Pompey Pop Pix

by Dave Allen & Mick Cooper

An Illustrated History of ‘50s & ‘60s Popular Music in Portsmouth, This A4 book contains over 400 colour and B&W images of local and national performers, Portsmouth venues, posters, tickets, fans etc., from the dance bands of the early 1950s to the psychedelic bands of the late 60s - plus some of the reunions of recent years.

Portsmouth & Southsea is Britain’s only island city, situated on its central southern coast. It is known as the home of the British navy but this picture book tells the story of its recovery from the ravages and disruptions of the Second World War through the re-creation of a local entertainment industry that catered for locals, servicemen and holidaymakers in the heyday of the British seaside, the birth of rock & roll and the ‘swinging’ sixties. Portsmouth has no central place in the history of popular music but almost all the big names of the 1950s and 1960s visited. There were many opportunities for local musicians from dance bands and variety shows through skiffle, the rock & roll revolution to the folk boom, jazz, R&B and rock bands. There were mods and rockers, teddy boys and hippies as well as generations who were having fun, falling in love and dancing their dreams. They are all here, alongside unusual shots of stars including Rod Stewart, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Bill Haley and Sandie Shaw.