Revolt into Style: The Pop Arts

Written in 1970 at the point when the Pop Arts movement, begun in the 1950s and culminating in the 60s, finally lost momentum, this book is a survey of the arts trends of the preceding 20 years. The style is humorous and provocative. George Melly begins by distinguishing between Pop culture - which is seen as a form of protest - from popular culture out of which Pop grew, a more conservative and acquiescent affair. He then examines the various elements of Pop - music, film, TV, radio, theatre and pop literature, drawing comparisons and conclusions about the ways in which the young sought to express themselves through its superstars, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan etc. George Melly' other books include "I Flook", "Tribe of One - Great Naive and Primitive Painters of the British Isles", and three volumes of autobiography.