0:00:02 > 0:00:03SCREAMING
0:00:07 > 0:00:10# Pop, pop, pop musik
0:00:10 > 0:00:11# Pop, pop, pop musik... #
0:00:11 > 0:00:14This is the story of 50 years of British pop music
0:00:14 > 0:00:16as you've never heard it before.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19It's told by the people who loved it the most...
0:00:19 > 0:00:21us fans.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25We put out a call through BBC TV,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28radio, and online for people to
0:00:28 > 0:00:30dig out and share with us their
0:00:30 > 0:00:33most treasured and rare memorabilia.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35A first record, a favourite ticket,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37a teenage diary -
0:00:37 > 0:00:39precious belongings, each with a story.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43We did like pop music...
0:00:43 > 0:00:44and our parents didn't.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It was a self-discovery of who you are, and it was the music...
0:00:47 > 0:00:49It was the music that did it.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52I felt like I really was somebody at that point.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56I developed an identity for myself, and it was quite a rebellious,
0:00:56 > 0:00:57kind of, identity.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59# Now you know what to say
0:00:59 > 0:01:01# Talk about Talk about pop musik... #
0:01:01 > 0:01:04So whether your passion is skiffle or rock-and-roll,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06glam or prog rock,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09punk, indie, acid house, or hip-hop,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11this is about us - the people who
0:01:11 > 0:01:13devoured this thing called pop,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17and saw it change who we were and what we thought life was all about.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20# Everybody talk about pop musik
0:01:20 > 0:01:21# Talk about... #
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Tonight, we are in the era in which we first started to feel
0:01:24 > 0:01:26the power of pop culture,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30and see the irresistible rise of our own British sound.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32# Pop, pop musik... #
0:01:32 > 0:01:33We are the rock-and-roll generation.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36We are the people that don't grow old.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Just knowing you're going to the Flamingo Club,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40your chest was pounding.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Paul McCartney said, "Does a little girl want her picture taken?"
0:01:43 > 0:01:46You wouldn't imagine someone like me meeting them.
0:01:48 > 0:01:49So let's talk about...
0:01:49 > 0:01:51pop music.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53About what we wore,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55about how we danced,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57about being a fan.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59# Talk about pop musik
0:01:59 > 0:02:01# Talk about Pop, pop musik
0:02:01 > 0:02:04# Do you read me? Loud and clear. #
0:02:12 > 0:02:15# Mr Sandman
0:02:15 > 0:02:16# Mr Sandman.... #
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Jan, breakfast.
0:02:18 > 0:02:211950s Britain wasn't a bad place to wake up.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Our heroes were the stars of the silver screen.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27# Bring me a dream... #
0:02:27 > 0:02:30We had to the great outdoors to while away the hours...
0:02:30 > 0:02:31# Like peaches and cream... #
0:02:31 > 0:02:34..and we listened to honey-coated crooners from America...
0:02:34 > 0:02:36# Roses and clover
0:02:36 > 0:02:40# Then tell me that my lonesome nights are over
0:02:40 > 0:02:42# Sandman... #
0:02:42 > 0:02:44'..but something was missing.'
0:02:45 > 0:02:48When I was very young, growing up in the 1950s, there was
0:02:48 > 0:02:51really no British music to get excited about,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53let alone scream at.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55It was all a bit safe.
0:02:55 > 0:02:56# Bring me a dream... #
0:02:56 > 0:02:58John Davies has kept a special something
0:02:58 > 0:03:00that showed things were changing.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02- HE GROANS - Got me Gretsch guitar.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05There you go.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07# Mr Sandman... #
0:03:07 > 0:03:09You can play a host of things on it.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12# Make her the cutest that I've ever seen... #
0:03:12 > 0:03:15The music at that time was mostly
0:03:15 > 0:03:17our parents' generation - crooners.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21People like Dennis Lotis and Dickie Valentine,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23but it wasn't music for our generation.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28# Come to my arms
0:03:28 > 0:03:34# Oh, darling, let me hold you
0:03:34 > 0:03:36# Come to my arms... #
0:03:36 > 0:03:40In the school holidays, my best friend and me, we used to
0:03:40 > 0:03:44call in at this smoke-filled cafe called Pauline's Pantry.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48And when we went inside - if you're lucky enough to find a seat -
0:03:48 > 0:03:51they used to have this huge jukebox in the corner.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55And this revolutionary new sound came on...
0:03:55 > 0:03:57to our ears, anyway.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00So the song went something like this...
0:04:00 > 0:04:02# Well, the Rock Island Line she's a mighty good road
0:04:02 > 0:04:05# The Rock Island Line she's the road to ride
0:04:05 > 0:04:07# Rock Island Line she's a mighty good road
0:04:07 > 0:04:09# If you want to ride you got to ride it like you find it
0:04:09 > 0:04:11# Get your ticket at the station for the Rock Island Line... #
0:04:11 > 0:04:14# And the Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
0:04:14 > 0:04:16# The Rock Island Line is the road to ride
0:04:16 > 0:04:18# The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
0:04:18 > 0:04:20# If you want to ride you got to ride it like you find it
0:04:20 > 0:04:22# Get your ticket at the station on the Rock Island Line... #
0:04:22 > 0:04:25This was skiffle, and it started OUR story of pop.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28# The good lord's comin' Gonna see me again... #
0:04:28 > 0:04:32- JOHN:- When I first heard skiffle, it just changed my life, you know?
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Before then, you had, sort of, folk music at school.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38You know, it was OK, but it didn't...
0:04:38 > 0:04:40You know, it didn't give you that oomph, you know,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42which skiffle did.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44And when you got that oomph, that was it then -
0:04:44 > 0:04:46there was no going back.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49# If you want to ride you got to ride it like you find it
0:04:49 > 0:04:52# Get your ticket at the station for the Rock Island Line
0:04:52 > 0:04:54# Get your ticket at the station
0:04:54 > 0:04:57# For the Rock Island L-i-i-ne. #
0:04:59 > 0:05:01HORN HONKS
0:05:01 > 0:05:02Woo-hoo!
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Something like that.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Lonnie Donegan was the first one to influence everybody, you know,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10because there was nobody else around like him.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12And now it's time for us to introduce the...
0:05:12 > 0:05:15- King...- Of...- Skiffle...- Himself... - Lonnie...- Donegan!
0:05:19 > 0:05:21# Now the world hold seven wonders
0:05:21 > 0:05:24# That the travellers always tell
0:05:24 > 0:05:28# Some gardens and some towers I guess you know them well
0:05:28 > 0:05:32# But now the greatest wonder is in Uncle Sam's fair land
0:05:32 > 0:05:36# It's the big Columbia River and the big Grand Coulee Dam... #
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Young British fans now had their own proper home-made star
0:05:40 > 0:05:42to go giddy over.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45And it wasn't long before they realised something else -
0:05:45 > 0:05:49not only was this new sound being made by someone a bit like them,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52it was music that they could make themselves.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56- I'm just...- You're a musician, aren't you?
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Well, that is a debatable point.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00I strum the guitar.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02SKIFFLE SONG PLAYS
0:06:02 > 0:06:05For over 50 years, Roger Baskeyfield has cherished
0:06:05 > 0:06:08a recording that showed he was part of the skiffle explosion.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11This tune is his band
0:06:11 > 0:06:12doing their thing.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16# John standing by the railroad track
0:06:16 > 0:06:19# A-waitin' for the freight train to come back
0:06:19 > 0:06:21# The freight train came back and there's a million on the stop
0:06:21 > 0:06:23# Alas, John Thorney had to ride the top... #
0:06:23 > 0:06:25And for Roger's band,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29one magical night in 1956 led to a unique picture.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Lonnie Donegan was playing
0:06:32 > 0:06:34at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36And the guy that used to sing
0:06:36 > 0:06:39in our skiffle group went over to get his autograph.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42The only thing that he had on him was a leaflet.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45And on the leaflet, he'd advertised the Coney Island Skiffle Group
0:06:45 > 0:06:47playing at a particular venue.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Lonnie saw this, and said, "Ah, I have competition, do I?
