PreviousDays✦THE WIKI
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1946–1999

Giant leaps. Divided worlds. New beginnings.

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MOMENTS FROM THIS ERA

Meet the moments.

7 illustrated stories · growing daily
Drumsticks, a microphone and a flight bag rest beside a crowded 1980s concert stage.Music

Phil Collins performs at both Live Aid concerts, 13 July 1985

Phil Collins appeared at Live Aid in London and Philadelphia on the same day, using Concorde and helicopter transfers. His journey became a memorable human-scale demonstration of the event's international reach.

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Four glam-pop performers sing on a 1970s television stage while a conductor in a dark coat and bicorne faces them.Music

ABBA wins Eurovision with Waterloo in Brighton

ABBA won Eurovision on 6 April 1974 with Waterloo. Conductor Sven-Olof Walldoff’s Napoleon costume supplied a visual counterpart to the song’s historical metaphor.

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Two astronauts in a cramped Gemini cockpit hold a small harmonica and a strap of sleigh bells, with Earth outside a window.Music

Gemini VI-A’s Jingle Bells performance in orbit

On 16 December 1965, the Gemini VI-A astronauts turned a playful radio report into a performance of Jingle Bells. A miniature harmonica and a strap of sleigh bells brought a brief musical surprise into an important spaceflight mission.

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Illustration of the Beatles performing in a theatre before a formally dressed audience and spectators in boxes.Music

The Beatles' 1963 Royal Variety Performance and Lennon's audience joke

At London's Royal Variety Performance on 4 November 1963, the Beatles played four songs before the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret. John Lennon's short invitation to the audience turned a song introduction into a lasting cultural moment.

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A solo singer, small orchestra and television camera in a warmly lit 1950s theatre.Music

The first Eurovision Song Contest in Lugano, 1956

The first Eurovision Song Contest took place in Lugano on 24 May 1956. Seven countries supplied fourteen songs, and an intimate evening of orchestral pop launched an enduring experiment in international broadcasting.

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Three musicians play acoustic guitar, electric guitar and upright bass in a small 1950s recording studio.Music

Elvis records That’s All Right with a drummerless trio

Elvis Presley recorded That’s All Right in Memphis on 5 July 1954. The performance that launched his commercial recording career used acoustic guitar, electric guitar and double bass, with no drum kit or additional instrumental backing.

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A pianist sits with his hands away from the keyboard as an audience waits in an open-sided timber concert hall.Music

Premiere of John Cage’s 4′33″ at Woodstock

On 29 August 1952, David Tudor premiered John Cage’s 4′33″ near Woodstock, New York. The pianist produced no intentional notes, directing attention instead towards environmental sound and the act of listening.

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