50 years since the Beatles were in Australia. Was the 60's the best era to live in?

[El Presidente]

In the warehouse today and that was the topic of radio discussion (slow news week obviously!)

Seriously though....50 years since the Beatles......same with the Rolling Stones?

How old do you feel!

Mind you I was but a year of age at the time. Ken was like 17. Still, time is flying by.

Yet friends of mine who lived through the 60's as a teenager/young adult continually refer to it as the "great era".

For those of you who did...has there been a better period not just in music but simply day to day living?

Would you swap it for any other period?

[Stevieboy]

Born in '68, I loved being a youngster in the 70s music-wise. The UK punk scene was amazing: Pistols, Damned, UK Subs, SLF plus all the electronic music was ground-breaking: Tubeway Army, OMD, early Human League.....

Wouldn't swap it..

[tippexx]

Yet friends of mine who lived through the 60's as a teenager/young adult continually refer to it as the "great era".

Not necessarily 'great' .... but a whole lot less complicated, less pretentious .... and miles less expensive. And, because I was only a teenager back then .... little in the way of responsibility.

[kwsaw63]

Well, 50 years ago I was a one year toddler too; so can't speak about the 60's. What I will say is that I enjoyed my early working life in the 80's as it was still a relatively simple and slower paced age (e.g. no email that you need to answer 24/7, no expectation of being contactable by the office when you were on holiday, etc.)

[Ken Gargett]

Mind you I was but a year of age at the time. Ken was like 17. Still, time is flying by.

you are on fire tonight!

i was but a twinkle in the relevant eye.

actually my dad went to the concert (he was definitely not a beatles guy - gilbert and sullivan for preference). but his best mate was ken archer who, after cricket, ran a brizzy radio station and was given tickets. they went. dad apparently spent the entire time telling screaming girls to shut up and sit down. fat chance. he hated it. said they could hear not a single note.

i remember pointed comments about long haired louts etc. not fond of any cut short of the short back and sides.

[anacostiakat]

Well it really does depend on what aspect of the 60's you are referring to.

Being a recipient of advanced medical treatment I would not trade today's medicine for that of the 60's.

But of course there are other aspects very persuasive. . .

[OZCUBAN]

Thought you meant tobacco beetles lol

[Diamondog]

The 60's and 70's produced the greatest bands/musicians of all time. To have that many brilliant musicians/bands in one era will never be replicated, most from Europe....I didn't live in that time but that's what I listen to....such musicianship, mind boggling....

[IcedCanuck]

I think there is good music to be had from any era but IMO there are more shite bands from that era than anything else. People were all f'ed up on so many drugs back then someone banging the pots and pans with a spoon would have sounded good to them

[ImTripN2]

The 60's and 70's produced the greatest bands/musicians of all time. To have that many brilliant musicians/bands in one era will never be replicated, most from Europe....I didn't live in that time but that's what I listen to....such musicianship, mind boggling....

So true. The difference between music then and now is that back in the 60's and 70's the bands made incredible music without the hype and media exposure. Since, a band's first priority is to be visually appealing and make money. Let the studio technicians make the music. I blame it on the Bee Gees....

[joeypots]

Pure pop music genius.

I was 5 when they hit the Ed Sullivan show. Wrap your mind around this. George Harrison was something like 27 years old when they disbanded.

[TiminBC]

The Beatles were really before my time and well the Stones keep rolling. Both bands grew on me over time. I cannot help that think even a few years ago we would not have this site or the ability to discuss this type of topics across the world.

I like telling the kids at work to stop whining and enjoy yourself because one day you will look back at this time as the good old days. Sadly it might be more true than I intended.

Life might have been simpler in some ways but often what makes our current lives seem too complicated can be controlled.

[ptrthgr8]

I guess I can't really say anything about the 60s since I was born in the 70s... but I do have to admit it was very,very cool to be a young college kid working at a music store in Seattle in 1990. Saw a lot of great bands play locally before anyone ever knew who they were (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Screaming Trees to name a few) and saw many others that were just as great, but never made it big like those others.

I certainly look back on that time with great fondness (music, college, girls, beer, fun times!) but I would not want to go back since I'm in a far better place now. Might be fun to revisit 90s Seattle for a little while, but I wouldn't trade what I have now for anything.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[cigaraholic]

Having been born in Bay Area in 54 I definitely got to experience the 60's at ground 0. If I'd been a little older I'd of had even more fun, but then I could of been drafted.

I was at the last Beatles concert at Candlestick, all you heard was girls crying and screaming their favorite Beatle's name. The best part was watching people jump onto the field trying to get thru cops and make their way to second base where the stage was.......surounded by a cyclone fence with an armored car waiting to take them away......no wonder they stoped...

My dad had a great seat there as he was one of the chauffeurs in the Beatles party. Funny.....and true story.....a family friend was the head of Capital Records on the West coast at that time and he decided, after a few scotches, that instead of hiring drivers for the Beatles he'd have my dad and two other friends rent the limos and do the driving. He told them when they went to rent the limos....don't you dare tell them what this is for.

So out they went to pick up the Beatles at the airport, 3 limos and a bus. The Beatles decided to ride in the bus, my dad just had one man in his car. As they're driving up the freeway to the stick cars with kids were swarming all over them, it didn't help that all the Beatles were hanging out windows waving to everybody. My dad was the last car in the train and the guy inside started screaming....get behind the bus...my dad thought what the hell it's a rented car, you want behind the bus OK.....he got him behind the bus. He said the guy was screaming so much I thought he was going to have a heart attack.....he was driving Brian Epstein.....