0:06:50 > 0:06:53"We'll have to get together sometime." Jokingly.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Colin, the singer, turned round to Lonnie, and said,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57"How about tonight?"
0:06:57 > 0:06:59And to everybody's surprise, he said, "OK."
0:07:01 > 0:07:03And so Lonnie Donegan,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06the biggest British star of the 1950s,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08came here, to Roger's mate's house...
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Well, actually, Roger's mate's mum and dad's house.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17In those days, Lonnie Donegan was really the top.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18So we were naturally over the moon,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20obviously felt very privileged.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22So amazing atmosphere, and also, don't forget,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24we've got the music on top of that.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Lonnie's singing, we're singing along with him.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Only a few hours ago, you had actually seen him on a stage.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33You know, with all the people screaming and clapping and cheering,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35and he's now, you know, in front of you.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38You know, it was really quite hard to take in.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41This other one here...
0:07:41 > 0:07:43I'm there, actually.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45That's me there.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48And, obviously, Lonnie there on the tub bass.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52I bet there's no other photograph in the world of Lonnie Donegan
0:07:52 > 0:07:55playing one of those tub basses, actually.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Afterwards, we didn't really...
0:07:57 > 0:07:59We said, "Did that really happen?"
0:07:59 > 0:08:01# Well, the Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap
0:08:01 > 0:08:03# 15 miles on the Cumberland Gap... #
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I was a bit too young to be into skiffle.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09I was much more into learning the recorder from my lovely teacher,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Miss Downer, at my junior school.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15But the thing about skiffle, it really was a home-made sound -
0:08:15 > 0:08:17anyone could get involved.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20# 15 miles on the Cumberland Gap... #
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Skiffle was do-it-yourself music
0:08:22 > 0:08:24long before punk came on the scene.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27# Me and my brother was going to town... #
0:08:27 > 0:08:30One of these original home-made instruments is safely stashed
0:08:30 > 0:08:33away in Paul Griggs' attic.
0:08:33 > 0:08:34# Don't you rock me, daddy-o
0:08:34 > 0:08:36# Don't you rock me, daddy-o... #
0:08:36 > 0:08:39We found out that we could make skiffle with home-made instruments.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41This is a tea chest - that was the bass.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43We had a pole, a bit of string.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45STRING RESONATES
0:08:45 > 0:08:47And I've got a photograph...
0:08:47 > 0:08:49My group, the Satellite Skiffle Group -
0:08:49 > 0:08:52the very first performance on January 6,
0:08:52 > 0:08:551958.
0:08:55 > 0:08:56That's my brother, Nigel,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58that's me, playing the guitar,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01and that's Colin Hurst with the Satellites' tea chest bass.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03And that was it.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04Absolutely terrified, yeah.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08It was only kids - there was about 100 kids.
0:09:08 > 0:09:09Erm...but they were very nice.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12They clapped in the right places, and it was great.
0:09:12 > 0:09:13It was our first gig.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15That's my school uniform - I can't believe
0:09:15 > 0:09:17that I went on stage in my school uniform.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Last thing on my mind was thinking about clothes in those days. I just
0:09:20 > 0:09:21wanted to sing the skiffle songs.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24THEY PLAY SKIFFLE TUNE
0:09:24 > 0:09:26And so did everybody else.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28At one time, there were up to 50,000
0:09:28 > 0:09:31skiffle groups in the country.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Everyone was getting in on the skiffle craze.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Hairdresser Leonard Pountney has a latest-style skiffle group
0:09:37 > 0:09:39laid on for the weekend rush,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41and this the customers do like.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Look, kids, in every special packet of Kellogg's Rice Krispies
0:09:45 > 0:09:48there's a big, white skiffle whistle...
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and it's free.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Among those strumming along to this
0:09:52 > 0:09:55exciting new sound were some of our future musical legends.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57# Mama don't allow no skiffle around here
0:09:57 > 0:09:58# Oh, no, she don't... #
0:09:58 > 0:10:00- What are your two names? Yours is...?- James Page.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03- David Haskell.- Both from Epsom?- Yes.
0:10:03 > 0:10:0614-year-old Jimmy Page, who would go on
0:10:06 > 0:10:10to become Led Zeppelin's guitarist, wasn't the only one.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11# Mama don't allow no skiffle... #
0:10:11 > 0:10:14The guitar player in a skiffle band called The Quarrymen
0:10:14 > 0:10:16was a certain John Lennon.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20The teenage Rod Davis was his banjo player.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Well, this is John Lennon's own copy
0:10:23 > 0:10:24of Rock Island Line
0:10:24 > 0:10:28that I bought from him for half a crown in 1957.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32This is one of the records that inspired him to become a musician,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34so a significant piece of kit.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38# Now this here's a story about the Rock Island Line... #
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Rod Davis' most memorable gig with John Lennon and The Quarrymen
0:10:41 > 0:10:44was at a village fete in Woolton, Liverpool.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48So the idea was that we'd be the last lorry
0:10:48 > 0:10:52in a procession of floats going round the village.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55And as it came past my house, my father came out with his camera,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58and he photographed the entire procession.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01RECORD PLAYS FAINTLY
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Oh, this is the one of us on the truck.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08There's John...
0:11:08 > 0:11:12and I'm standing there, pushing my glasses up.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15I'd say that was probably the last time I played with him.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17The end of my career.
0:11:17 > 0:11:18And then, in the evening,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21we were due to play in the church hall over the road.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Paul McCartney had arrived in the afternoon,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and was in the audience.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29There is a tape in existence of us playing.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32The lad who lived on the other side of the road from me,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34in Woolton, called Rob Molyneux,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36had a Grundig tape recorder,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38and he recorded in the evening.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41# The Rock Island Line is the road to ride... #
0:11:41 > 0:11:44That tape of John Lennon playing skiffle on the day
0:11:44 > 0:11:48he met Paul McCartney is now one of the most precious artefacts
0:11:48 > 0:11:49in all pop history.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53As the Beatles were conquering the world,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56the tape languished in Bob Molyneux's attic.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58# The Rock Island Line... #
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Eventually, it was put up for sale,
0:12:00 > 0:12:05and Beatles fan and EMI employee David Hughes was sent to buy it,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09along with the machine it was recorded on.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11He paid over £78,000
0:12:11 > 0:12:13more than 20 years ago.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18- This is the original tape that we bought.- Oh, wow.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20In its box. The story is, Bob Molyneux,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23he recorded 14 songs, but because he was trying out his machine,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25on the rest of this tape
0:12:25 > 0:12:28I think he recorded a thunderstorm which happened later in the evening.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30- SHE LAUGHS - So you know,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32there are only two songs left out of all the ones he recorded,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36- which makes it even more special. - So he recorded over it?- Yes.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37Wow.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40So we haven't got... We can't play it on this because it doesn't work.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44- But we have got the nearest to an old tape player.- Ooh, exciting!
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Lonnie Donegan's Puttin' On The Style.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51MUFFLED MUSIC PLAYS
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Wow.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07# But everybody knows he's only Puttin' on the style! #
0:13:07 > 0:13:10- I remember this.- You can hear it's John Lennon.- Yeah.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13And he's, you know, presumably
0:13:13 > 0:13:16it's just like people doing pirate recordings at gigs.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18He had his mic up in the air,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and recorded the whole evening.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25- How extraordinary. - Not realising what he was doing.
0:13:25 > 0:13:26Well, who knew?
