The British Invasion and Swinging London
Great Britain dominated the 1960s entertainment industry, starting with the Beatles in the early 1960s and continuing with movies like Alfie and To Sir, With Love, television shows like The Avengers and Dr. Who, and international stars like Twiggy, Sean Connery, Julie Andrews, and David Frost. Swinging London seems to appear out of nowhere on dingy, dull British streets. British musical performers, especially in the United States, where disposable cash found its way into British pockets, dominated the airwaves under the leadership of The Beatles. The Beatles alone were making about $650 per second in the world by the middle of the 1960s.
The Bank of England changed the dollars that were earned into British pounds. The dollars helped the British economy, prevented the pound from falling in value, and decreased the country's debt. Her Majesty did not award the MBEs to the four Beatles just due to their fame. They were the driving force behind an economic revival that improved both British morale and the British economy. Additionally, they were a part of a broader "feel-good" movement that spread throughout Britain in the 1960s. National service, the British equivalent of the US draft, ended in the first year of the decade. Other changes came after that.
With the adoption of the Abortion Act in 1967, abortion was made acceptable in Great Britain. Through the National Health Service Act of 1967, birth control became widely accessible in the same year. Previously illegal same sex acts between consenting adults (21), which were legalized in England and Wales in 1967, Scotland in 1980, and Northern Ireland in 1982. These changes, in the eyes of many conservatives and religious authorities, were indicative of the imperial decline. Others saw them as a sign of the recently discovered personal freedoms that British law guarantees and protects.
- Year: 1964 – 66
