SUMMER OF LOVE: REVISITED at The Royal Albert Hall
The iconic venue is holding a season of performances, screening, talks and events called Summer of Love: Revisited, marking 50 years since the 1967 apex of the ‘hippie’ movement.
A key part of the season will be four special events in the Hall’s Elgar Room celebrating the work of subversive filmmaker Peter Whitehead, who made some of the most vivid, intoxicating and important music documentaries of the period.
Mon 1 May, 8pm Tonite Let's All Make Love in London + Post Film Discussion
This special evening will celebrate the Blu-Ray launch of the new HD restoration of Whitehead’s 1967 feature Tonite Lets All Make Love in London.
The film, named after a poem recited at the Hall by Allen Ginsberg, is driven by the pulsing psychedelia of Pink Floyd and punctuated by interviews with the likes of Michael Caine, David Hockney, Mick Jagger and other Sixties ‘faces’. It also captures the moment when the Rolling Stones’ concert here at the Hall in 1966 was interrupted by a rioting audience.
The film will be introduced by distributor Tim Beddows and De Montfort University’s Professor Steve Chibnall, who will return for a post-film discussion hosted by music writer Jon Savage, also featuring co-curator of the Peter Whitehead Archive, Dr. Alissa Clarke.
Tues 2 May, 8pm Pink Floyd '66-'67, hosted by Joe Boyd
This evening will see a screening of London ’66–‘67, Whitehead’s film based on the early Pink Floyd EP of the same name.
The 30-minute film shows Pink Floyd recording at Sound Techniques London and performing at the legendary UFO Club, a key venue of the counterculture movement which defined the city in the late 1960s.
The screening will be accompanied by talks from early Floyd producer Joe Boyd and key counterculture figure Jenny Spires, alongside further discussion, chaired by music writer Jon Savage, from Peter Whitehead’s Assistant Director Anthony Stern, and the Royal Albert Hall’s Richard Dacre.
Sun 7 May, 1:30pm Wholly Communion
The International Poetry Incarnation, a landmark event of the 60s counter-culture revelation held at the Hall in June 1965, will be re-imagined at this third event celebrating the work of Peter Whitehead.
The immersive afternoon will recall the atmosphere of that hazy evening in 1965, and will include a rare screening of Wholly Communion, Whitehead’s documentary filmed at the event, alongside live performances by Michael Horovitz.
The Incarnation, held in front of an audience of 7,000, was one of the first British ‘Happenings’, where beatnik poets met emerging hippie culture, and featured the leading lights of American and European beat poetry, including Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Adrian Mitchell and Horovitz.
Rising talents from poetry slam pioneers Hammer & Tongue will also be here to present original poems in response to works recited at the 1965 event, which is seen by many as the night that kick-started the London counter-culture scene.
Sat 27 May, 1:30pm Icons at the Hall
The last of our four events showcasing Whitehead’s work celebrates his 62-year association with the the Hall (his favourite venue) through his spectacular footage of some true musical legends.
Rare film captured by Peter Whitehead at legendary Hall performances by Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Julie Felix between 1966 – 1970 will be screened, all of which offer a fascinating insight into this incredible era of cultural history.
Alongside Whitehead’s footage, some of which has never before been screened publicly, the afternoon will see a live performance by folk hero Julie Felix, whilst an expert panel featuring DMU’s Professor Steve Chibnall and Dr. Alissa Clarke and the Hall’s Richard Dacre share their own wisdom on the era.
To book tickets visit: http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/series/summer-of-love-revisited/
