Remembrance of Things Past

THE HIPPIE CULT, flower power, underground or counter culture – whatever label you prefer – evolved throughout the mid 1960s, was in full swing by 1967 and lost its impetus by the first half of the 1970s. For a brief moment in time, a common perspective on life was adopted by the youth of Europe and America - driven by their music, informed by their art and graphics – that became a tribal imperative. To join you only needed to wear the right war paint, which was no more complex than growing your hair long. This was a badge immediately recognisable to all concerned and at once shouted defiance at the regimentation of an ‘establishment’ still embracing the strictures of the second world war. Across the USA, subversive bank clerks let their hair creep over the collar; in the UK, schoolboys got sent home with clips in their hair. It was more than a mere movement; it became a social powerhouse that big business soon spotted had potential – not least the somnambulant record industry.

Once huge amounts of money started washing around the counter culture, government became more than alarmed – it felt under attack. Fiscal manipulation and taxation were the traditional way for the rich and powerful to control and subdue the proletariat. Suddenly, almost overnight, whole swathes of the underground movement were immune to these controls by dint of newfound wealth - and by their access to the world’s media, who seemed to be recklessly willing to announce each and every extravagance of this new society.

In America, faced with the cataclysmic disaster that was Vietnam, the raison d’etre for the counter culture was more acute. A young man with the enviable job of senior photographer for the underground bible, Rolling Stone magazine, was on hand to witness and record these historic events. For Robert Altman, the hippie philosophy struck a chord in his very soul and the true potential of a ‘flower power’ lifestyle has stayed with him throughout his life. ‘I knew what I was capturing was historically important. Even though we were not part of the “establishment” we knew that our generation was rocking the world. We were aware that our full tilt boogie was making a definite difference.” he says today.

Altman has kept the spiritual flame burning and now the Santa Monica Press has published his affectionate photo-documentary: The Sixties, with an introduction by the equally legendary Ben Fong-Torres of Rolling Stone. Here are scenes, events, personalities and the great musicians of the decade, shot with care and empathy. Some are forgotten now, some have passed on, others are still pumping it out through music, politics or the media. It was – while it lasted – a truly magical time. Robert Altman is an old hippie - and that can never be anything other than a genuine term of endearment. An insider’s view of a moment in history that shook the world - recommended.