50 years ago today an album was released that took pop music, something previously regarded as disposable, into the realm of art, whilst helping enable a vital generation of young people to throw off the shackles and express themselves in ever-ambitious ways – ‘Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ soundtracked the fabled ‘summer of love’, which had spilled out into an unsuspecting world via the US West Coast, its psychedelic epicentre being San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood, where the original hippies had gathered and pondered the meaning of it all, adopting a lateral LSD-laced stance on life that would be a defining feature of the decade.
Tag Archives | Haight-Ashbury
Cynthia Robinson
Cynthia Robinson, trumpeter / vocalist with Sly & The Family Stone, died last month aged 71. She was part of a band that truly broke barriers back in the late ’60s / early ’70s, being both multi-racial as well as consisting of male and female members.
Shoom Summer Of Love
I was recently part of a celebratory weekend, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the ‘Second Summer Of Love’, which, in fact, spanned 2 summers (1988 and 1989), focusing on the key role played by the famous London club night, Shoom.
San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)
Scott McKenzie, the singer of the 1967 Summer Of Love anthem ‘San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)’, died last weekend, aged 73.
San Fran Celebrates
I’m writing this on the flight back from the US. It’s been a whirlwind nine days, with gigs in Boston, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Los Angeles and, concluding the tour, the spectacular Sunset Halloween Boat Party aboard the magnificent San Francisco Belle.
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