English Script Request

Throughout London's swinging sixties it was the place to be. From mini skirts to mods Carnaby Street had it all. It was part of the whole parcel of the Beatle's, the Stones, Twiggie, the model and of course Carnaby Street and all the shops. As it celebrates fifty years of cool Britania with a new exhibition, curator Amy Delahaie says the Soho road that inspired a string of songs will always be part of British history. I think Carnaby Street was very special at a very particular point in time. And it was Britain had come out of freshening and post war austerity and Carnaby Street just symbolized everything about youth and an optimism and a brave new future. Using film, iconic clothing and photography the exhibition charts Carnaby's rise from the dark days of the Great Plague to a hip celebrity hangout three hundred years later. Tourists have flocked here in their thousands over the past fifty years, originally to try and spot their icons, now to browse its many shops. Phillip Townsend whose work is part of the collection, photographed both the Beatle's and the Rolling Stones during the 1960's and was rarely far from London's most fashionable street. This seems to be the place to be so thats why we used to come here. But now its marketed better. In the summer, its jammed with people. Its really successful. And its because its good value. And people see stuff and players they couldn't see anywhere else. The punks in flower power shirts of its heyday may be a distant memory. But Carnaby's still got original style. More than sixty percent of its shops are independent retailers unlike many shopping streets now dominated by chain stores. And its enduring appeal suggests that for followers of fashion, its still the place to be seen.