The head grounds keeper said he wouldn't allow the armored car on the field and the Beatles said they wouldn't go on unless the car was parked right there at second base. They had to get the mayor on the phone to overrule the grounds keeper. Watching the Stones walk out to a little stage shaking hands with everybody to sing a few songs a few years age, I thought times have really changed....

[jazzboypro]

Born in 65 i don't recall much of the 60's, but a a jazz lover, i can tell that the 60's is a stellar decade in jazz.

[noreaster]

Born in 69 so I don't remember the 60s ...wish I were 10 yrs older for one reason....I could've seen the mighty Led Zeppelin...

[JohnS]

In the warehouse today and that was the topic of radio discussion (slow news week obviously!)

Seriously though....50 years since the Beatles......same with the Rolling Stones?

How old do you feel!

Mind you I was but a year of age at the time. Ken was like 17. Still, time is flying by.

Yet friends of mine who lived through the 60's as a teenager/young adult continually refer to it as the "great era".

For those of you who did...has there been a better period not just in music but simply day to day living?

Would you swap it for any other period?

Yes, by far, this was the standout era in popular music in the 20th century. I was born in 1972, yet I always come back to this era as the most innovative in music in the last 50 years. I very much wish that I could have seen The Beatles play at Sydney Stadium in June 1964. This stadium was at Rushcutters Bay, it made way for the Eastern Suburbs Railway Line in the 1970s. If you are a Sydney resident, you'll know how busy Martin Place, Kings Cross, Edgecliff and Bondi Junction train stations are! Sydney Stadium hosted Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, The Who, The Small Faces, Cliff Richard et al.

http://www.milesago.com/venues/sydney-stadium.htm

The other main act that I wish I could have seen was Led Zeppelin's only Sydney concert at Sydney Showground on February 27th, 1972. As I was born 4 months after this, sadly it wasn't possible and my mother has never shown the slightest interest in quality Rock bands! (I still love her though!) Apparently 27000 people did go to this show, but it was probably more than 30000 who turned up as plenty of people jumped the back fences! Last year I met a lovely man who casually filled in at work for a day who was in his sixties. He told me that he attended this show. This gave me conflicted feelings as one part of me was happy for him, while the other part cringed with envy!

http://www.ledzeppelin.com/node/608/6358

[Fuzz]

I prefer the Beatles early work, their later stuff not so much. Then again, my taste in music is 40's, 50's & 60's.

[tmac77]

The Beatles were my first musical memory. I was born in London UK and at age 6 knew almost every one of their songs by heart. I still remember George Harrison and his mum showing up at our local school fete and everyone went nuts. Growing up in the 60's and 70's was an amazing era musically and had a major impact upon my musical tastes. The Beatles sound and the fact that they wrote most of their own material just blew the lid of the music scene at the time. Had many opportunities to see most of the bands in the 70's including Zeppelin in 1976. Another musician that blew my socks off was David Bowie. When I first got his Ziggy Stardust album I must have played it about 10 times a day for weeks on end. Drove my mum mad.

[SCgarman]

This is the album that changed it all. The music that would be defined as Heavy Metal. 4 angry but talented guys from Birmingham, England. Black Sabbath!! These fine men created an entire music genre. Released Feb. 1970

[Smallclub]

Not necessarily 'great' .... but a whole lot less complicated, less pretentious .... and miles less expensive.

Yes, and the thing that I remember the most, compared to today, was the general optimism, in all social brackets.

[cigcars]

*In the '60's I was in elementary school. My favorite memories are of the '70's! Great music, great times, social awareness, cool school administrators trying to "keep up with the 'times'"! White teachers wearing dashikis, giant Afro hairstyles large enough to block out an eclipse, fun fun fun fun FUN times! The '80's on through to the '90's is a slight blur because like most active military members we pretty much stayed sauced, plastered, and BLINDED from booze, smokes, etc. MAN, I wish I'd known what I know now when I was stationed in Germany, where I would have had plenty of access to "forbidden smokes"! Ah well - those were "the days"!

[Quint]

I think there is good music to be had from any era but IMO there are more shite bands from that era than anything else. People were all f'ed up on so many drugs back then someone banging the pots and pans with a spoon would have sounded good to them

Couldn't be more wrong IMO. There has never been an era and probably will never again be an era withso many excellent band and song writers. This was an era of change, a culture revolution was going on world wide. For the 1st time the younger generation was questioning authority and the regimented lifestyles and family structure that everybody was molded into. Government was being question, Vietnam was being protested. The young generation was visualizing a different world, the song writing reflected that. The fabric and structure of the present day society was being questioned. Music and song writing reflected all of this. There is no era in music that has even come close.

[Colt45]

Never been a big Beatles fan, though I understand and appreciate their place / contribution in the history of popular music. Every era has had groups, singers, etc who write and perform their own material. Every era has had groups, singers, etc who've had material written (and perhaps recorded) for them. It would be a rarity in any era to have any recording artist not footing the bill on their own to not have an appointed producer.

[Smallclub]

Couldn't be more wrong IMO. There has never been an era and probably will never again be an era withso many excellent band and song writers. This was an era of change, a culture revolution was going on world wide. For the 1st time the younger generation was questioning authority and the regimented lifestyles and family structure that everybody was molded into. Government was being question, Vietnam was being protested. The young generation was visualizing a different world, the song writing reflected that. The fabric and structure of the present day society was being questioned. Music and song writing reflected all of this. There is no era in music that has even come close.

Well said. To be honest I naively thought that was obvious…