Prom 11 – 1969: The Sound of a Summer

Woodstock, the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, the ongoing Vietnam War, The Beatles’ final album (Abbey Road) – 1969 was a pivotal year. This Prom explores the film and popular music of 1969 to recreate the soundtrack of a special summer. The BBC Concert Orchestra under Stephen Bell presents a typically wide-angled view, taking in music inspired by the era-defining Woodstock festival, excerpts from the films Battle of Britain, The Italian Job, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Midnight Cowboy, and Here Comes the Sun from The Beatles’ final album Abbey Road. As the USA’s victory in the space race inspired new music to match the emerging digital era, the Moog synthesizer broke into the mainstream with the album Switched-on Bach. A concert evoking the end of the Swinging Sixties, with a cross-generational appeal that offers both a sunburst of nostalgia and iconic revivals.