Classic Pop Icons

British Pathé broadcast thousands of cinema newsreels from 1910 until the 1970s, covering everything from major historical events to simple human interest stories. Not surprisingly, Pathé often turned its attention to the popular music stars of the day and as a result its archive is a real treasure trove for those interested in the great rock and pop legends, albeit with a British bias. We’ve picked out some great examples below, involving big-name music stars of the 1950s-60s.

Click the relevant image to be taken to the video of your choice.

Elvis off to Germany
Issue date – Sep 29, 1959

Elvis Presley prepares to leave for Germany, where he was stationed for two years while in the army.

The Beatles Come to Town
Issue date – Dec 26, 1963

There are many videos featuring The Beatles on British Pathé. This one shows the band performing “She Loves You” and “Twist and Shout” at the ABC cinema, Ardwick, Manchester.

The Dave Clark Five – Royal Tottenham
Issue date – Feb 4, 1964

Backstage with the Dave Clark Five at the Royal Tottenham, followed by on-stage performances of “Glad All Over” and “Bits and Pieces.”

Cliff Tops NME Poll
Issue date – May 11, 1964

An overview of the New Musical Express poll winners for 1964, with appearances from Cliff Richard, The Shadows and The Beatles.

Manfreds Go Top
Issue date – Aug 20, 1964

Manfred Mann perform “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” at the Palais, Edinburgh.

The Animals arrive in America
Issue date – Sep 3, 1964

The Animals are popular visitors to New York in 1964.

Helen Shapiro in Poland
Issue date – Oct 20, 1964

Helen Shapiro sings “Walking Back to Happiness” and “You Don’t Know” to Polish fans.

Monkees arrival and press conference
Issue date – Jul 2, 1967

The Monkees arrive at London airport for their British tour and hold a press conference.

Tom Jones golden disc
Issue date – 12 Dec, 1968

Tom Jones receives a gold disc from Germany and has to go to a salt mine to receive it. I don’t know why either!

It’s the age of the teenager
Issue date – June 26, 1958

A cringeworthy, but amusing look at the interests of teenagers in 1958 Britain.

Another fun tip for the British Pathé site, particularly for UK viewers, is to look up a place of interest such as your home town. This can yield all kinds of interesting information about events that are often long forgotten.

This archive of 90,000 videos can be previewed in full on the British Pathé website, where you can also purchase videos and still photographs.