0:13:26 > 0:13:30MUSIC CONTINUES
0:13:30 > 0:13:32I would think, yes,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34in the annals of pop music history,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38- there probably isn't a more significant day ever.- You're right.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43This crackly tape is a precious piece of pop history
0:13:43 > 0:13:45and has rarely been played.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48It give me goose pimples to think that this is what Paul McCartney
0:13:48 > 0:13:49would have heard that day.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54Who'd have thought that a village fete featuring a police dog display
0:13:54 > 0:13:57and an unknown skiffle band would have such an impact
0:13:57 > 0:13:59on all our lives.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01SHOUTING AND CHEERING
0:14:02 > 0:14:06But the ramshackle sound of skiffle wouldn't last for long.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09# One, two, three o'clock Four o'clock rock
0:14:09 > 0:14:11# Five, six, seven o'clock... #
0:14:11 > 0:14:15It couldn't really compete with its blistering and intoxicating
0:14:15 > 0:14:17American cousin, rock-and-roll.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20# Get your glad rags on and join me, hon
0:14:20 > 0:14:23# We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one... #
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Some young British fans took Bill Haley's lyrics
0:14:27 > 0:14:29about putting your glad rags on to heart,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33dressing with a bravado they stuck with down the decades.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36It's bright, and it stood out.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39That's what Teddy Boys was all about, really.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43I'm afraid London and that look like a set of bloody penguins.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45They're all in black, aren't they?
0:14:45 > 0:14:48- SPEECH UNCLEAR - It wasn't about
0:14:48 > 0:14:50blending in, Teddy Boys.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52It was about standing out.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Twins Howard and Chris were part of our first really British teen tribe,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00the Teddy Boys.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Swaggering lads expressing all that teen vitality and energy
0:15:04 > 0:15:06through style and music.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09The thick-soled brothel creepers, drainpipe trousers,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13drape jacket, Slim Jim tie, greasy Tony Curtis quiff.
0:15:13 > 0:15:14The Teddy Boy.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16# Everybody razzle dazzle... #
0:15:16 > 0:15:20It's stamped English all over it, really.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- The lads wanted their own style, didn't they?- Yeah.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26That's how I used to like my waistcoasts, when I wore them.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Well, the American music was brilliant.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32We just wanted our own take on it.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34# ..And the square cats too... #
0:15:34 > 0:15:37I can remember it as plain as day.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40When I was about, oh, ten or eleven,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43I saw three lads walking down the street near where we lived,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47and it just looked like a rainbow coming down t'street.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Took the whole pavement up.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Everybody's walking round them as they're walking down the road.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55And I thought, "They look smart."
0:15:55 > 0:16:00The twins bought their first set of drape jackets in the '50s,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02and haven't changed style since.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07- You feel on top of the world. - Nothing can touch you.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09We're as proud as hell, being a Ted.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Come on.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14The Teds gave American music a British look,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17but the record companies were desperate to give American music
0:16:17 > 0:16:19a British voice.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21- That's not the sort of song we want. - You have a go, then.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24So wholesome British lads were given a makeover
0:16:24 > 0:16:27and a suitably rock-and-roll name.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Roy Taylor, alias Vince Eager.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Duffy Power, real name Raymond Howard.
0:16:35 > 0:16:41And Ron Wycherley, known to his fans as Billy Fury.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45# Play it cool, baby Play it cool... #
0:16:45 > 0:16:47This is it! Don't miss this kick!
0:16:47 > 0:16:50He's the greatest, the swingiest, the most,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Britain's Billy Fury, in his first sensational musical, Play It Cool!
0:16:53 > 0:16:55# I'm doing the twist... #
0:16:55 > 0:16:59Billy had a good stab at being the British Elvis.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03He had the looks, the music, the moves - even the movies.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06# Twist, twist, twist all day... #
0:17:06 > 0:17:10Ken Geering has clung to his precious hoard of records,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14concert programmes and tickets for over 50 years.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19- Is that Marty Wilde? - No, that's Billy Fury, dear.- Oh.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24- And again.- What do I know?! - Billy Fury, Joe Brown...
0:17:24 > 0:17:25And I mean, Billy Fury,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28you've got to let me play Billy Fury, just a bit.
0:17:28 > 0:17:29I mean, everybody...
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Where is he, where's he hiding?
0:17:31 > 0:17:33He used to come to Kingston
0:17:33 > 0:17:35with these bills and they were tremendous.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38MUSIC: I Want To Be Your Lover by Billy Fury
0:17:43 > 0:17:49# I want to be your lover... #
0:17:49 > 0:17:50Billy Fury, along with Cliff Richard,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54were a sign that British stars could compete with the Americans.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59And for Ken, like many, it was the beginning of a shared experience
0:17:59 > 0:18:02that would soundtrack all our lives.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06- HE SINGS ALONG:- # ..to Paradise
0:18:06 > 0:18:11# So near yet so far away... #
0:18:11 > 0:18:14At the age of 12 I started going to concerts,
0:18:14 > 0:18:15loved every moment of it.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19I collected all the programmes of all the shows of the '60s,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22and kept the ticket stubs where I could.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24And, you know, it's always been a part of my...
0:18:24 > 0:18:27My little memorabilia, my little store cupboard.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Ken's jukebox is his musical time machine.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36He listens to it every Sunday night with his wife Carol,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39whilst tucking into a roast dinner.
0:18:39 > 0:18:40Shall I play you a Shadows track?
0:18:40 > 0:18:43MUSIC: Apache by The Shadows
0:18:43 > 0:18:46I guess The Shadows were my favourite
0:18:46 > 0:18:48instrumentalist band of all time.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57All around the country, young boys like Ken
0:18:57 > 0:19:01stood in front of their bedroom mirrors practising their moves.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06MUSIC CONTINUES
0:19:08 > 0:19:11We all tried to emulate that in the '60s.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15I did try to join a band and we did try to do it.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20The Shadows' sound was uniquely British.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Something was brewing, and we all felt it.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Some of these memories are really clear in my mind,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35and it doesn't seem as long ago as it really is.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39And you think of how you were at that time and how you didn't know
0:19:39 > 0:19:41what the years ahead were going to hold for you,
0:19:41 > 0:19:46and you felt that you were on the verge of something new and exciting
0:19:46 > 0:19:48and that you were part of it.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03School over, the first thing Diane does
0:20:03 > 0:20:07is to change out of school uniform, put on a frock and a bit of make-up.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Now the rest of the day is hers.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14School would finish about half past three
0:20:14 > 0:20:18and I'd get on the bus to Regent Street, to the Palladium.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21I've got diaries here. Now, if I look through this,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25it seems as though I was at the Palladium every single day.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Monday, went to the Palladium.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Tuesday, went to the Palladium.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Wednesday, went to the Palladium.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Saturday, went and stood outside the Palladium, saw The Shadows.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Jet wore glasses.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45I've got photographs that I took myself.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47There you go, that's Jet Harris,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50and that's him coming out of the stage door.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52That's a nice memory of Jet.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55But they would always stop and talk to us,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57we were hanging around the stage door,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59and because we were there so often, we saw them quite a lot,
0:20:59 > 0:21:00and we got to know them,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03and they were always very friendly, always very chatty.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07You know. I was very shy growing up,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10but I wasn't so shy when I was listening to music.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14I think there was a big change in me, cos I've got a diary from 1959,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18and reading through that, I seem like quite a child -
0:21:18 > 0:21:21I've got notes about going to school.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24And then suddenly in the '60s I seem to have changed
0:21:24 > 0:21:27and suddenly it's all music and The Shadows and going out,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31and I was becoming more aware of the music scene.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Music to love, bands to follow,
0:21:36 > 0:21:38concerts to go to.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41There had been nothing like this before.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43We had a new teen culture,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46a new kind of life.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48In the evening, maybe, she'll go dancing,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51but first she buys a few records.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55My sisters and I were joining those thousands of music fans
0:21:55 > 0:21:59for whom records were now the must-have item.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02So Viv, my sister, saved up all her pocket money,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04and one day she came home
0:22:04 > 0:22:09and she had the record of Diana by Paul Anka.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13This was the first record that I'd actually ever seen in real life.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17And so it was very exciting! And I remember sitting around
0:22:17 > 0:22:20our tea table and we all handed it round and talked about it,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23cos we didn't actually have a record player, so we couldn't play it!
