You think you lost your love, well I saw her yesterday. It's you she's thinking of and she told me what to say

I was sad to read this week about the death of Angelo Dundee trainer to the incomparable Muhammad Ali. I believe Ali to be the greatest sporting icon of my lifetime and this news led me to think about the people and events that have shaped my life and how certain incidents or people or songs are immediately identified with a certain time in my life

I have split these into 5 categories..World Events, Personal Events, Sporting Icons, Music and Movies and this week I give you my lists for the 1960s

World Events

1. The assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. Unlike most Americans I cannot tell you where I was when JFK was shot but I do recall that even as a boy of 9 in Ayr I knew that this was big news. Almost 50 years on and mystery still surrounds this event
2. The Moon Landing in 1969. Neil Armstrong and 'Buzz' Aldrin walk on the moon taking "small steps for man but giant leaps for mankind". Poor Michael Collins had to stay on board Columbia like some kind of getaway driver while his pals stole all the glory
3. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Growing up in Scotland in the 60s I was unfamiliar with the problems being experienced by black people in The USA but who could not be inspired by his "I have a Dream" speech
4. The assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968 (there seems to be a bit of a theme here for the 1960s). I do recall hearing about this as I was leaving school one day and thinking that the Kennedy family was short on luck
5. The Six-Day War in 1967. I think this was when I first realised that Israel was not a country to be messed about with


Sporting Icons

1. The aforementioned Muhammad Ali..... I have never been a great fan of boxing but back then being heavyweight champion of the world really meant something and Ali was much more than just a boxer
2. Jim Clark....A Scotsman who could drive faster than anyone else in the world but sadly died in 1968 at the age of only 32
3. Bob Beamon....The man, who at the 1968 Olympics jumped nearly 2 feet further than anyone else had ever done before and set a Long Jump record that lasted for 23 years until it was finally broken in 1991
4. Denis Law......a star for Manchester United and Scotland who scored at Wembley in 1967 when Scotland beat England 3-2 to show that we were actually the best team in the world
5. Rod Laver...the only tennis player ever to achieve the Grand Slam twice

Movies

1. The Magnificent Seven (1960)...my favourite Western of all time with probably the greatest ever theme tune
2. Goldfinger (1964)..."No Mr Bond, I expect you to die", Sean Connery as Bond, Oddjob and his deadly bowler hat, Pussy Galore (a character played by Honor Blackman) and of course the Aston Martin DB5. I remember having a toy version of this complete with ejector seat and bullet-proof screen. Unfortunately I did not have any kind of version of Pussy Galore
3. A Hard Day's Night (1964)....still has the same effect on me today as it did when I saw it as a 10 year old. The Beatles at their best
4. Planet of the Apes (1968)...I remember seeing this in The Odeon in Ayr and loving it.
    "You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!". Yes Charlton, I am afraid you were on earth all along
5. Barbarella (1968)....Jane Fonda in a space suit, out of a space suit, I was never the same again

Music

1. She Loves You---The Beatles (1963)....I mentioned to a friend the other day that it was almost 50 years since She Loves You was released and we agreed how much music changed in the 50 years before She Loves You and how little it has changed in the 50 years since
2. The Times They Are a-Changin'---Bob Dylan (1965)
 Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

Perceptive fellow that Mr Zimmerman

3. This Guy's In Love With You---Herb Alpert (1968)....reason for the inclusion of this one will become apparent in final section
4. Reach Out---The Four Tops (1966)...I have mentioned before how my eldest brother bought this single and played it non-stop for what seemed like days, thereby etching it in the minds of my entire family for eternity and bringing back these memories on every occasion I have heard it ever since (strangely it is still one of my favourite songs)
5. California Dreamin'---The Mamas and The Papas (1965)...in my humble opinion the archetypal 60s pop song
all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey
I've been for a walk on a winter's day
I'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A
California Dreamin' on such a winter's day

This song still makes me feel good every time I hear it

Personal Events

1. I remember one Saturday when I was about 14 playing rugby for Ayr Academy in the morning,  watching Ayr United in the afternoon and going to a party in the evening. I thought to myself at the time, does life get any better than this. I am not convinced it ever did
2. Getting a lift on the back of my brother's motorbike and wondering if I would ever be that cool. I never was.
3. Saw Ayr United beat Rangers 2-1 at Somerset Park in 1969. I was one of the 25,225 that day which formed Ayr's record home attendance
4. Asked Susan Waddell to a party in 1968 and after the shock of her saying yes, wore my best brown corduroy jacket and danced to This Guy's In Love With You. That's why it's on my songs list and still holds a special place in my heart
5. During a purge on long hair at Ayr Academy in the late 60s I was sent home from school and told not to come back until I had a haircut. I remember my mum and dad went to war with the school on that one and my mum did not lose those kinds of battles. Happy days!

That's it for the 60s. Bet you cannot wait for the 70s in the next instalment