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Palgrave Macmillan

Counter-Cultural Lifestyles in Regional England, 1965-1975

Beyond Swinging London

  • Book
  • May 2025

Overview

Authors:
  1. John Griffiths

    1. Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

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  • Breaks new ground by journeying beyond London, investigating sub-cultures in multiple English locations c.1965-1975
  • Explores connections between the regions and London and also regional attitudes towards the Capital
  • Features sub-cultures, including those related to experimental art, sexuality, and student life

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Keywords

  • Swinging Britain
  • 'the new morality'
  • regionalism
  • Women's Liberation
  • permissive society

About this book

This book breaks new ground by exploring regional scenes beyond London during the years 1965 to 1975.  Whilst many accounts of this era have tended to focus on the Capital, John Griffiths journeys beyond its boundaries to assess how far the cultures usually implied to be exclusive to the metropolis in fact diffused into the English counties. The book examines both the ‘swinging period’ of post-1945 history (c. 1965-1967) and the years of the counter-culture c. 1968-1975,  examining topics such as the rise of the boutique, alternative cinema, art festivals and art labs, and regional funding for the experimental, before moving on to consider the attitudes of regional newspapers to changes in society. In its latter sections the legacy of 1968 is considered, with specific focus on the rise of Women’s Liberation and Gay Liberation movements. It concludes with an examination of student life on the regional campus.  This book argues that, contrary to many accounts that branded them as cultural deserts, the 1960s saw the ‘provinces’ rebranded as ‘regions’ and were increasingly up to speed with London culture.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    John Griffiths

About the author

John Griffiths is Senior Lecturer on the History Programme at Massey University, New Zealand. He is the author of several articles that have appeared in internationally recognised journals such as Social History, Journal of Social History, Urban History and Contemporary British History. He is the author of Imperial Culture in Antipodean Cities (Palgrave, 2014) and the four-volume Empire and Popular Culture (2021-2022). He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Counter-Cultural Lifestyles in Regional England, 1965-1975

  • Book Subtitle: Beyond Swinging London

  • Authors: John Griffiths

  • Series Title: Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-40739-0Due: 13 June 2025

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-40742-0Due: 13 June 2025

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-40740-6Due: 13 June 2025

  • Series ISSN: 2730-9517

  • Series E-ISSN: 2730-9525

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Illustrations: 20 illustrations in colour

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