Aviva Trivia

Apollo 11:  The USA set out to put men on the moon during the decade of the 60s – the goal was just reached in time, with the first manned lunar landing on July 20 1969. The astronauts who first walked on the moon were Neil Armstrong (the `first foot’) and Buzz Aldrin. Third man Michael Collins remained in command of the lunar module.

Beatles: The four moptops from Liverpool were undoubtedly the biggest musical names of the 60s – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr released their first record Love Me Do in 1962. From simple pop ballads they quickly progressed to complex harmonies and out of the ordinary themes in their songwriting. The Beatles spearheaded the popular trends of the 60s, including the use of the sitar in pop music and meditation.

Carnaby St: A street in the London district of Soho, which became the center of fashion in the 60s. Carnaby St shops played host to designers like Mary Quant and Biba, who opened boutiques there, as well as record shops.

Dollybirds: Long straight hair, big mothy eyes wreathed in eyeliner and thick fake lashes and pale pink or beige lipstick was the signature look of the `dollybirds’ of the 60s, exemplified in style icons such as Beatle girlfriends Patti Boyd and Jane Asher. In their little shift dresses and white boots, these dollybirds had the look everyone wanted.

Epstein, Brian: Liverpool born Brian Epstein became the Beatles manager in 1962 and steered them to world stardom before his death in 1967. He also masterminded the careers of other Liverpool acts such as Cilla Black and Gerry and the Pacemakers. Epstein died from an accidental overdose of barbiturates.

Fashion: The Sixties became the first decade of the 20th Century when fashion was dictated by the young. Young designers and stylists created fashions that only the young could wear, from mini skirts to bell bottom pants. But some innovations, such as the trouser suit, were taken up by the older generation with considerable panache.

Guevara, Che: Ernesto `Che’ Guevara was an Argentinean revolutionary who became an icon for disaffected youth in the Sixties. But his life was given to liberation, not rock music. After working with lepers and other disadvantaged peoples in his youth, Guevara joined Fidel Castro in the Cuban revolution and became a feared and respected Guerilla leader. He lived in Cuba after the successful coup that put Castro in power, but in the Sixties he was drawn back to another revolution in Bolivia, where the familiar image of the revolutionary in his black beret became a poster that hung on walls all over Europe and America. Guevara was shot to death by Bolivian troopers in 1967.

Hammer Horror: The Hammer Studios in Britain turned out a particularly cheap and nasty brand of horror film, so bad they were brilliant. But at least part of the success of the `Hammer horror’ was due to some fine acting talent – Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were among the stars to get their teeth into roles like Dracula and the Mummy.

I’m a believer: The Monkees number one hit of 1966 might have been a mantra for the record buying public. Regarded with horror when the made for TV group debuted in September of that year, by the time I’m a Believer stormed up the charts, the funky Monkee four had won over a worldwide fan base with their charm and humour. They even counted the Beatles among their fans, with john Lennon comparing them to the Marx Brothers. The Monkees’ fight to play their own music also won them admirers for their integrity.

JFK: Although his presidency lasted less than a year, John Fitzgerald Kennedy had a profound effect on the young generation of the Swinging Sixties. His death by assassination in November 1963 was mourned by the youth of the western world.

Keeler, Christine: The London call girl who almost brought down the British government when her affair with Secretary of State for War John Profumo was exposed. She and her fellow sex worker Mandy Rice-Davies occupied the headlines for weeks as the scandal dragged on.

London: The center of everything that swung in the Swinging Sixties. After the suffering of World War II and the steady recovery in the Fifties, London was ripe for a major economic boom when the Sixties came along, and youth fueled that boom with an unprecedented demand for clothes, music and entertainment.

Make Love, Not War: Protests against the establishment and war became a daily occurrence in the Sixties. The peace movement was led by `protest’ singers such as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. `Make Love Not War’ became the slogan that ushered in hippies and flower power and made Haight Ashbury the center of the new consciousness.

