Sixties specs
The Weekender

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Three years into the new millennium and we're still obsessed with the 1960s. The decade that re-invented our moral standards, our notions of glamour and our perception of Britishness seems to inspire a kind of super-nostalgia that photographs like these do nothing to dispel.

Any exhibition starting with a series of photos featuring the young Michael Caine - firing the same heavy-lidded come-on at three different beauties - knows what we like about the 1960s. Elsewhere, Jimi Hendrix smokes, Charlotte Rampling smoulders while John and Yoko get naked with nothing but The Times (the business section) to cover their modesty.

The pictures are all vintage, which means they were printed within five years of the negative date, and the photographers range from the very famous (Cecil Beaton's extraordinary study of the Beyond The Fringe team - Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller) to the unknown. Whoever snapped Rita Tushingham peeking out from behind a tree, found in her unconventional looks and unfettered pose better testimony to the era's new informality than any

amount of words. The historical status of the pictures is less important than their sense of fun. With effervescent style and occasional flashes of wit, they perpetuate the myth.

  • Until Jan 11, Tom Blau Gallery, 21 Queen Elizabeth Street SE1, Tue to Fri 10am to 6pm, Sat midday to 5pm, free. Tel: 020 7940 9171. www.tomblaugallery.com Tube: London Bridge

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