0:22:23 > 0:22:26We could only touch it and look at it.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28But, you know, we all thought that was fantastic.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31I, you know, it didn't seem a weird thing to do.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34I mean, when I think back, it's bizarre.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36MUSIC: Diana by Paul Anka
0:22:36 > 0:22:38But your music defined you,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42and I was now at the age where I was choosing what I liked,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46and one thing was for sure - it wasn't going to be
0:22:46 > 0:22:48smoochy transatlantic crooners for much longer.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51# ..and you're so old
0:22:51 > 0:22:53# This my darling... #
0:22:53 > 0:22:56In Liverpool, a new music scene was about to explode
0:22:56 > 0:22:58with a new distinctive sound,
0:22:58 > 0:23:00thanks to the city's port.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02# I will pray
0:23:02 > 0:23:05# You and I will be as free... #
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Ernie Sealey was a teenager
0:23:07 > 0:23:11when he bought the latest thrilling sound from America off a sailor
0:23:11 > 0:23:13who worked on the transatlantic ships
0:23:13 > 0:23:16between Liverpool and New York.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Up here in his loft is that cherished first single
0:23:20 > 0:23:23and the Dansette he played it on.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28These America records were, oh, something different.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Unfortunately, there is now a wait
0:23:30 > 0:23:33for the valves to warm up.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39So, I purchased one and I took it to a youth club
0:23:39 > 0:23:42and I put it on a record-player.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46You broke my heart
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Cos I couldn't dance
0:23:48 > 0:23:51You didn't even want me around
0:23:51 > 0:23:54And now I'm back
0:23:54 > 0:23:56To let you know
0:23:56 > 0:23:58I can really shake 'em down
0:23:58 > 0:24:01# Do you love me?
0:24:01 > 0:24:02# I can really move
0:24:02 > 0:24:04# Do you love me?
0:24:04 > 0:24:06# I'm in the groove... #
0:24:06 > 0:24:09A whole youth club just stopped dead.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13There was no music like this in England.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17The record is nearly worn out.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19# ..Watch me now! #
0:24:19 > 0:24:23This was soul, and rhythm and blues, heavier and more raw
0:24:23 > 0:24:26than anything experienced before.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Kids all over Liverpool were inspired to pick up guitars
0:24:29 > 0:24:31and copy the sound.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Beat music had arrived.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Ever since Liverpool became a great port,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38these have been its characteristic noises...
0:24:38 > 0:24:42- SHIP'S HORN BLASTS - ..but today it's famous for another sound - this.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44# The mashed potato, yeah
0:24:44 > 0:24:47# Oh, yeah
0:24:47 > 0:24:48# Oh, yeah
0:24:48 > 0:24:50# I dig it
0:24:50 > 0:24:51# Hey, baby
0:24:51 > 0:24:53# Yeah, oh, yeah
0:24:55 > 0:24:56# Yeah... #
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Fans of this new sound wanted somewhere to hang out and hear it.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Clubs started popping up all over the city.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Liverpool at night now had a new culture -
0:25:09 > 0:25:11teens, clubs, beat music,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13and not a parent in sight.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15# ..I said, baby
0:25:15 > 0:25:18# My baby, whoa-oa-oa, yeah. #
0:25:18 > 0:25:22The Iron Door. I liked the Iron Door but as for ambience,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24if you could call it today,
0:25:24 > 0:25:28but more like atmosphere, what we called it then,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30yes, the Cavern was it.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32Hi there, all you cave-dwellers.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36This is Bob Willis saying welcome to the best of cellars.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39We've got the hi-fi high and the lights down low,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42so here we go with the Big Three...
0:25:42 > 0:25:44SCREAMING
0:25:45 > 0:25:49The Cavern was dark, warm.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53It had a floor like a builder's yard.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55It was hollows and bumps.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57It just had a smell of its own.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Heat, hot bodies, sweat.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03# See the girl with the diamond ring
0:26:03 > 0:26:06# She knows how to shake that thing... #
0:26:06 > 0:26:07It was such a giveaway.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09My mother used to say to me,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12"You've been to that Cavern club again, haven't you?"
0:26:16 > 0:26:18By 1963, you couldn't move in Liverpool
0:26:18 > 0:26:22without bumping into a beat group.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Oh, there must be about 300 or so groups in Liverpool.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26You've only got to mention Liverpool
0:26:26 > 0:26:29and all the fans start screaming and go wild. It's glamour.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35The Liverpool sound spread across the country fast,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38tempting young fans like Londoner Hilary Holt
0:26:38 > 0:26:41into things they probably never dreamt of doing.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47"An ardent fan of Liverpool beat group The Mojos,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50"14-year-old Hilary Dane of Blackheath,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54"dropped in to show them how she had their name printed on her midriff
0:26:54 > 0:26:58"by using a sunray lamp."
0:26:58 > 0:27:04I'd had this idea, which was to get some half-inch elastoplast,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06you know, in a roll,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10and we had this old Pifco sunray lamp.
0:27:10 > 0:27:16I stuck the name "Mojo" on my midriff,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19then stood in front of the sunray lamp
0:27:19 > 0:27:21and got my midriff sunburnt,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24then pulled off the sticking plaster,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28then I'd have the name written in white on my stomach.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31My grandmother was appalled.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33She thought it was terrible that I was on the front page
0:27:33 > 0:27:37of the local rag in my bikini with a pop group.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40They were just very friendly lads.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42I suppose because they were from Liverpool,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45it was like that edge of, you know, I lived in London
0:27:45 > 0:27:47and they were a Liverpool band,
0:27:47 > 0:27:51even though they never were as famous as The Beatles.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54CHEERING
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Ah, yes, The Beatles.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58The band who made a fading industrial city
0:27:58 > 0:28:01the heart of a global pop music revolution.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06All of Liverpool was so very, very proud of them.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11Everyone except the man who cut their first record back in 1958 -
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Grandad Percy Phillips.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Rock and roll had come to Britain, but it hadn't come to Grandpa.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23SHE LAUGHS
0:28:23 > 0:28:27Grandpa was still into his Harry James and his Hank Williams.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31Of course. So your grandad ran a recording...
0:28:31 > 0:28:34Phillips Sound Recording Services.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37- It was the first studio in Liverpool...- Oh, I see.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40- Did he live here as well? - Yeah, it's the family home.
0:28:40 > 0:28:41Wow, amazing.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44On the ground floor was the record shop, then the studio,
0:28:44 > 0:28:45then the kitchen.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48So did he soundproof the room or anything like that?
0:28:48 > 0:28:50He soundproofed the room with a blanket over the door.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Oh, brilliant. I love it.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56So John, Paul and George, along with their mates,
0:28:56 > 0:28:58came into the studio together.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00They will have come in through the front door,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03which was always open, and they will have walked into the kitchen,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05where they will have been served a piece of jam sponge cake.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07- Made by your...- Grandma.
0:29:07 > 0:29:08SHE LAUGHS
0:29:08 > 0:29:13She played the piano and she made jam sponge cake and cups of tea.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16- I'll show you the logbook.- Oh, wow.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19"Skiffle, 10 inch, director disk",
0:29:19 > 0:29:22so they played it directly on to the disk.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24Did your grandad say what he thought about the music
0:29:24 > 0:29:26that they were playing?
