Proof of just how far out hippies could be in 1960s and '70s Britain...
1. John Lennon-style hippie glasses were ubiquitous in swinging London. Even on the dance floor. In the dark.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rbnfu4r78O8/Wi8buChBRXI/AAAAAAAC6_Y/z6L2U97x6TshFk7KKJgfurpCmGYnUelagCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-1.jpg)
2. The dance steps matched the attitude: casual and colorful.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q2Qyk3AACLw/Wi8by7hHqRI/AAAAAAAC6_8/nHejRZAUa2kAuoghjugp_thrVYhvzasnACLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-2.jpg)
3. But then again, maybe it’s less about crazy hand gestures and more about lava-lamp lighting?
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EQBkKAbbA5s/Wi8b2U_SvMI/AAAAAAAC7Ak/DbQDlprop_IOZ-3SEHWcwkJkVFjZ_XL1QCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-3.jpg)
4. Here’s what broadcast journalism, circa 1973, looked like.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iOAlLJX8csk/Wi8b38iwfbI/AAAAAAAC7A8/fGTNM86d87QlKnDYMGmXcloKP1ddtcK7QCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-4.jpg)
5. 1973 was also the year The Wicker Man came out. Which might explain the surge in maypoles and freaky animal costumes.
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WmgSRzt8ZTc/Wi8b4UmLeJI/AAAAAAAC7BE/AYF8UreNwEARTUOjeQXM_N3O0pw2e4p9QCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-5.jpg)
6. A ritualistic dance around the maypole at night.
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SpN7TSv4D7k/Wi8b48TCTwI/AAAAAAAC7BA/oU81mNADJd8SgoUbBwf0hzdBEAOGmtEdACLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-6.jpg)
7. In 1970s Notting Hill, guitar-wielding hippies could still turn heads.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VPQgyqZKtYM/Wi8b5a4Tp-I/AAAAAAAC7BI/teuyQ3IKLVYqujoLXLROm18RixkZJr0sACLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-7.jpg)
8. ‘FEELINGS SHOULD BE FELT, AND NOT HARD’
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vHi1JSs2SJM/Wi8b5r2bYlI/AAAAAAAC7BM/P9GRO1gqnJ0B_HNpxaDO5FfF-UjhZYuKQCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-8.jpg)
9. A rooftop recording session for this master of the sitar.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bgat57qF1LE/Wi8b5pUsEoI/AAAAAAAC7BQ/xGBJXkHaWaAdEtnCmrJyKHkvVmCEdt1hgCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-9.jpg)
10. The lead singer of Quintessence – a band that fused jazz, psych and progressive rock – bangs his drum in Notting Hill.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-70i6acPhKdA/Wi8buJ26X7I/AAAAAAAC6_Q/hCpTCdHK6XY9zNevEpAbDySQlAb0ikyMgCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-10.jpg)
11. Meanwhile, out on the street, hippies strut.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G69wtnAgb14/Wi8buNZ6pkI/AAAAAAAC6_U/sWJdUXqHKBQ61vlVhGd06UNAHu-B_snQQCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-11.jpg)
12. How to stand out on the Portobello Road in the 1970s.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JuUBhKQ2IXY/Wi8buwqwVaI/AAAAAAAC6_c/sxjx5GKqdfILOX8ViTFeVGRLrIv0Bs7dACLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-12.jpg)
13. Step inside the office.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6b8HfPK9fYo/Wi8bvWemaeI/AAAAAAAC6_g/1K4EDkYZ65Em_m1uacSXpPW41aOj5AICACLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-13.jpg)
14. Mr Tambourine Man, jamming by the apple box.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LjBNT_iz6fA/Wi8bvwsx8yI/AAAAAAAC6_k/8-b-JEI8B00SiXklXV_Gj80efYftwnHfACLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-14.jpg)
15. And here he is in meaner mood, shisha pipe ready.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G0meDVW_OXg/Wi8bwZQPBdI/AAAAAAAC6_o/U_dtWDlQoCI8f_bBs7UcKi1D0WxoUJ_2gCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-15.jpg)
