Marc West believes the class of '64 is not slowing down

The Zombies, The Yardbirds, Animals... I could easily fill a page by just listing all their hits. But readers of a certain age will already know and cherish them all too well. And, for those born too late or who just can’t remember the Swinging Sixties, I suggest raiding your parents’ record collection (or at least a Spotify search) to (re-)educate yourself in the art of perfect pop.

While Oxford’s young stars Foals ripped up the rulebook on the other side of town, the travelling circus of ageing rock aristocracy stuck firmly to their tried-and-tested winning formula. And, with half a century already under their belts (to date), the Class of ’64 showed little sign of slowing down just yet — despite, as 72-year-old Dave Berry joked, “there’s at least £850 of heating allowance on stage at any one time”. And, whilst they may not have as much highly coiffered hair as in their heyday, they do still maintain the dexterity and passion to deliver an almost unrivalled back catalogue with style and fun.

Alongside the likes of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Kinks, these bands led the charge of the British invasion across the pond and have clocked up a staggering 37 hit records between them and can boast more than 300 weeks in the charts! This is also the school of rock from which three of the world’s greatest axe men graduated with flying colours — Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

Each and every song stands the test of time, but my favourite had to be The Animals’ signature song and transatlantic No 1 smash, House of The Rising Sun (which, fact finders, they recorded in 15 minutes). Or, was it The Yardbirds’ storming rendition of Dazed & Confused?...which Mr Page took with him on to another certain band.

See, I told you there were a lot of hits! If you were there, I bet you’ve been humming them to yourself ever since!