Beatlemania's Contribution To Pop Culture In Australia

How did Beatlemania contribute to pop culture in Australia?

The Beatles came to Australia in 1964 and toured around Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. They were in Australia for a total of 4 days before leaving again to continue being the biggest band in the world. Pop culture in Australia was heavily impacted in the 60s and some of it was impacted by the Beatles. The classic Beatles bowl haircut blew up in Australia after they left and lots more Australian talents emerged in the music scene not long after such as The Easybeats, AC/DC, Midnight Oil, The Angels and many more. Beatlemania was everywhere in 1964.

It was a rare week of TV and magazines, the dominant indicators of popular culture, had failed to feature a front cover or report anything on the Beatles. In the lead up to the Australian tour TV Times had featured special listings of Beatle lyrics. The magazine also ran a competition — Beaticles — where readers were invited to send in sketches of their own Beatle-inspired creations. “The more way-out your idea is the better, so long as it isn’t “sick”,” TV Times suggested to potential artists. The contest offered weekly prizes of a Beatles record with the grand prize of £50 worth of records of the winner’s choosing. TV Week then upped the stakes with its Beatles contest: “Win a lock of Paul McCartney‘s hair!”

The Beatles transition from the late 60s to the 70s brought to life their hippy embrace of long hair, flamboyant clothing and hipster vibe. Their music branched out to more rock and roll type tracks with songs like ‘Helter Skelter’ and ‘Day Tripper.’

The late 60s and 70s was the time period where hippies were a mainstream thing. The Beatles had a major influence on the population of the world when I came to the hippie appearance.

John Lennon’s signature look in the Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band photoshoot would be interpreted for a further 20 years after the song cover was released. He would sport round orange tinted glasses which would go on to become one of if not the most well remembered items from the 70s.

Long hair became a popular thing mainly in the 80s and 90s and todays day especially. It was all started by hippies in the 60s and the Beatles were sporting long hair for most of their time in the spotlight.

They shifted from the dorky veneer in the early 60s and started their long hair trend in the mid-60s and it still goes on as a pop culture element for 50 years later. Australians seemed to fully embrace the long hair and party attitude in the 70s but maybe not as much as America or England. It seemed to form communities in Australia more than anything.

The Beatles music seemed to influence younger people more than any other community. It portrayed a message of rebellion, youth, young love and having fun. Some of their music was more serious but most of it seemed to show this message of rebellion. Their tour was a major event for Australia in the 1960s. It kicked into gear that boisterous decade which was an exciting period in music and culture

The Beatles’ music sounded fresh, bright, and different, while their ‘mop top’ hairstyle symbolised a rejection of ‘the line’ and what it meant to them and what is should mean to their fans. They seemed to unite a whole generation in a joyful, exuberant celebration of youth.

This was a time for teenagers to defy authority, simply by screaming their heads off at their shows in Australia. “Australia’s Conservative Establishment” had to loosen its controls on the younger people in the 60s. From 1964 the pace of social change accelerated, not just in music, clothing and hair, but in attitudes and lifestyles as young people demanded greater freedom. This need for younger people to be knowledgeable and desire to be heard by the higher people can be seem today with protests for climate change, independence and access to knowledge they have been restricted from. The Beatles have had a major influence on pop culture on generations of Australians from the moment they landed in Sydney on that cold morning 55 years ago.

Bibliography

1. https://televisionau.com/2014/06/when-beatlemania-came-to-australia.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_recorded_by_the_Beatles
3. https://riotfest.org/2017/06/beatles-actually-punk-investigation/
4. https://www.quora.com/Why-are-the-Beatles-considered-as-hippie-icons