16. Is this a 1969 dance festival or a 1969 cult lead by a charismatic hippie? Or both?
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3WCeq4y-Oqg/Wi8bwzfbppI/AAAAAAAC6_s/oy3V4cxg4hEZIpRCRW37yJ1Xi24VTAEqwCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-16.jpg)
17. Yes, that is what you think it is.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GzZ3-129y_o/Wi8bxU_W_qI/AAAAAAAC6_w/oPeUFc3KM0gXSTs--j6Kc4uKi97oLhhKQCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-17.jpg)
18. Spliffs, joints + pot = ???
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R3i0SyWmBuE/Wi8bxwLHdRI/AAAAAAAC6_4/fhqk5jbvP9Qx4OZn1D9El-B0upOZuY3uQCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-18.jpg)
19. Sharing the love.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-saS3M_vbGjo/Wi8byU2uqxI/AAAAAAAC6_0/IE4MhcTFJv04HNT9Sq9MOc-D9ctZh081ACLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-19.jpg)
20. Croydon, 1971: political protests redefined.
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YbbmgZPjcIo/Wi8by3FMokI/AAAAAAAC7AA/iiEMHYhPM-48VqAcvd9l9FARA4xJks_KgCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-20.jpg)
21. Barsham Faire, 1974.
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mRVk7Pjv9rs/Wi8bzESXiMI/AAAAAAAC7AE/PrjoCe_cLK4pKjO_dqjtOZn7v9683jMuwCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-21.jpg)
22. Knebworth, 1976, year of the drought.
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L0ebvQNmZzI/Wi8bzQlPVCI/AAAAAAAC7AI/evYjaCfzGewR3rYigfN4FDXexCyisS7LQCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-22.jpg)
23. Festival vox pops.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7ZezPlazYM0/Wi8bzZhZ-LI/AAAAAAAC7AM/jyUF9EgLmZk4-Y0WDXTBp-UHRs4Knr_jQCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-23.jpg)
24. Nothing unusual about pushing a van. Nothing unusual about wearing… oh wait…
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LK9S_s6FwKI/Wi8bzkiRNwI/AAAAAAAC7AQ/9IIOrgBJjjIqcsDtwwrXkCUvfmjAIoJfwCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-24.jpg)
25. A 1967 flower power interviewee.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kh_I1vUsxVI/Wi8b0EQlB2I/AAAAAAAC7AU/ApnAxP-Xz4U5VPkUxbP3gf1FQ0t4AW3oQCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-25.jpg)
26. The first Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, in 1972.
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sSm2ov5zG8I/Wi8b0TgnpjI/AAAAAAAC7AY/a_5sTwozUm0KvCyVl1FIEuvhxyl6527AgCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-26.jpg)
27. If you’re not on the bill, no problem. A piano, a field and an audience will do fine.
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ycNh679nbow/Wi8b09fb_1I/AAAAAAAC7Ac/N7_BWd5qDygJmpNNkoWQMQE_xobDfGt7wCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-27.jpg)
28. Love – and something else – is in the air.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bZkH_GwRFt4/Wi8b1abMopI/AAAAAAAC7Ag/EHtOpQcyj6IEE1cLt-N2UEmfy-oYd4hJwCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-28.jpg)
29. A not-so-rare sighting of a half-naked festival-goer.
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hC1o_sz7OmA/Wi8b14GnELI/AAAAAAAC7Ao/OgiuYXi9H-AEX6kwD-jpUQYYBOyQBlI8QCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-29.jpg)
30. A hippie commune living off the land on the otherwise uninhabited island of Dorinish, off County Mayo, in 1972.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Xr81DmmwzY/Wi8b2yFGphI/AAAAAAAC7As/BkhHQr_njjEgAEOSUY4NB5IgYbWOpwfdgCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-30.jpg)
31. They swap their guitars for shovels…
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zIsFCgYWCRI/Wi8b2_K1mDI/AAAAAAAC7Aw/BHZegGmwJZM4WZSkSJ7-Sea2od3p8KUYACLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-31.jpg)
32. And wheelbarrows…
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vWMxvarcDPo/Wi8b2wUzecI/AAAAAAAC7A0/-ZxKkeY5BUoZ5Rx28qRUVZPXr0xkkzz7gCLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-32.jpg)
33. But, after the setting of the sun, and a day of communal graft, music again fills the air.
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8_eNDxnRy4w/Wi8b3VAH5vI/AAAAAAAC7A4/XExUj9uLhhQZPuA9X7r8BoyNPWjynRoVACLcBGAs/s640/hippy-britain-33.jpg)
(The stills on this articles are taken from Britain on Film, a digital archive of UK places, via BFI's blog)