0:29:26 > 0:29:28It's funny, he did, yes,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32because he was in his 60s in 1958.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36These boys were 15, 17, 18.
0:29:36 > 0:29:37He thought they were greasy boys
0:29:37 > 0:29:40who were just coming in, making a racket.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43"A bloody racket", he used to say, that they were making.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45# Gonna write a little letter
0:29:45 > 0:29:47# Gonna mail it to my local DJ... #
0:29:47 > 0:29:49Well, that "bloody racket"
0:29:49 > 0:29:53would soon turn into another kind of cacophony altogether.
0:29:53 > 0:29:58"I think your hair is fab. Is it possible to get a picture of you?"
0:29:58 > 0:30:01"I have entered a competition to win a date with one of you."
0:30:01 > 0:30:03They were more than just another band -
0:30:03 > 0:30:06they made a better life seem possible,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09that's why so many cling to memories of them.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13Beatles Christmas show, everybody wanted to see The Beatles.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17- Beatles were great.- Did you ever see them?- Yeah, oh, many times, yeah.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21MUSIC: Twist And Shout by The Beatles
0:30:21 > 0:30:24# Well shake it up, baby, now... #
0:30:24 > 0:30:26John Lennon was like the bad boy of The Beatles.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29You never knew what he was going to come out with next.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Paul McCartney had that boyish baby-faced look.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35"I'm coming to see you on Monday night.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39"I will clap very loud so that you will know who I am."
0:30:39 > 0:30:42# You know you look so good
0:30:42 > 0:30:43# Look so good... #
0:30:43 > 0:30:46I went to see The Beatles at Lewisham Odeon,
0:30:46 > 0:30:50and we screamed and we screamed and we screamed. We thought...
0:30:50 > 0:30:54I thought Paul might see me if I had a red jumper on.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58"Paul, John, George, Ringo!
0:30:58 > 0:31:02"George smiled at Marilyn and me. Great fun on stage.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05"John, Paul, George, Ringo! John, Paul, George, Ringo!"
0:31:10 > 0:31:14For Christine Daniels, her teen diary, tickets and school drawings
0:31:14 > 0:31:18show just how much The Beatles had invaded our imaginations.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23I decorated the front of my school book.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25My friends were all very impressed with it,
0:31:25 > 0:31:27and so I used to charge them sixpence
0:31:27 > 0:31:29to do it on their book as well.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31Paul was always my favourite, yeah.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36Very lucky to have been that age at that time.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38I remember thinking a couple of years later,
0:31:38 > 0:31:42we were in the sixth form at school,
0:31:42 > 0:31:44one day there was a buzz going round.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46I said to some friends,
0:31:46 > 0:31:49"What on Earth is the matter with the fourth form today?"
0:31:49 > 0:31:51They said, "They saw The Walker Brothers last night."
0:31:51 > 0:31:52I thought, "Oh, poor things -
0:31:52 > 0:31:55"they've only got The Walker Brothers to scream at.
0:31:55 > 0:31:56"We had The Beatles."
0:31:56 > 0:31:59I sort of carried on thinking that all through my life
0:31:59 > 0:32:01when people, you know, were screaming at the Bay City Rollers
0:32:01 > 0:32:03and people like that, I'm thinking,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05"Oh, it's a shame. We had The Beatles."
0:32:07 > 0:32:10# You think you lost your love
0:32:10 > 0:32:13# Well, I saw her yesterday... #
0:32:13 > 0:32:16Our affections for The Beatles went way beyond just liking the music...
0:32:16 > 0:32:19# And she told me what to say
0:32:19 > 0:32:21# She said she loves you
0:32:21 > 0:32:23# And you know that can't be bad... #
0:32:23 > 0:32:26..for people like me, they were the total pop package
0:32:26 > 0:32:28and a passport to a new world.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30# Whoo! #
0:32:30 > 0:32:33One we could all belong to.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36# She loves you Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. #
0:32:36 > 0:32:42The first two Beatles' records I got, they were EPs.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44They were given to me by my parents.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47I think I was ten years old at the time.
0:32:47 > 0:32:52I was terribly proud at being now...
0:32:52 > 0:32:56I wasn't a teenager, but I was being almost treated like a teenager,
0:32:56 > 0:32:58cos I had pop.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01There was something on the back of one of them
0:33:01 > 0:33:06that tickled me, which was...
0:33:06 > 0:33:09"The four numbers on this EP have been selected
0:33:09 > 0:33:12"from the Lennon and McCartney Song Book.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15"If that description sounds a trifle pompous,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18"perhaps, I suggest, you preserve this sleeve for ten years,
0:33:18 > 0:33:23"exhume it from your collection somewhere around the middle of 1973,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27"and write me a very nasty letter if the pop people of the '70s
0:33:27 > 0:33:31"aren't talking with respect about at least two of these titles
0:33:31 > 0:33:36"as early examples of modern beat standards
0:33:36 > 0:33:39"taken from the Lennon and McCartney Song Book."
0:33:39 > 0:33:41When I first read that, at ten, I said,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43"Right, I'm going to keep this record for ten years
0:33:43 > 0:33:45"and see whether that's true."
0:33:45 > 0:33:47It was as though they'd foreseen at the time
0:33:47 > 0:33:49that this was something out of the ordinary.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52# I love you
0:33:52 > 0:33:54# Cos you tell me things I want to know... #
0:33:54 > 0:33:56It was out of the ordinary.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Us fans bought Beatles' records in the millions.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02Each release was an event.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09When the first album, Please Please Me,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13came out in 1963, people queued up to buy it,
0:34:13 > 0:34:17and some copies turned out to be rather special.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19I remember when they advertised that this was going to
0:34:19 > 0:34:23be for sale in our local music shop,
0:34:23 > 0:34:25going out of school to buy it.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30- Oh, you did a runner?- Yeah. I-I... - Played hooky.- I did a runner, yes.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33I went out specifically to join the queue.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36I do remember being down the street.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38I eventually got to the front of the queue,
0:34:38 > 0:34:39and I can remember distinctly,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42I can still see the lady's face behind the counter.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44She looked at me and said,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47"Do you want the stereo or the mono version?"
0:34:47 > 0:34:50I sort of gulped and thought, "Do I what?
0:34:50 > 0:34:53"I don't know what I want, really."
0:34:53 > 0:34:57For some inexplicable reason, I said "Stereo."
0:34:57 > 0:34:59They're sought-after
0:34:59 > 0:35:02because there are less than 1,000 of these actually pressed.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05I thought, "I wonder if mine is that."
0:35:05 > 0:35:09So I dug it out, had a look at it, yes, it did have stereo on the top.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Yes, inside, the black and gold centre,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15which is really the big giveaway
0:35:15 > 0:35:18that this is one of the earlier copies.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22Then, when you really get into the real nerdy bits of things,
0:35:22 > 0:35:27the people who are the real experts will cite that the credit
0:35:27 > 0:35:30for the photographer on the bottom here,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33the first letter of that word there -
0:35:33 > 0:35:38if it appears directly underneath the "S" of "Songs",
0:35:38 > 0:35:42it increases its value as a rarity.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46Those people who collect or value these kind of things,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48you know, will look for every little...
0:35:48 > 0:35:51- A Please Please Me nerd. - Yes, exactly.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54- Little details like that. - So do you know what it's worth?
0:35:54 > 0:35:57They do run into thousands.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02This album is now worth up to £5,000.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05Not bad for a 32 and sixpence investment!
