🇬🇧United Kingdom · 60s
Rivers of Blood
Enoch Powell spoke of rivers of blood, students marched on Grosvenor Square, and the dream of the sixties began to fracture.
5 milestones of 1968
Enoch Powell warned of racial conflict if immigration continued. He was sacked from the Shadow Cabinet. Dockers marched in his support. The speech poisoned race relations and its echoes persist.
Racism and immigration — condemn the racism, present historical context
Thousands of anti-Vietnam War protesters marched on the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square. Police and demonstrators clashed violently. Student revolution seemed possible, briefly.
The Lord Chamberlain's power to censor plays was abolished. Within weeks, Hair opened with full nudity on the London stage. The theatre was finally free.
The strengthened Race Relations Act made it illegal to refuse housing, employment or public services on grounds of race. It was a direct response to both immigration anxieties and Powell's speech.
Anti-racism legislation — present as progress while acknowledging ongoing struggle
Ten years after Munich, Matt Busby's rebuilt Manchester United beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley to become the first English club to win the European Cup. George Best, Bobby Charlton and the memory of the Babes.
70% local · 30% international
2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick — Made at Borehamwood Studios. HAL. The monolith. Cinema redefined.
Oliver!
Carol Reed — 6 Oscars. 'Please, sir, I want some more.' Musical perfection.
If....
Lindsay Anderson — Malcolm McDowell revolts against public school. Radical British cinema.
Yellow Submarine
George Dunning — Animated Beatles. Psychedelic. 'All You Need Is Love.'
Planet of the Apes
Franklin J. Schaffner — 'Get your stinking paws off me!' American sci-fi popular in UK.
Dad's Army
1968-1977 — Home Guard comedy. 'Don't panic!' 'Stupid boy!' National treasure.
The Morecambe and Wise Show
1968-1977 — Eric and Ernie moved to BBC. The greatest double act.
Magpie
1968-1980 — ITV's answer to Blue Peter. Edgier, cooler.
Hair (stage)
Sep 1968 — Musical opened in West End after censorship ended. Nudity on stage.
Civilisation
1969 prep — Kenneth Clark's art history series in production — would air 1969.
Currency: GBP
Inflation: 4.7%
Post-devaluation hangover. Prices rising. The boom years were fading. Colour TV was a luxury few could afford.
Inflation-adjusted values
Concorde
Prototype rolled out at Toulouse — supersonic flight almost here.
Colour television
Colour broadcasts expanding on BBC Two — still expensive sets.
Apollo missions
Apollo 7 and 8 orbited — Moon landing within reach.
Hovercraft
SRN4 entered full Channel service.
Underground trains
Victoria Line under construction — London's newest Tube.
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