Music and film combined harmoniously on collectable soundtracks during the wildly oscillating 1960s, Groovy Times surveys the best of ’em

The 1960s was one of those rare decades so fondly thought of that it earned itself a positive epithet. Finally freed from post-war austerity, the decade bore witness to a vibrant wave of creative experimentation in art, fashion, music and movies. Picking up on the pop culture vibe, the cool quarter of the British film industry moved on from the social-realist kitchen sink flicks of the late 1950s to something altogether more vivid, expansive and groovy. The industry was also quick to grasp the potential, both artistic and commercial, of allying the music of the day to their movies, and the result was any number of now highly collectable soundtrack albums.

Without question, The Beatles are the defining artists of the 60s and the band’s debut movie A Hard Day’s Night (1964) is a pitch-perfect timestamp of the early days of their remarkable career. Filmed at the height of Beatlemania, director Richard Lester, much to his eternal credit, managed to swerve the obvious exploitative pitfalls of its subject matter and create a genuinely charming movie. The film premiered in London on 6 July 1964 and the soundtrack album was released four days later. A VG+ first press of the mono version (Parlophone PMC 1230) will currently set you back £150, while the stereo equivalent (PCS 3058) is more expensive at £175. The critical reception to subsequent Beatles’ movies, Help! (1965) and Yellow Submarine (1968), fell short of their acclaimed predecessor but are full of gems nonetheless. A VG+ first press in mono of Help! (PMC 1255) will cost £120 with the stereo version (PCS 3071) at £90. Same-condition copies of Yellow Submarine (Apple PMC 7070/PCS 7070) can reach £90 and £150 respectively. 

Richard Lester’s next outing in the director’s chair The Knack… And How To Get It (1965) was another emblematic slice of Swinging Sixties cinema. A comedy and satire (of sorts) on the topic of sexual liberation, it starred 1960s poster girl Rita Tushingham and a pre-Frank Spencer Michael Crawford in the lead roles. The suitably swinging soundtrack was scored by the prolific John Barry, who could also add The Ipcress File and Thunderball to the list of films he worked on that year. Copies of The Knack… (United Artists ULP 1104) in VG+ condition command in the region of £40/£45.

With a script furnished by Beatles’ biographer Hunter Davies, Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush (1968) treads the same groovy ground as The Knack…, though here rather than London’s Golden Mile we are transported to swinging Stevenage. The soundtrack album (United Artists ULP 1186) features tracks from The Spencer Davis Group and Traffic (Steve Winwood had recently departed the former to join the latter), as well as a deeply fried offering from Andy Ellison, the lead singer with John’s Children. First press, VG+ copies are likely to be worth £30/£40.

Manfred Mann’s fourth studio album (Fontana STL 5460) doubled as the soundtrack to director Peter Collinson’s Up The Junction (1968). The movie was an adaption of Nell Dunn’s novel and starred Suzy Kendall and Minder‘s Dennis Waterman. Film critic Leslie Halliwell wasn’t all that keen, noting how in the film, “An irritating heroine moves hygienically among motorbikes.” The OST still passes the test of time and is a testament to the songwriting ability of Manfred member Mike Hugg (who also co-wrote the theme to Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads). You can pick up a VG+ first pressing for £30/£40.

North London’s Dave Clark Five were the second band of the British Invasion to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show and briefly gave The Beatles a run for their royalty money – Glad All Over famously knocked I Want To Hold Your Hand off the top of the charts. The band attempted to capitalise on their success with a movie vehicle and debut director John Boorman was brought in. Catch Us If You Can (1965), released in the US as Having A Wild Weekend, was a predictably zany, perfectly watchable romp. A first press of the UK soundtrack LP (Columbia SX 1756) in VG+ condition is priced at £40/£50.

Amiable Scouse polymath George Melly wrote the screenplay for Smashing Time (1967) with his tongue placed firmly in his cheek, but the movie’s relentless 1960s grooviness meant his satirical intentions were lost somewhere in the mix. Despite the presence of the ubiquitous Rita Tushingham and the hyper-perky Lynn Redgrave, Smashing Time suffered spectacularly at the box office. The original soundtrack was pulled together by prolific movie composer John Addison with lyrical assistance from Melly himself. The soundtrack (Stateside SSL 10224) takes some tracking down and comes with a take-home price of £15/£20.

Two of the decade’s most iconic movies, Alfie (1966) and Blow-Up (1966), are graced with strong jazz scores featuring a couple of bonafide US post-bop giants. Tenor saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins provides the music for Michael Caine’s breakthrough box office hit. Rollins played with a number of London-based musicians for the music heard in the movie, including Stan Tracey and Ronnie Scott. The full soundtrack, however, was recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey and features Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Cleveland and Roger Kellaway with arrangements by Oliver Nelson. It was originally released in the UK under the title Sonny Plays Alfie on the HMV label (CLP 3529) and later reissued on the far cooler Impulse label (IMPL 8050). Expect to pay in the region of £50/£60 for a copy of the HMV version.

The original score to Michelangelo’s Antonioni’s ‘mod masterpiece’ Blow-Up (MGM 8039) was composed by Herbie Hancock, on loan from Blue Note, and backed by a luminescent all-star cast including Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson and Ron Carter. Sitting incongruously amid the Hancock-inspired genius, the side two opener is Stroll On, a track by The Yardbirds. The band, with both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page in the line-up, play live in a club scene in the movie. The soundtrack album has been reissued regularly over the years, but a first press in VG+ condition can fetch up to £80/£90.

Bedazzled (1967) is Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s swinging 60s retelling of the Faust legend with Pete as George Spiggott/Satan and Dud as Stanley Moon, his hapless quarry. The music for the soundtrack album (Decca LK 4923) was composed by Dudley Moore and played by his eponymous jazz trio. The title track (see below) is performed by the fictional band Drimble Wedge and the Vegetations with Cook providing the most deadpan of all vocals. Expect to pay £100/£120 for a first press in VG+ condition.

The swinging had all ground to a standstill when The Magic Christian (1969) was filmed and despite an all-star cast (Peter Sellers, Ringo, Dickie Attenborough, Raquel Welch) the movie was a critical disaster dragged down by the weight of its over-ambition. The soundtrack (Pye NSPL 28133) contained excerpts of dialogue from the movie along with three tracks from the ill-fated Badfinger, including the power pop perfection of Paul McCartney’s Come And Get It, as well as Thunderclap Newman’s UK number one Something In The Air. Badfinger later released a ‘pseudo-soundtrack’ album called Magic Christian Music (Apple SAPCOR12). Expect to see the genuine OST on the walls of record shops for £50/60, while the latter is worth £80.

Nic Roeg’s Performance (1970) is the outlier in this pack. It was shot in 1968, but a mix of horror and sheer reticence from the studio heads meant it didn’t gain a theatrical release until a few years later. A far darker, more violent depiction of the decade than the more typical Swinging Sixties movie fair, Performance features one of Mick Jagger’s most convincing outings on celluloid with enigmatic support from his bandmate’s girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, and a wigged-out James Fox. The music for the soundtrack (Warner Bros WS 2554) was produced by former Phil Spector acolyte Jack Nitzsche and features a hot band including Ry Cooder, Lowell George and Byrds’ drummer Gene Parsons. Vocalists include Randy Newman (credited on the sleeve as ‘conductor’), Merry Clayton, Buffy Saint-Marie, and Jagger himself on the slide-tastic Memo From Turner. A first press in VG+ condition will reach £35/£40.