0:36:06 > 0:36:10# I think I I think you understand
0:36:10 > 0:36:12# When I
0:36:12 > 0:36:15# Girl, I said that little something to you
0:36:15 > 0:36:17# I wanna hold your hand... #
0:36:17 > 0:36:20A year after Please Please Me, The Beatles had conquered America,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23they were now global superstars.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Beatlemania was in full swing.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33Their fame so huge, the closest most fans could get
0:36:33 > 0:36:36was the back of a policeman's helmet.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Unless, of course, you had a memorable chance encounter.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46It was the 9th of October, 1964.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50My mum drove into this car park in her Hillman Minx.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54In the car park was only one car. It was a great, big Rolls-Royce.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57We went into the hotel here, through the kitchen door.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04We came I know this room - this is the kitchen of the Old England.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06It hasn't changed a bit.
0:37:06 > 0:37:07Anyway, we came in and there was a buzz
0:37:07 > 0:37:12about the kitchen that The Beatles were in the dining room.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15I was ushered down the corridor to go to the dining room.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20I was standing here and I was just peaking round the corner.
0:37:20 > 0:37:25They were sitting over here at a big table, a big oak table.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28I just kept peaking round the corner
0:37:28 > 0:37:30and twisting my fingers in my cardigan.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33I was very nervous. I was only little.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37All of a sudden, Paul McCartney, who was sitting at the end,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39he must have spotted me,
0:37:39 > 0:37:43because he came out and stood here and started talking to me.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45He was so nice!
0:37:45 > 0:37:48He asked me what my name was, so I told him.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50He asked me why I wasn't at school.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52I said, "Well, I've come to see you."
0:37:52 > 0:37:55I think I nodded an awful lot because I was only little.
0:37:55 > 0:37:56Obviously I was very nervous.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Then he ushered me in, so I went in. It hasn't changed a bit.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02It's so strange.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07They were sitting here, on a big table, all four of them. Gosh.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09It makes me tearful.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Mr Pike had offered them ham and eggs,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15so they had ham and eggs for their lunch.
0:38:15 > 0:38:20He'd offered them a lovely bottle of wine, but they didn't want wine.
0:38:20 > 0:38:21They all had a glass of milk.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24My mum kept the napkins that they used for a long, long time -
0:38:24 > 0:38:28they were in a cabinet at home till they fell apart.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30They had all egg stains on.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32She was very proud of having those.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34She was a bit strange like that, but there we go.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Here's the picture. This is just a small one.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42I've got a very big one at home in a big frame on the wall.
0:38:42 > 0:38:47There's me. I was only a little girl, just ten.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51My mum is standing here, this very glamorous blonde lady.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Then I think you know who these four are.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58It was John Lennon's birthday. Poor old John had a headache.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01He kept his sunglasses on the whole time.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04My mum managed to put her hand on his shoulder,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07and she gave him two aspirin cos he wasn't feeling very well.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13So this is the one that was taken as they were getting in the car.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17This was when Paul McCartney stopped and said,
0:39:17 > 0:39:20"Does the little girl want her picture taken?"
0:39:20 > 0:39:24I just stood there and he waited to have his picture taken with me.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26He was just so lovely, he really was.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28He thanked me afterwards.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30Then I ran back again and he got in the car and they went.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32But from that one, I have this one.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35It's a bit faded, but very treasured.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38You wouldn't imagine someone like me meeting them, you know?
0:39:38 > 0:39:40They were a phenomenal group.
0:39:44 > 0:39:45SCREAMING
0:39:45 > 0:39:48If you weren't lucky enough to have The Beatles drop in on you,
0:39:48 > 0:39:51there was another way to get close to them,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54and every other chart-topping act of the era.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01The television show Ready Steady Go!
0:40:01 > 0:40:03put the stars of the '60s on stage
0:40:03 > 0:40:06and within touching distance of the fans.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08It was hugely popular.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13Most of the stuff on telly was for Mum and Dad,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15but this was for us.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17It was OUR show.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21These programmes are made by the kids for the kids of the jet age.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Friday night was Ready Steady Go! night,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27and it had everything that made these years special -
0:40:27 > 0:40:30music, fashion and dancing -
0:40:30 > 0:40:34and to have the chance to go on the show was our dream.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39So we heard that the team were coming to London
0:40:39 > 0:40:41to audition for dancers
0:40:41 > 0:40:44and my friend Jennifer and me got very excited
0:40:44 > 0:40:46and thought we'd have a go to try and get on.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50We spent the whole week discussing our outfits, naturally,
0:40:50 > 0:40:52and what dances we were going to do,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55and we went along, praying we'd get picked,
0:40:55 > 0:41:00and lo and behold we got the tap, which meant we were on. Yeah!
0:41:02 > 0:41:05Flex that foot. You can reach it. Bring your shoulder down in front.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Don't curve your spine and keep the head there...
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Maybe it was this lady who tapped me on the shoulder
0:41:12 > 0:41:14all those years ago.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16Theresa Kerr was one of the legendary dancers
0:41:16 > 0:41:20on Ready Steady Go!, and she would visit London's hippest clubs
0:41:20 > 0:41:22looking for dancers.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25I know it's painful but you know what I mean!
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Shake your legs out and stand up.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Every week, we went down to a club
0:41:31 > 0:41:35called the Scene club, which was a real
0:41:35 > 0:41:39happening place then, in London, and we would pick out dancers
0:41:39 > 0:41:41to come and dance on the show.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43Well, of course, you can imagine,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46a weekly show, everybody wanted to be on it.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50In London and all over the country, there are clubs and ballrooms
0:41:50 > 0:41:54where the youngsters can do what they like, dress as they like,
0:41:54 > 0:41:55dance as they like.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59This is a good picture because it represents the atmosphere.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02Look at this girl, with her hair flying,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05and it was all very crowded. You would get the good dancers
0:42:05 > 0:42:09coming into the centre to make sure we saw them,
0:42:09 > 0:42:13and people with their fab clothes.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15It wasn't just about good dancers.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18It was about fashionable people.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24People would dress up to go to the Scene club
0:42:24 > 0:42:27because they knew that if they looked fabulous,
0:42:27 > 0:42:30the lucky ones would get a ticket to the show.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32It was like a golden ticket, I guess.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35You see the logo's imprinted on the picture.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39It says here, "This card is only evidence that the holder
0:42:39 > 0:42:42"is on the list of dancers for Ready Steady Go!,"
0:42:42 > 0:42:45and that was me. I had to know the latest dances,
0:42:45 > 0:42:47I had to know the latest fashion
0:42:47 > 0:42:49and I had to have the latest music.
0:42:49 > 0:42:54# Five, four, three, two, one... #
0:42:54 > 0:42:58It was unique because you were within touching distance
0:42:58 > 0:43:01of your heroes. That's the Hollies,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05and that's a typical RSG picture,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09where all of the kids would surround the groups, yeah.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11So that was really amazing.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15Every week, Patrick, my husband,
0:43:15 > 0:43:18would bring a new dance on to the show,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21I would be involved in that,
0:43:21 > 0:43:23and we would teach it
0:43:23 > 0:43:25to the kids that came into the studio.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30We have met you before, last week.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33- Yes.- You promised you were going to dance the Hitchhiker.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35- Will you do it for us now?- We will.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37You are going to dance to a disc called
0:43:37 > 0:43:40Gonna Make Him Mine, recorded by a Birmingham schoolgirls' group
0:43:40 > 0:43:42called the Orchids.
0:43:42 > 0:43:43Get the hips going.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47# There is a boy I'm crazy about
0:43:47 > 0:43:50# Won't even look my way
0:43:50 > 0:43:54# If I could only meet him a while
0:43:54 > 0:43:58# So much I wanna say
0:43:58 > 0:44:01# Gonna make him mine
0:44:01 > 0:44:04# Gonna tell him that I love him
0:44:04 > 0:44:07# Gonna tell him that I need him
0:44:07 > 0:44:10# Gonna make him mine... #
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Fashion, dance, music -
0:44:13 > 0:44:18it was the start of a very important era. It was the '60s.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20We're all quite old now!
