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Paradise Lost

Episode 3 of 5

Presented by Andrew Marr. As the 1960s progress, Harold Wilson takes centre stage in a rapidly changing Britain as the country looks to a fairer, liberated future.

Andrew Marr examines the age of Harold Wilson's classless society; a country excited by new technology, modern architecture and the scary futurism of Doctor Who. Wilson attempted to connect with the 60s spirit of progress by conjuring up the image of a future driven by science and the white heat of technology. But while the swinging sixties unleashed dreams of a fairer, liberated future, the Wilson governments presided over years of industrial conflict, stagnation and decline.

By the 1970s, as the sixties dream turned sour, industrial malaise, class and generational conflict, Vietnam, racial unrest, government paranoia and the shadow of the Soviet threat all added up to a sense of national crisis, and there were serious fears for the future of democracy in Britain. Under Edward Heath, British industry was reduced to working a three-day week, and homes were lit by candlelight during an enforced rationing of electricity. As Heath raised the question 'Who governs Britain?', the people's response came: 'Not you, mate!'.

1 hour

Last on

Thu 4 Jun 2020 15:00
Red Button One

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See all episodes from Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:00

    The Jimi Hendrix Experience

    All Along The Watchtower

  • 00:06

    The Temptations

    Papa Was A Rollin' Stone

  • 00:11

    Edward Elgar

    Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.85 (1st mvt: Adagio - Moderato)

    Performer: Alisa Weilerstein. Orchestra: Staatskapelle Berlin. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim.
  • 00:20

    The Searchers

    Sugar and Spice

  • 00:21

    Cream

    Strange Brew聽

  • 00:23

    Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

    Nowhere To Run

  • 00:40

    The Who

    I Can See For Miles

  • 00:41

    T. Rex

    Twentieth Century Boy

  • 00:43

    David Bowie

    The Jean Genie

  • 00:47

    Burial

    Night Bus

  • 00:51

    Gioachino Rossini

    The Thieving Magpie

Credits

Presenter Andrew Marr
Producer Chris Granlund
Producer Francis Whately
Director Francis Whately

Broadcasts