-62
And the ones that got away: Cliff Richard – Bachelor Boy – 12-62 Brenda Lee – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – 12-62 Ray Charles – I Can’t Stop Loving You – 06-62 Sam Cooke – Twistin’ The Night Away – 03-62 Frank Ifield – I Remember You – 07-62 Bruce Channel – Hey! Baby – 03-62 Bernard Cribbins – Right Said Fred – 07-62 Nat ‘King’ Cole – Let There Be Love – 08-62 Elvis Presley – Return To Sender – 11-62
This was definitely the Aussie’s decade when it came to Wimbledon, with an astonishing number of all-Australian singles and doubles finals. The World Snooker Championship, which had been played every year since 1927 (apart from 1941 to 1945 because of World War II) was not held between 1958 and 1963 due to declining interest from players.
1960 The Grand National hit British TV screens live for the first time ever in its 114th year. The steeplechase was won by nine-year-old Merryman II, who, at odds of 13/2, became the first clear favourite to win for 33 years. The Wimbledon all-Australian men’s final saw Neale Fraser beating Rod Laver, and the women’s saw Brazilian Maria Bueno defeat South African Sandra Reynolds. David Broome (Show jumper) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Don Thompson (Athlete).
Aussie Kel Nagle won the British Open Golf Championship, beating American Arnold Palmer. A new Eurovision television circuit meant the Rome Olympics reached a greater worldwide television audience than ever before. While Anita Lonsborough and David Broome won gold for Britain, perhaps the most enduring domestic memory of the games is Don Thompson, who prepared for the heat by training in his bathroom and triumphed in the 50 kilometres walk.
1961 The Wimbledon all-British women’s final saw Angela Mortimer beating Christine Truman, and the men’s saw Aussie Rod Laver defeat American Chuck McKinley. Stirling Moss (Formula One) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Billy Walker (Boxer). American Arnold Palmer won the British Open Golf Championship, beating Welshman Dai Rees.
1962 The Wimbledon all-Australian men’s final saw Rod Laver beating Martin Mulligan, and the women’s saw American Karen Susman defeat Czech Vera Sukova. Anita Lonsbrough (Swimmer) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Dorothy Hyman (Athlete). American Arnold Palmer won the British Open Golf Championship, beating Aussie Bob Charles. England were the only British side to reach the 1962 Football world cup finals. But Brazil knocked them out in the quarter finals and went home with the trophy.
1963 The Wimbledon men’s final saw American Chuck McKinley beating Australian Fred Stolle, and the women’s saw Aussie Margaret Smith defeat American Billie Jean Moffat. Dorothy Hyman (Athlete) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Bobby McGregor (Swimmer). Aussie Bob Charles won the British Open Golf Championship, beating American Phil Rodgers. A left hook from British Boxer Henry Cooper floored Cassius Clay at Wembley in 1963. But Clay was saved by the bell and went on to triumph over Cooper.
1964 The Wimbledon all-Australian men’s final saw Roy Emerson beating Fred Stolle, and the women’s saw Brazilian Maria Bueno defeat Aussie Margaret Smith. World Snooker champion was John Pullman (ENG), who beat Fred Davis (ENG), who had won it 8 times – his brother Joe won 15 times in the 1920s and 30s.
Mary Rand (Athlete) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Barry Briggs (Speedway). Tony Jacklin won the British Open Golf Championship, beating Aussie Bob Charles. Olympic Games in Tokyo. Britain picked up a long jump double with Mary Rand picking up Great Britain’s first ever gold in women’s athletics and Lynn Davies upsetting the form book in the men’s event. Ann Packer matched their achievements with a stunning run in the 800 metres.
1965 The Wimbledon all-Australian men’s final saw Roy Emerson beating Fred Stolle, and the women’s saw Aussie Margaret Smith defeat Brazilian Maria Bueno. Tom Simpson (Cyclist) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Jim Clarke (Formula One). World Snooker champion was John Pullman (ENG), who beat Rex Williams (ENG) and Fred Davis (ENG) in challenge matches. Tony Jacklin won the British Open Golf Championship, beating Welshman Brian Huggett and Irishman Christy O’Connor Snr.
