Time travel to 1960s London Beatlemania

Carnaby Street

One of the epicenters of the Swinging Sixties, Carnaby Street in London's Soho district was originally laid out in 1685 and was named for nearby Karnaby House, spelled with a K. The first music club, a jazz club, opened on the street in 1934; the first fashion boutique opened in 1957.

Carnaby Street boutiques

Other well-known Carnaby Street fashion boutiques of the era included Domino Male and Tre Camp, both pictured here in 1968, as well the wonderfully named I Was Kitchener's Valet.

David Bailey

Top fashion and celebrity photographer David Bailey at the feet of German model Veruschka. Bailey snapped everybody who was anybody in the 1960s. David Hemmings' character in Michelangelo Antonioni's 'Blowup' (1966) is based on the London-born photographer.

Sassoon cuts Quant

British fashion designer Mary Quant is seen here in the mid-1960s having the finishing touches made to her new hairstyle by Vidal Sassoon. Quant is credited with designing the miniskirt and later, in the early 1970s, hotpants. Sassoon, meanwhile, was noted for re-popularizing a simple, close-cut geometric hair style called the bob cut, a look favored at the time by Mia Farrow and a host of other international celebs.

Jean Shrimpton

An icon of Swinging London and  considered to be one of the world's first supermodels, Jean Shrimpton graced numerous magazines during the 1960s, including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Vanity Fair. Her career rose to prominence through her work with photographer David Bailey. In 2012, Time named her one of the 100 most influential fashion icons of all time.

Tom Jones

Welsh singer Tom Jones visited Tom Cat boutique on many occasions, one of several big-name celebrities of the era who got suited and booted on Carnaby Street.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The release on May 26, 1967 of the Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' was a defining moment in 1960's pop culture, heralding the Summer of Love. The launch party (pictured) for the album was held at manager Brian Epstein's apartment in Chapel Street, central London.

The Rolling Stones

On April 15, 1966, the Rolling Stones released 'Aftermath.' The album was their first to consist entirely of original compositions, and marked an artistic breakthrough for the band. It was written around psychodramatic themes of love, sex, desire, power and dominance, hate, obsession, modern society, and rock stardom.

The Establishment

London in the early 1960s became home to satire with the opening in 1961 of The Establishment club. It was founded by comedian Peter Cook and writer and politician Nicholas Luard, both of whom were also important in the history of the magazine Private Eye, a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs news magazine that is still published today. The club itself closed in 1964.

Jaguar E-Type

The classic Jaguar E-Type sports car was a British icon of the 1960s. Pulling up in Soho or King's Road in one of these sleek vehicles was seen not only as a fashion statement but a "look, I've made it!" declaration of success. Pictured is a 1968 Jaguar E- Type 4.2 fixed head coupe.

'The Avengers'

Few British television shows evoked the eccentric '60s better than 'The Avengers.' Episodes featured Patrick Macnee as the bowler-hatted, umbrella wielding John Steed with, variously, Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale, Diana Rigg as Emma Peel (pictured), and Linda Thorson as Tara King. While Steed cut a conservative, establishment figure, his assistants were intelligent, stylish, and assertive.

Civil unrest

Swinging London was not immune to the wave of protests and demonstrations sweeping across Europe and America during the late 1960s. In March 1968, police had to block off Grosvenor Square as rioting broke out near the US embassy during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration. Peace and love it was not!

Pop art

The Swinging Sixties saw London flourishing in music, fashion, and art. Pop artist Peter Blake achieved worldwide fame for designing the sleeve for 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.' Meanwhile, David Hockney, pictured here in 1967, became celebrated for painting near life-size portraits of friends, lovers, and relatives, before finding further fame in America.

Harold Wilson (1916–1995)

Outside of London, the term "Swinging Sixties" was somewhat of a misnomer. Britain's Prime Minister throughout much of the 1960s was the Labour politician Harold Wilson. In 1967, he gave his infamous devaluation speech where he announced his government's intention to devalue the pound against the dollar in the face of a nationwide recession. During the broadcast, he assured listeners that the "pound in your pocket" had not lost its value. But tough times were ahead.

Great Train Robber escapes from jail

Ronnie Biggs, one of those involved in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, became even more notorious after his July 8, 1965 escape from Wandsworth Prison in south west London. Biggs lived as a fugitive for 36 years, much of that time in Brazil, before giving himself up to British authorities in 2001. He died in 2013.