A short powerpoint highlighting some major points from the 1960s to the 1980s, information gathered via elecrontic key-card at the O2 British Music Experience

1. Music through the
decades
Ben Murray

2. 1960’s
LENNON AND MCCARTNEY
SONGWRITING
COLLABORATION PAYS
OFFRECORDED IN JUST ONE
DAY AT ABBEY ROAD
STUDIOS, THE BEATLES'S
DEBUT ALBUM PLEASE PLEASE
ME MAKES NO.1 AND,
UNUSUALLY FOR A POP ACT, A
SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF THE
TRACKS ARE WRITTEN BY
MEMBERS OF THE GROUP.

3.  John Lennon and Paul McCartney have
been writing together since collaborations
over words and music during daytime jam
sessions in the front parlor of Paul's
boyhood home in Allerton, Liverpool.
Although most Lennon and McCartney
songs are predominantly solo creations,
the duo appear to have a knack of
assisting one another in the difficult
process of finalizing a song’s lyrics.
LENNON AND MCCARTNEY
SONGWRITING COLLABORATION

4.  BOOSTED BY SUMMER TELEVISION
APPEARANCES ON THANK YOUR LUCKY
STARS AND READY STEADY GO! AND A
GUEST SLOT AT THE JAZZ & BLUES
FESTIVAL AT RICHMOND ATHLETIC
GROUNDS, R&B GROUP THE ROLLING
STONES ARE IN DEMAND ON THE
CONCERT CIRCUIT.A 32-date tour of
Britain is about to kick-off supporting Bo
Diddley and The Every Brothers. The
current earning power of the group can
be gauged by the contract they have
entered into with the Reggae-based
John Smith Entertainment Agency. They
are hired to play two 30-minute shows
a night in Worcester, Romford, Croydon
and Watford in return for £700 (£175
per night). This contract also stipulates
that the venue management agree to
supply "a grand piano and microphone
equipment".
STONES SIGN £700 TOUR
CONTRACT

5. 1970’s

6.  THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE
BEATLESPAUL MCCARTNEY INSTIGATES
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS TO DISSOLVE THE
BEATLES
 In seeking the appointment of a receiver to
handle the group's affairs in the High Court
of Justice, he is signaling the end of the most
successful group in popular music, leading to
the closure of the official fan club and the
liquidation of The Beatles Fan Club shop.

7.  ONE BILLION TV
AUDIENCE TUNES IN TO
ELVISTHE FIRST TV
PROGRAMME TO BE
BEAMED LIVE AROUND
THE GLOBE VIA
SATELLITE IS A CONCERT
FEATURING ELVIS
PRESLEY. Elvis: Aloha
From Hawaii sees "The
King" performing at The
Convention
Center, Honolulu, resplen
dent in a jewel-studded
white jump suit just a
week after he had filed
for divorce from wife
Priscilla.
Elvis

8. 'AUTOBAHN' KRAFTWERK 1974

9.  THIS 1974 EXPERIMENT IN MINIMALIST
ELECTRONICA BY GERMAN BAND KRAFTWERK WAS
THE FIRST TO MAKE INROADS INTO BRITISH AND US
MARKETS. Designed to capture the feeling of driving
on a motorway - complete with engine start-up and
horn-sounding - this melodic piece rightly remains
the thinking man's driving anthem. Recorded as a 22-
minute album title track, the song was edited to three
minutes for successful release in the UK and US
charts. Performed in large part on a Moog
synthesiser, with a distinctive "motorik" beat (a
rhythmic 4/4 time repeated over again), the song
made a concerted shift to more conventional pop
structures and melody, establishing a permanent
foothold for electronica in the mainstream charts.
'AUTOBAHN' KRAFTWERK 1974

10.  MICHAEL JACKSON'S
THRILLING YEARUP TO
NOW, MICHAEL JACKSON
HAS BEEN A MERE
SUPERSTAR, BUT WITH
LAST YEAR'S RELEASE
OF THRILLER HE IS NOW
A POP PHENOMENON.
The album which climbs
to No.1 this month, is
already set to become
the biggest-seller of all-
time and now comes the
second single release
from the Quincy Jones
production, 'Billie Jean',
fuelling yet more
Jacksonmania.
1980’s

11. 'START ME UP' THE ROLLING
STONES 1981

12.  THIS SONG WAS REWORKED FROM A REGGAE
NUMBER TO A MILLION-SELLING ROCK ANTHEM FOR
STADIUMS WORLDWIDE.
 'Start Me Up' signaled The Stones' last visit to the Top
10 in the Summer of 1981. Originally recorded as a
reggae track in 1975 during the Black And Blue
sessions and again in 1977 for the Some Girls
sessions, the song was completely reworked for its
1981 release. The final mixing took place at the
Power Station in New York, where Bob Clearmountain
used his "bathroom reverb" technique on the song -
pumping drum and vocal tracks through a miked
speaker in a bathroom downstairs.
'START ME UP' THE ROLLING
STONES 1981