1966 The Wimbledon men’s final saw Spaniard Manuel Santana beating American Dennis Ralston, and the women’s saw American Billie Jean King (nee Moffat) defeat Brazilian Maria Bueno. Bobby Moore (Footballer) was voted Sports Personality of the Year , beating Barry Briggs (Speedway).
World Snooker champion was John Pullman (ENG), who beat Rex Williams (ENG), Fred Van Rensburg (SAF) and Fred Davis (ENG) in challenge matches. American Jack Nicklaus won the British Open Golf Championship, beating American Doug Sanders and Welshman Dave Thomas. Geoff Hurst hit a hat-trick as England clinched their only Football World Cup victory. England beat West Germany 4-2 at Wembley and the nation went wild.
1967 Wimbledon saw the first scheduled UK colour broadcast. The men’s final had Australian John Newcombe beating German Wilhelm Bungert, and the women’s saw American Billie Jean King defeat Brit Anne Jones. Henry Cooper (Boxer) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Beryl Burton (Cyclist). Tony Jacklin won the British Open Golf Championship, beating American Jack Nicklaus. Celtic lifted the European Cup.
1968 The Wimbledon all-Australian men’s final saw Rod Laver beating Tony Roache, and the women’s saw American Billie Jean King defeat Aussie Judy Tegart. David Hemery (Athlete) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Graham Hill (Formula One). World Snooker champion was John Pullman (ENG), who beat Eddie Charlton (AUS). Tony Jacklin won the British Open Golf Championship, beating Aussie Bob Charles and American Jack Nicklaus.
Mexico Olympics. They were broadcast live and in glorious colour, and largely due to the altitude, a total of 34 world and 38 Olympic records were set. Bob Beamon broke the World Long jump record and American high jumper Dick Fosbury won gold with his ‘flop’ style that was to revolutionise the event and replace the conventional straddle technique. David Hemery broke the world record as he stormed to victory in the 400 metres hurdles. Manchester United lifted the European Cup.
1969 The Wimbledon all-Australian men’s final saw Rod Laver beating John Newcombe, and the women’s saw Brit Anne Jones defeat American Billie Jean King. Anne Jones (Tennis) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Tony Jacklin (Golfer). World Snooker champion was John Spencer (ENG), who beat Gary Owen (WAL). Tony Jacklin won the British Open Golf Championship, beating Aussie Bob Charles.
The early 60s saw a continuation of the 1950s fashion-wise, with skirt suits and coordinating accessories. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy epitomized this look during her husband’s short presidency. She was admired around the world for her put-together, lady-like look consisting of boxy skirt-suits like Givenchy suits, sheath and A-line dresses, and luxurious coats–all accessorized with white gloves, pearls, and a matching hat. Some common elements of her style included: pillbox hat, suits in pastel colours, short boxy-style jackets, shift dresses, oversized sunglasses, pearls.
The middle of the decade was very much influenced by the cultural phenomenon termed Swinging London which focused on youth, spotlighting music and fashion, the epicentre being the famous Carnaby Street. It brought us The Beatles and the miniskirt, Twiggy and The Who. The designer who led the way in the “youthquake” was Mary Quant who opened her first shop, Bazaar, on the King’s Road in Chelsea, London in 1955. Quant’s child-like, colourful designs appealed to teenagers and young people who had more disposable income than any generation before, differing from the stuffy looks of the older generation. Boutiques were groovy places where modern music played and young owners and customers collaborated on new looks that came only in small sizes.
By the late 1960s, more new styles and culture emerged, some heavily influenced by the space-race, putting man on the moon, others using way-out materials such as PVC. Skirts dipped back to mid-calf and, by 1969, the full-length maxi-skirt saw a move towards the “hippie” aesthetic. Suede, headbands, kaftans, Afghan coats, beads and other non-Western elements of adornment were embraced as were flowing skirts and second-hand clothing.
