There's a Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars, and the Rise and Fall of the '60s - Hardcover

Doggett, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1847671802 ISBN 13: 9781847671806

Publisher: Canongate U.S., 2008

Synopsis

Between 1965 and 1972, students and other political activists around the globe prepared to mount a revolution. While the Vietnam War raged, calls for black power grew louder and liberation movements erupted everywhere from Berkeley, Detroit, and Newark, to Paris, Berlin, Ghana, and Peking. Rock and soul music fueled this revolutionary movement with anthems and iconic imagery. Soon the musicians themselves, from John Lennon and Bob Dylan to James Brown and Fela Kuti, were being dragged into the fray. Some joined the protestors on the barricades; some were persecuted for their political activism; some abandoned the cause and were dismissed as counter-revolutionaries. From Mick Jagger’s legendary appearance in Grosvenor Square, standing on the sidelines and snapping pictures, to the infamous incident at Woodstock when Pete Townshend kicked Yippie Abbie Hoffman off the stage while he tried to make a speech about an imprisoned comrade, to Lennon’s display of self-promotion when he auctioned off his hair on top of the “Black House,” Doggett unravels the truth about how these ambitious musicians weren’t always the “Street Fighting Men” they saw themselves as. There’s A Riot Going On is a rich, fact-filled, exceedingly well-researched social history at the nexus of pop culture, celebrity, and politics.

About this title

Book Description:

'An extraordinary book...Doggett emerges triumphant. Grab a copy - By Any Means Necessary.' (5 stars)-Mojo

From the Back Cover:

'A fascinating history of pop's relationship with politics, examining the establishment's skill at assimilating rock'n'roll rebellion into the mainstream.' Independent

Between 1965 and 1972, political activists around the globe prepared to mount a revolution, from the Black Panthers to the Gay Liberation Front, from the Yippies to the IRA. Rock and soul music supplied the revolutionary tide with anthems and iconic imagery, and renowned musicians such as John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan were particularly influential in the movement. This is the definitive account of this unique period in modern history; a compelling portrait of an era when revolutionaries turned into rock stars, and rock stars dressed up as revolutionaries.

'Meticulously researched, scholarly and often gripping.' Sunday Telegraph

'Needs to be read by anyone who wants to understand the significance of the '60s or the role of pop culture. It is a very important book.' Mark Kurlansky, author of 1968

'A fresh and near-definitive slant on a subject you might have thought had been picked clean by journalists and historians.' Time Out

'Essential for anyone who believes that art, sociology and politics are inextricably linked.' The Times

'A treasure trove of counter-cultural anecdotes and reportage.' New Statesman

About this edition

• Publisher: Canongate U.S.
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1847671802
• ISBN 13: 9781847671806
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 608