Age of Aquarius

The arrival of the swinging sixties injected colour and a sense of freedom into a Britain eager to distance itself from the austerity and deprivation of the drab and dreary post war period.

At the start of this iconic era the rebels of their day cocked a snook at the establishment by embracing what many perceived as shocking new music and design trends.

The psychedelic generation’s underground movement blew like a whirlwind through the starch-collared mainstream, bringing with it innovative styles, a new feeling of liberation and what was heralded as the arrival of the modern age.

Young women restrained by the tailored, grey middle-aged uniforms of the previous decade, cast off their prim and proper look, opting for a more vibrant and free style; men dispensed with their neat short back and sides; the music industry created a stir with a new upbeat vibe, a colourful, often shocking, new pop art culture was unleashed on an unsuspecting nation and designers let their imaginations run wild with funky ideas for the 60’s home.

Our life today was undeniably shaped by this eclectic era where times were certainly a-changing.

Now the magic of this colourful decade will be brought to life in Shropshire at the Severn Valley Railway’s first ever Swinging Sixties Weekend, which will be staged on 8 and 9 May.

Top tribute bands playing the music of 1960’s icons The Beatles and The Kinks are to headline back-to-back concerts at the SVR’s terminus station at Kidderminster.

The Upbeat Beatles will take centre stage on Saturday 8 May and The Kinx will perform on Sunday 9 May in a fab finale to the railway’s first-ever ‘Swinging ’60s Weekend.’

Building on the experience gained over many years of promoting its hugely successful 1940’s Weekends which revel in the spirit of the big-band era of wartime Britain, The Swinging ’60s Weekend will set out to re-create the mood of Beatlemania Britain when miniskirts, flares, winkle-pickers and Cuban heels were the things to wear, Austin or Morris ‘Minis’ the things to drive, and a generation of liberated youngsters made ‘flower power’ a kind of religion.

Visitors will find nostalgic echoes of the Swinging ’60s throughout the full 16 miles of the Severn Valley line, where trains between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth will be operated by both steam and diesel locomotives.

Visitors will find nostalgic echoes of the Swinging ’60s throughout the full 16 miles of the Severn Valley line.

The mood of the era will be set at Kidderminster, both on the station forecourt and in the car park, with a display of some 40 classic cars dating from 1952 to 1969 – a typical cross-section of the kind of vehicles seen in everyday use half a century ago.

The motoring theme will be continued at The Engine House visitor centre at Highley, where more cars of the ’60s can be viewed outside.

A reminder of the ‘mods and rockers’ cults will come in the shape of an organised road run for scooters to Highley station which will include the classic Lambrettas and Vestas of the ‘60s, starting from Kidderminster station forecourt at 12 noon.

Scooter riders wishing to take part are asked to meet at 10.30am, and a £5 donation to the SVR is asked for. Riders will be entitled to free admission to Highley Engine House and free site admission at Kidderminster station, worth £4.

Several scooter clubs in the West Midlands catchment area have said they will support the run. 

The ‘60s era brought many revolutions in the fashion world. It was the age of Mary Quant and mini skirts, culottes and go-go boots, pvc dresses and disco hats. Appropriately, Vintage Vanity, the Mill Street, Kidderminster based specialists in 1950s, 1960s and 1970s fashions for men and women, will be taking centre stage at Kidderminster station on both days to give a catwalk fashion show of ‘retro’ clothing.

The man tasked with the job of making the SVR’s ‘Swinging ‘60s’ weekend a hit, is professional London Midland train driver Andy Christie, who, although born a full generation after the ‘60s decade, grew up in a household where Beatles music and vinyl 45rpm hits of the era were the music of choice.

Andy, an SVR volunteer for almost 20 years and one of the railway’s qualified steam locomotive firemen, explains: “Both my parents were born in the 1950s, and hence were teenagers in the 1960s. I have to admit that their passion for The Beatles, and that whole era, rubbed off on me.

“Although I didn’t know those times myself, I sense the ‘60s really was an age when the good times rolled. It was a time of fun and freedom, and we want to convey the spirit of those times in this, our first attempt at a ‘Swinging ‘60s’ weekend’.

Music plays a big part in the SVR event, for in addition to the Saturday and Sunday evening pop concerts, there will be live music at Kidderminster station on Friday night, 7 May, and on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Kidderminster Indie-pop band, The Amateurs, take to the stage on Friday night, while in the spotlight on Saturday afternoon will be Bridgnorth-based band The Dockers, covering a series of 1960’s hits.

On Sunday it’s the turn of accoustic duo Twin Strings and rock band The Rhythm Aces. Local Kidderminster band The Supertronics will support The Kinx in Sunday night’s big gig.

Andy Christie however has decided that if he’s going to the trouble of erecting a stage, he may as well get maximum use from it, and thus on the preceding weekend, Saturday 1 May and Sunday 2 May, Kidderminster station concourse will host live music warm-up events in the form of a Status Quo tribute concert on the Saturday evening and an Oasis tribute gig on the Sunday.

Both will help to raise funds for Severn Valley Railway projects including construction of a new shed to house diesel locomotives, and the restoration of the GWR steam locomotive No.4930 Hagley Hall.

Sixties chick Jenny Mison is pictured gearing up for the SVR’s swinging sixties weekend.
Dress supplied by Wild Heart, Bridgnorth £19.99 www.wild-heart.co.uk
Photo by Emotion Studios www.emotionstudios.co.uk