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History Quiz - Britain: Media, Communications And Leisure: 1960-1979 - "Swinging Sixties" A Media Myth? (Questions)

In GCSE History media, communications and leisure in Britain during the period from 1960 to 1979 are all covered. One particular topic looked at is the "Swinging Sixties".

The "Swinging Sixties" were superficially a time of prosperity, of leisure, of freedom and of great cultural vitality in Britain. However, there was a darker side: challenging events abroad and serious social problems at home fought for media attention with the more ephemeral pop music and fashion coverage which filled the leisure time and interest of the younger generation.

Learn more about "Swinging Sixties" Britain and the media and society of the time in this informative quiz.

1. Which of the following pop music radio stations broadcast during the 1960s from a ship in the North Sea, outside British territorial waters?
[ ] Radio Caroline
[ ] Capital Radio
[ ] Radio Luxemburg
[ ] LBC
2. Which street in the London W1 postcode became a Mecca for young people keen on the latest fashions and pop music?
[ ] King's Road
[ ] Carnaby Street
[ ] Oxford Street
[ ] Cranbourn Street
3. Which radical film director made serious films about social problems like "Up the Junction", "Poor Cow", "Cathy Come Home" and "Kes"?
[ ] Richard Attenborough
[ ] Ken Loach
[ ] Michael Winner
[ ] Robert Balcon
4. In 1962 and 1963 a satirical television programme hosted by David Frost, and featuring the likes of Millicent Martin, Bernard Levin, Willie Rushton and Lance Percival, appeared once a week on the BBC. What was the name of the show?
[ ] Not the Nine O'Clock News
[ ] That was the Week that was
[ ] Monty Python's Flying Circus
[ ] Question Time
5. Major international events included the building of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the escalation of the Vietnam War. Of which one of the following was it said that everyone could remember where they were when they heard the news?
[ ] The American astronauts' landing on the moon
[ ] The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
[ ] The fall of Khrushchev from power
[ ] The assassination of President Kennedy
6. In 1961 a fortnightly satirical magazine, edited by Richard Ingrams, began publication. What was it called?
[ ] Oz
[ ] Viz
[ ] Private Eye
[ ] Time and Tide
7. What profession did Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton follow?
[ ] Fashion designers
[ ] Pop musicians
[ ] Models
[ ] Artists
8. Which year was dubbed the "Summer of Love"?
[ ] 1966
[ ] 1967
[ ] 1968
[ ] 1969
9. The musical "Hair", first shown on Broadway in 1968, came to London very soon after. What feature of the show caused most comment in Britain?
[ ] Disrespect for the US flag
[ ] References to drug-taking
[ ] Nudity on stage
[ ] Opposition to the US role in Vietnam
10. In 1960 a novel by D H Lawrence was published in Britain in an unexpurgated version (it had been originally published privately in 1928). A trial under the Obscenity Laws ensued, but the book was cleared in a famous court case and went on sale widely in Britain. What was its title?
[ ] Sons and Lovers
[ ] Fanny Hill
[ ] Lady Chatterley's Lover
[ ] Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Rebuilding the country after 1945

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History Quiz - Britain: Media, Communications And Leisure: 1960-1979 - "Swinging Sixties" A Media Myth? (Answers)
1. Which of the following pop music radio stations broadcast during the 1960s from a ship in the North Sea, outside British territorial waters?
[x] Radio Caroline
[ ] Capital Radio
[ ] Radio Luxemburg
[ ] LBC
Many of the station's DJs became very well known and went on to forge successful careers on land
2. Which street in the London W1 postcode became a Mecca for young people keen on the latest fashions and pop music?
[ ] King's Road
[x] Carnaby Street
[ ] Oxford Street
[ ] Cranbourn Street
Like many sixties phenomena, the street had a relatively brief period of popularity
3. Which radical film director made serious films about social problems like "Up the Junction", "Poor Cow", "Cathy Come Home" and "Kes"?
[ ] Richard Attenborough
[x] Ken Loach
[ ] Michael Winner
[ ] Robert Balcon
The problem of homelessness loomed large in the 60s. Governments had not built enough housing stock and exploitative landlords like Peter Rachman preyed on poorer people
4. In 1962 and 1963 a satirical television programme hosted by David Frost, and featuring the likes of Millicent Martin, Bernard Levin, Willie Rushton and Lance Percival, appeared once a week on the BBC. What was the name of the show?
[ ] Not the Nine O'Clock News
[x] That was the Week that was
[ ] Monty Python's Flying Circus
[ ] Question Time
The programme did not continue into 1964, as the BBC felt that it would be inappropriate during an election year
5. Major international events included the building of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the escalation of the Vietnam War. Of which one of the following was it said that everyone could remember where they were when they heard the news?
[ ] The American astronauts' landing on the moon
[ ] The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
[ ] The fall of Khrushchev from power
[x] The assassination of President Kennedy
People were focused not just on the more trivial sixties phenomena, but also on major international events which could have a serious impact on the rest of the world
6. In 1961 a fortnightly satirical magazine, edited by Richard Ingrams, began publication. What was it called?
[ ] Oz
[ ] Viz
[x] Private Eye
[ ] Time and Tide
The magazine was relentlessly opposed to the "Establishment". In the early 1960s this meant opposing the Conservative governments of Macmillan and Home; in the later 1960s it attacked the Wilson Labour government
7. What profession did Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton follow?
[ ] Fashion designers
[ ] Pop musicians
[x] Models
[ ] Artists
The "counterculture" introduced new styles in music, painting, fashion, film, theatre and literature
8. Which year was dubbed the "Summer of Love"?
[ ] 1966
[x] 1967
[ ] 1968
[ ] 1969
For many young people this summer was the year when they fully embraced the 1960s ethos, and lost a good many inhibitions. For many other people, older and poorer perhaps, little seemed to change
9. The musical "Hair", first shown on Broadway in 1968, came to London very soon after. What feature of the show caused most comment in Britain?
[ ] Disrespect for the US flag
[ ] References to drug-taking
[x] Nudity on stage
[ ] Opposition to the US role in Vietnam
US audiences objected to much of the musical's content. In Britain the attendance of Princess Anne at the show raised public awareness of the nature of the piece
10. In 1960 a novel by D H Lawrence was published in Britain in an unexpurgated version (it had been originally published privately in 1928). A trial under the Obscenity Laws ensued, but the book was cleared in a famous court case and went on sale widely in Britain. What was its title?
[ ] Sons and Lovers
[ ] Fanny Hill
[x] Lady Chatterley's Lover
[ ] Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
The trial gave the book publicity and once it was legalised sales shot up