The year 1964 was a watershed period in British music. Before that year, British popular music was barely heard outside of the U.K. But when the Beatles achieved American success, a seemingly endless number of British bands and singers were suddenly able to crack the American market.

By the end of 1964, some enterprising filmmakers decided to create a cinematic year-in-review to highlight this new wave of British music talent. The result was “Pop Gear,” a strange but jolly little production that serves as a celluloid time capsule for that remarkable musical year.

The features opens with footage from a November, 1963 Beatles concert in Manchester - She Loves You [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Oct 28, 2007 - 24 comments

On this day (February 7) in 1964, the Beatles arrived in America for the first time.. Two days later they made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show (YouTube, approx. 9 mins.). Read a transcript of their first American press conference, snippets from other 1964 interviews, and a fictional 1963-64 blog written from the point of view of a 15-year-old fan in New York.
posted by amyms on Feb 7, 2007 - 68 comments

Were you influenced by Thurber or James Joyce. (Real Media link) "Ah none of them. James Stewart. James Stewart and Betty Grable." An interview with a very young and brash John Lennon on Swedish Television from 1964. (English interview begins at ca. 2 min into the clip.) Media player link here.
posted by three blind mice on Jan 25, 2006 - 15 comments

New York World's Fair 1964/65. The future as they saw it then.
posted by plep on Dec 27, 2003 - 19 comments