You Say You Want a Revolution?

Remember that? “You say you want a revolution. Well, you know, we all want to change the world”, said The Beatles in 1968. And this is the leading motto of the newest exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum in London. (Pictured above: The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics, “Revolution” 1968 by Alan Aldridge
Artist: © Iconic Images, Alan Aldridge)

The exhibition “You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966 – 70” – will be held between 10 September 2016 and 26 February 2017, tickets on sale from 26 February 2016 (vam.ac.uk/revolution | #RecordsandRebels)

This major exhibition from the V&A will explore the era-defining significance and impact of the late 1960s upon life today. From global civil rights, multiculturalism, environmentalism, consumerism, computing to politics, the world we live in has been vitally influenced by five revolutionary years 1966 – 70. “You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966 – 70” will investigate the upheaval, the explosive sense of freedom, and the legal changes that took place resulting in a fundamental shift in the mindset of the Western world.

Blow Up, 1966. Artist: © MGM THE KLOBAL COLLECTION

The exhibition: Is designed in six distinct sections, each presenting a separate revolution within a highly atmospheric environment. It will focus on Carnaby Street in London, clubs and counterculture, the Paris protests of May 1968, World Fairs including Montreal and Osaka, the Woodstock Festival of 1969 and alternative communities on the West Coast of America.

Christine Keeler, photographs by Lewis Morley, 1963, © Lewis Morley National Media Museum Science & Society

The objects: More than 350 objects encompassing photography, posters, literature, music, design, film, fashion, artefacts, and performance. As… underground magazines from Oz to the International Times; a shopping list written behind barricades during the 1968 Paris student riots; a moon rock on loan from NASA alongside the space suit worn by William Anders, who took the defining ‘Earthrise’ photograph on the Apollo 8 mission; a rare Apple 1 computer; an Ossie Clark costume for Mick Jagger; original artworks by Richard Hamilton; shards from Jimi Hendrix’s guitar; the suits worn by John Lennon and George Harrison on the cover of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and handwritten lyrics for “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by the Beatles.

Poster for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown at UFO, 16 and 23 June, by Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, Artist: London Michael English and Nigel Waymouth. The Souper Dress, photograph © Kerry Taylor Auctions, 1966

The music theme: The collection of the cult radio presenter and musical tastemaker John Peel will provide a musical odyssey through some of the greatest music and performance of the 20th century from Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come to The Who’s My Generation to Jimi Hendrix live at Woodstock. Music will be played through Sennheiser headsets using innovative audio guide technology which adapts the sound to the visitor’s position in the gallery. Sound will be integrated with video and moving image, including interviews with key figures from the period including Yoko Ono, Stewart Brand and Twiggy, psychedelic light shows and seminal films including Easy Rider and 2001: A Space Odyssey to create a fully immersive and dramatic audiovisual experience.

In partnership with the Levi’s® brand; Sound experience by Sennheiser; With additional support from Fenwick and Sassoon.

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