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The Summer of...

Season 1 2006
TV-PG

  • 2006-05-26T23:00:00Z on BBC Two
  • 50m
  • 3h 20m (4 episodes)
  • United Kingdom
  • Documentary

4 episodes

Series Premiere

2006-05-26T23:00:00Z

1x01 1967 - The Summer of Love

Series Premiere

1x01 1967 - The Summer of Love

  • 2006-05-26T23:00:00Z50m

By 1967 the rallying cry "turn on, tune in, drop out" had won hearts and minds among Britain's youth. This affectionate trip down memory lane evokes a time when the pill gave birth to free love, the top groove was the Beatles' All You Need Is Love, and LSD use mushroomed. Narrated by Bill Nighy with contributions from, among others, Donovan, Bill Wyman, Mary Quant and Tony Benn.

2006-06-02T23:00:00Z

1x02 1976 - The Summer of Heat

1x02 1976 - The Summer of Heat

  • 2006-06-02T23:00:00Z50m

The longest, driest spell on record led to drought, water rationing and forest fires. As the country sweltered, tensions rose. Angry crowds helped
James Hunt win the Grand Prix, violent rioting tore up the Notting Hill Carnival and punk reared its rebellious head. Britain would never be the same again.

2006-06-09T23:00:00Z

1x03 1989 - The Summer of Rave

1x03 1989 - The Summer of Rave

  • 2006-06-09T23:00:00Z50m

The summer of 1989 saw a new type of youth rebellion transform the cultural landscape, as thousands of young people danced at illegal acid house parties in fields and aircraft hangars. Dubbed the "second summer of love" - not least because of the effects of euphoric new drug ecstasy - it was a benign form of revolution. But lurid tabloid headlines, cat-and-mouse games with the police, and a gangster element eventually turned the dream sour. Featuring interviews with rave promoters, newspaper editors, and the bands who made it big on the back of rave culture.

Pop, politics and celebrity joined forces in a season packed with major news stories. New Labour and Tony Blair came to power after an astonishing election result ending 18 years of Tory rule. Indeed, the spirit of the landslide win seemed to permeate every aspect of British popular culture as musical titans Oasis and the Spice Girls hit their respective peaks. But at the end of August, the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, shocked Britain to the core and severely dented the popularity of the monarchy.

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