0:44:20 > 0:44:24But as I said, we are the rock'n'roll generation
0:44:24 > 0:44:28so, you know, we are the people that don't grow old.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32Now...and...
0:44:32 > 0:44:35# ..Gonna make him mine... #
0:44:35 > 0:44:37Alongside the wonderful dancing and music,
0:44:37 > 0:44:41Ready Steady Go! was important to me for something else -
0:44:41 > 0:44:42the clothes.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45# ..Gonna make him mine... #
0:44:45 > 0:44:47ENGINE REVS
0:44:47 > 0:44:50I was part of new movement
0:44:50 > 0:44:53for whom fashion and music went hand in hand -
0:44:53 > 0:44:55I was a mod.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58# It's summertime
0:44:58 > 0:45:01# And the livin' is easy... #
0:45:02 > 0:45:05Being a mod was all about looking good,
0:45:05 > 0:45:09wearing the latest clothes and listening to the coolest music.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13But being a grammar school girl,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16it wasn't easy.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19It was a strict school uniform
0:45:19 > 0:45:21so to kind of counteract that,
0:45:21 > 0:45:26on the way home, me and my friends would roll our skirts up
0:45:26 > 0:45:29to be a bit more modish, so they were short.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32I had a few detentions for that, I have to say.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35I suppose it was like being part of a tribe, really.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38You had to be the same as everyone else.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40So the music and the clothes
0:45:40 > 0:45:43were integral to each other, really.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47It was an important part of being a mod.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50INDISTINCT
0:45:50 > 0:45:53We had money, we had clothes.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55That's the original sheepskin.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57And there's the parka.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00If you didn't have one of these in the '60s, you never got a bird.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04So you got something like this and get someone in it to share it.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10There were three types of mod. You had the scooter mod,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13you had the mod mod, like the West End mod,
0:46:13 > 0:46:16and then you had... We used to call them suburban mods.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19They never quite sort of caught up with the West End mods.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21The dances were different.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25They were always a couple of weeks behind us, or months behind us.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29'In many towns, new shops and boutiques have sprung up
0:46:29 > 0:46:30'to cater for young tastes.'
0:46:32 > 0:46:33Clothes were everything.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37Everything, really, was based on upper-middle-class people.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Because we came from a working-class background and we all had jobs now
0:46:41 > 0:46:44and we all earned money, so we were going to spend it on clothes
0:46:44 > 0:46:47to show people we were as good as them.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49What gear the cats are wearing is one story.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51Where they wear it is another.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56A night out on the town was the ideal time to show off your stuff
0:46:56 > 0:47:00and, for Barry, there was only one place to be seen -
0:47:00 > 0:47:03the Flamingo club in London's Soho.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07Just knowing you're going to the Flamingo club,
0:47:07 > 0:47:09your chest was pounding.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13You'd watch Ready Steady Go!, you'd watch the acts that were on there,
0:47:13 > 0:47:15put the clothes on, four buttons,
0:47:15 > 0:47:18three pockets and tab collars,
0:47:18 > 0:47:21joddy boots. I would say half of it was clothing
0:47:21 > 0:47:23and the other half was music.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26Out the door - Flamingo was a magnet.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30Just a diddy little doorway, and up here you can hear music.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33And now your heart's really pounding and really rushed,
0:47:33 > 0:47:34cos you're near the music,
0:47:34 > 0:47:37and you can feel the sweat and the heat rising up.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40You can feel the atmosphere in there.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42Nobody wanted to fight anybody.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44All wanted to talk and dance.
0:47:44 > 0:47:45I loved it.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47# The beat starts to retreat
0:47:47 > 0:47:49# But if it goes back a bit further
0:47:49 > 0:47:52# It'll drop flat in Charles Street... #
0:47:52 > 0:47:55The Flamingo was also a place where black and white kids could meet
0:47:55 > 0:47:59and dance to the latest sound from abroad - bluebeat.
0:48:01 > 0:48:02Bluebeat came into our lives, really,
0:48:02 > 0:48:07through the West Indian community. We met in the Flamingo club.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09That's my bluebeat hat.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11You had to have this stud in the back.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14It's a little trick I was taught by a West Indian fella.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17- I never wear it, because I look a dick in it. - HE LAUGHS
0:48:18 > 0:48:20We used to make friends with the West Indians.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22They used to have their house parties.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24We'd get invited to their house parties.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26But as you walk in, the sound system -
0:48:26 > 0:48:28everything's shaking, everything's beating.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30You can feel it in your chest as you move around in the room.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33Can just feel that music.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36# Madness, they call it madness... #
0:48:36 > 0:48:39Ronald Mitchell still treasures the records that brought
0:48:39 > 0:48:42the sound of Jamaica to northern England.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45The highlight of his week was a rollicking house party.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50We really knew nothing
0:48:50 > 0:48:53but the clubs we'd made our home.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56Because we didn't have nothing else to do,
0:48:56 > 0:48:58nowhere to go.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02There was a lot of white people there, and no problem.
0:49:02 > 0:49:03Welcome them in.
0:49:03 > 0:49:08Well, we didn't even think of them as anybody different.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10# Don't believe them people
0:49:12 > 0:49:14# I have done no wrong... #
0:49:14 > 0:49:18We didn't think of anything but to look nice,
0:49:18 > 0:49:20to look good.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23We were very smartly dressed.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25- HE LAUGHS - Very sharp, yeah.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31Our music, it's easy to grow on you, I think,
0:49:31 > 0:49:35and a lot of people think that as well, you know.
0:49:36 > 0:49:37They brought us great stuff.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40Good clothes, good styles, good dancing, good music.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43Prince Buster was probably my favourite.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46I Feel The Spirit - that album on the wall up there.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48That was Prince Buster's first album.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54Prince Buster was almost a secret -
0:49:54 > 0:49:56an exciting, imported sound
0:49:56 > 0:49:59to be heard at clubs and house parties.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03But soon a bluebeat star arrived who would captivate everyone,
0:50:03 > 0:50:06including those starting their music-loving journey.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08I suppose when I think about it, you know,
0:50:08 > 0:50:11I fell in love with Millie Small when I was a little kid.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13It was 1964, I was three.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14So...
0:50:17 > 0:50:20# My boy lollipop
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Just... It's like being three again.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27# You been so sweet, be candy
0:50:27 > 0:50:30# You are my one desire
0:50:31 > 0:50:33# Oh, my lollipop... #
0:50:34 > 0:50:36Very pretty, very bubbly personality,
0:50:36 > 0:50:38and sort of irresistible.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40If you look at old footage of her on telly,
0:50:40 > 0:50:42it's difficult not to love her.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44And when you're growing up, you know...
0:50:44 > 0:50:47I mean, she wasn't on all the time, but she was on a fair bit.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51# I love you, I love you I love you so... #
0:50:51 > 0:50:54When I was at my old school, they then would sing it to me,
0:50:54 > 0:50:57cos my name's Laurence. Laurence - it'd be Lol.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00I was Lol, you see. So Lol, Lolly, Lollipop.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03# My boy lollipop... #
0:51:03 > 0:51:07This was bluebeat, repackaged for British fans.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11We'd taken the original heavy sound and made it a little poppier.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14# You are my one desire... #
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Oh, that's it. I've got a few copies of My Boy Lollipop.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20It didn't come out in a picture sleeve here, but these are foreign.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22I think that's Australian or something,
0:51:22 > 0:51:24and that's probably European.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26Look at that. Isn't that nice?