1. Del Shannon – Runaway – 05-61
2. Dion – Runaround Sue – 11-61
3. The Shirelles – Will You Love Me Tomorrow – 02-61
4. Bobby Vee – Take Good Care Of My Baby – 11-61
5. Neil Sedaka – Calendar Girl – 02-61
6. Billy Fury – Jealousy – 09-61
7. Elvis Presley – Wooden Heart – 03-61
8. Mr. Acker Bilk – Stranger On The Shore – 12-61
9. The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five – 11-61
10. Ray Charles – Hit The Road Jack – 10-61
11. John Leyton – Johnny Remember Me – 08-61
12. Ricky Nelson – Hello Mary Lou/Travellin’ Man – 06-61
13. Helen Shapiro – Walkin’ Back To Happiness – 10-61
And a couple bubbling under: Danny Williams – Moon River – 11-61 Elvis Presley – Are You Lonesome Tonight – 01-61
1960 Psycho – A Phoenix secretary embezzles forty thousand dollars from her employer’s client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother. Spartacus – The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic. The Magnificent Seven – Seven gunfighters are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits. The Apartment – A Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.
1961 West Side Story – Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy. Breakfast at Tiffany’s – A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way. One Hundred and One Dalmatians – When a litter of Dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella de Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.
The Hustler – An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
1962 To Kill a Mockingbird – Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era South, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his children against prejudice. Lawrence of Arabia – The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – A senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins. Dr. No – A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program. Lolita – A middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a fourteen-year-old girl.
1963 The Pink Panther – The bumbling Inspector Clouseau travels to Rome to catch a notorious jewel thief known as “The Phantom” before he conducts his most daring heist yet: a princess’ priceless diamond with one slight imperfection, known as “The Pink Panther”. The Great Escape – Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
1964 A Fistful of Dollars – A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge. Goldfinger – While investigating a gold magnate’s smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve. Dr Strangelove – An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a War Room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop. Mary Poppins – In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father. A Hard Day’s Night – Over two “typical” days in the life of The Beatles, the boys struggle to keep themselves and Sir Paul McCartney’s mischievous grandfather in check while preparing for a live TV performance.
1965 The Sound of Music – A woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower. Doctor Zhivago – The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist’s wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution. The Ipcress File – In London, a wisecracking spy investigates the kidnapping and brainwashing of British scientists while dealing with the constraints of his agency’s bureaucracy.
1966 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery. Batman: The Movie – The Dynamic Duo faces four supervillains who plan to hold the world for ransom with the help of a secret invention that instantly dehydrates people.
1967 The Jungle Book – Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization. Bonnie and Clyde – Bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks. In the Heat of the Night – A black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case. The Dirty Dozen – During World War II, a rebellious U.S. Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers. The Producers – A stage-play producer devises a plan to make money by producing a sure-fire flop. The Graduate – A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
1968 The Thomas Crown Affair – A debonair, adventuresome bank executive believes he has pulled off the perfect multi-million dollar heist, only to match wits with a sexy insurance investigator who will do anything to get her man. Once Upon a Time in the West – A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad. 2001: A Space Odyssey – After discovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, mankind sets off on a quest to find its origins with help from intelligent supercomputer H.A.L. 9000. Planet of the Apes – An astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved.
1969 The Italian Job – Comic caper movie about a plan to steal a gold shipment from the streets of Turin by creating a traffic jam. The Wild Bunch – An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the “traditional” American West is disappearing around them. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Wyoming, early 1900s. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid are the leaders of a band of outlaws. After a train robbery goes wrong they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. Their solution – escape to Bolivia. Midnight Cowboy – A naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process. Easy Rider – Through the open country and desert lands, two bikers head from L.A to New Orleans, and along the way, meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap they are unaware of.
JRo Author 