Nick Nack Hully Gully: dances in the 60s were very silly – so were the names. Other alleged dance floor hits were the Twist, the Swim, the Goose and the Pop Eye Waddle. Of course these weren’t real dances. Baby boomers generally just shuffled around the floor and called it anything they liked.

OO7: Writer Ian Fleming’s famous character James Bond first came to the big screen in 1962, with actor Sean Connery taking on the role of the suave superspy in Dr No. Even though he was not Fleming’s idea of the perfect casting, Connery went on to become one of the most popular actors of the Sixties. He retired from the role of James Bond 007 in 1971, but is still remembered as the original and the best.

Psychedelia and Op Art: Art changed dramatically during the Sixties, from something that stuck fiercely to tradition, to an explosion of colour and design. Andy Warhol led the Pop Art charge with his depictions of a Campbell’s soup can and his montages of stars like Marilyn Monroe. Psychedelic derived from the drug culture of the Sixties, an attempt to capture the swirling forms and colors seen under the influence of LSD.

Quant, Mary:  The style diva of the Sixties, responsible for mini skirts, smock dresses, fashion boutiques (little shops packed with cheap clothes) and paint boxes of make up. Everything Mary Quant touched turned to gold, with her familiar black and white daisy logo on it. One of the most influential designers of the 20th Century, everything she wore, from her glossy geometric haircut to her white boots, became a trend.

Rolling Stones: Five London lads with a deep love of American black rhythm and blues pioneered the second wave of Sixties music that also saw groups like the Animals come to prominence. The Rolling Stones eschewed the smart suits and orchestrated moves of the Beatles and played raw R&B to an increasingly appreciative fan base.

Springfield, Dusty: With her blonde cotton candy beehive hairdo, heavily made up eyes and mini skirts, Dusty Springfield epitomized the music babe of the Sixties. But her rich dark voice and her gutsy gospel style set her apart from other girl singers. Originally a member of the singing group the Springfields, Dusty went solo in the Sixties and shot into the charts. She realized a dream by recording in America, the home of the black gospel and blues music she loved so much.

Twiggy: Leslie Hornby was a skinny, big eyed schoolgirl when she won a nationwide search for a new model. At six and a half stone, and with measurements of 32-22-32, she shocked even the old guard of the fashion world, but as Twiggy, she became one of the world’s first supermodels.

Unisex: A fashion that became popular with the skinny look promoted by Twiggy, meaning fashions that are interchangeable between girls and boys. Jean became, and remains, the most popular unisex fashion.

Vidal Sassoon: The inventor of the sharply angled geometric hairstyle that dominated the fashion scene in the Sixties. Sassoon dressed the hair of some of the world’s most beautiful and famous women, from fashion designer Mary Quant to fashion model Jean Shrimpton.

Woodstock: The Woodstock Festival lasted for three days and nights in August 1969 and attracted a crowd of almost half a million to an event that was only planned to cater for a couple of hundred thousand. The unprecedented gathering of fans saw stars like Jimi Hendrix, Arlo Guthrie and Janis Joplin live on stage, even though it rained most of the time.

X, Malcolm: A charismatic leader of the Black Nationalist movement, Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Detroit 1925. He became a symbol of the new black pride, espousing militancy and the refusal to be second class citizens in the USA. He was assassinated in 1965.

Youth: When those born during the `baby boom’ of the post war years hit puberty, it was a great time to be young. The 1960s saw the birth of youth culture, and the rise of youth oriented consumerism. It was also a time of rebellion against the `establishment’ of the 50s, particularly the long held acceptance of war, racism and monogamous relationships. Youth feared the advent of a third world war, in which nuclear weapons would be used, and so there was also a strong element of `nothing to lose’.

Zonker: The ageless hippie character from Doonesbury, the comic of the baby boomers, and who epitomizes the counter culture of the 60s and 70s – `back in the day’.