0:51:26 > 0:51:29This is from Eastern Europe, I think.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31# I love sweet William... #
0:51:31 > 0:51:35She really helped break the whole music through.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39That was the first time Jamaican music was properly taken seriously,
0:51:39 > 0:51:42and became an international success.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44# He brings me candy
0:51:45 > 0:51:48# And kisses too... #
0:51:48 > 0:51:50As with all the music that came our way,
0:51:50 > 0:51:52we'd given it our own unique twist.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56But lots of us were more than ready for something
0:51:56 > 0:51:59that stayed true to the sheer seductive power
0:51:59 > 0:52:01of the original sound.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06Well, we welcome now to the show one of America's top blues singers.
0:52:06 > 0:52:11From Mississippi, it's that famous Boom Boom boy, John Lee Hooker.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21# Boom, boom, boom, boom
0:52:22 > 0:52:24# I'm gonna shoot you right down
0:52:25 > 0:52:27# Right off your feet
0:52:29 > 0:52:30# Take you home with me
0:52:32 > 0:52:33# Put you in my house
0:52:35 > 0:52:36# Boom, boom, boom, boom
0:52:38 > 0:52:39# Whoa... #
0:52:39 > 0:52:42John Lee Hooker and other blues stars were little known
0:52:42 > 0:52:47to most British music fans, like the young John Philpot.
0:52:47 > 0:52:48Then he bought this album,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51the first by a bunch of blues-obsessed British lads
0:52:51 > 0:52:54who made music your parents didn't want you to be into.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57The Stones are very good at finding
0:52:57 > 0:53:00what were then obscure black artists
0:53:00 > 0:53:02and recording their music.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05I remember at school,
0:53:05 > 0:53:08I'd learned to play walking bass on a guitar,
0:53:08 > 0:53:10and we found one in the library.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13And the headmaster burst in the library and said,
0:53:13 > 0:53:15"Stop that filthy jungle music!"
0:53:15 > 0:53:18It was regarded as some kind of subculture
0:53:18 > 0:53:20which needed to be discouraged.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24And of course, the Rolling Stones epitomised this.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29# Well, I'm a king bee, baby
0:53:29 > 0:53:31# Buzzing around your hive... #
0:53:31 > 0:53:35When my mother first heard this coming down from my bedroom,
0:53:35 > 0:53:38in 1964,
0:53:38 > 0:53:41she couldn't make out what a king bee could be.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45And after I'd played it about 30 or 40 times,
0:53:45 > 0:53:49she came up and said, "John, what exactly is a king bee?"
0:53:50 > 0:53:52And of course, I said, "I don't know, Mum."
0:53:52 > 0:53:56I think I had a bit of an idea what a king bee was.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00This bragging sort of male, sort of sexual thing.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02But I was keeping quiet about it.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05I'd be 15, and I'd probably go bright red
0:54:05 > 0:54:07if we'd got into that kind of area.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Or I wanted to be a king bee.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11I wanted to sort up walk into the local dance hall
0:54:11 > 0:54:13and all the girls would be hanging around,
0:54:13 > 0:54:16and I'd be sort of going, "Yeah, I'm a king bee, baby.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18"Gonna buzz all night long.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21"I can buzz better, baby, when your man is gone."
0:54:21 > 0:54:24Yeah, I mean that... Oh, yeah, what a powerful adolescent,
0:54:24 > 0:54:26pubescent message that is.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29# I wanna tell you how it's gonna be
0:54:31 > 0:54:34# You're gonna give your love to me... #
0:54:34 > 0:54:38And they visited my hometown of Rugby, and I got a ticket.
0:54:38 > 0:54:39They were so exciting.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42You couldn't hear anything, though, cos of the screams.
0:54:42 > 0:54:47But the thing I remember was Brian Jones and his harmonica.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50And I decided I had to get a harmonica.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54# I try to show you but you drive me back
0:54:56 > 0:54:58# Your love for me has got to be real
0:55:00 > 0:55:02# Want you to know just how I feel
0:55:04 > 0:55:07# Love's real, not fade away
0:55:08 > 0:55:11# Well, love's real Not fade away... #
0:55:11 > 0:55:15With their sexually charged blues covers, their long hair
0:55:15 > 0:55:19and sarcastic grins, they were the ultimate bad boys,
0:55:19 > 0:55:21hated by parents everywhere.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23It was all terribly appealing.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27The Rolling Stones came along, and in a way,
0:55:27 > 0:55:29it didn't only challenge parents,
0:55:29 > 0:55:33but it challenged all the accepted centres of authority.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37I went to a grammar school, and the headmaster had earlier told us
0:55:37 > 0:55:40that we came to this school to learn to be English gentlemen.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42# Well, I told you once
0:55:42 > 0:55:44# And I told you twice
0:55:47 > 0:55:50# But you never listen to my advice... #
0:55:50 > 0:55:53And a friend of mine, he was in a group,
0:55:53 > 0:55:55and he started really growing his hair,
0:55:55 > 0:55:58and he was called in by the headmaster
0:55:58 > 0:55:59and given an ultimatum.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03And the headmaster said to him,
0:56:03 > 0:56:07"Meredith, do you want to be a member of this school,
0:56:07 > 0:56:09"or do you want to be a Rolling Stone?"
0:56:10 > 0:56:13And my friend, Brian Meredith, said,
0:56:13 > 0:56:16"I want to be a Rolling Stone." And he was expelled.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24If you wanted to rebel or just stand out,
0:56:24 > 0:56:28becoming a teenage Stones fan certainly helped.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30The Stones added a swagger and attitude
0:56:30 > 0:56:33to our now fast-exploding pop scene.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35Things would never be the same.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40I thought the world would become a better place through rock and roll.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42I really did believe that.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44But I think it had a huge liberalising effect
0:56:44 > 0:56:46on people's attitudes.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49# This could be the last time
0:56:49 > 0:56:51# This could be the last time
0:56:51 > 0:56:54# Maybe the last time... #
0:56:54 > 0:56:57By 1965, our love affair with pop
0:56:57 > 0:57:00was entering a new and more passionate phase.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05Fans now had their own heroes and their own music.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10British pop would no longer ape other sounds,
0:57:10 > 0:57:13but export our own all over the world.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16What a time to be growing up.
0:57:16 > 0:57:21# Now, you work all week just to make that money, yeah... #
0:57:21 > 0:57:25In the mid-60s, I had landed in the middle of all this pop thing.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31But before I was discovered in 1966,
0:57:31 > 0:57:34I was really just a typical teenager,
0:57:34 > 0:57:37lucky enough to have been born into a generation
0:57:37 > 0:57:40who were experiencing something that their parents had never had.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43# Let's live it up... #
0:57:43 > 0:57:47Pop, the music and the clothes and the clubs -
0:57:47 > 0:57:50all of it had given us a new way of expressing ourselves,
0:57:50 > 0:57:52and a new way of saying who we were.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56Our pop music is a dividing line.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59There was the Britain before pop culture,
0:57:59 > 0:58:01and the very different Britain after.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03A better Britain, I think.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07So from a fan, thanks, pop music.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09You helped to make us who we are.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12# Don't you rock me, Daddy-o
0:58:12 > 0:58:13# Don't you rock me, Daddy-o
0:58:15 > 0:58:18# Well, me and my wife, we went to town
0:58:18 > 0:58:20# Sail away, lady, sail away
0:58:20 > 0:58:22# Went to buy a ten dollar gown
0:58:22 > 0:58:24# Sail away, lady, sail away
0:58:24 > 0:58:26# Well, don't you rock me, Daddy-o
0:58:26 > 0:58:30# Don't you rock me, Daddy-o Don't you rock me, Daddy-o
0:58:30 > 0:58:32# Don't you rock me, Daddy-o
0:58:32 > 0:58:37# Don't you rock me, Daddy-o Don't you rock me, Daddy-o. #