The Young Meteors

First published in July, 1967, The Young Meteors remains one of the first and best primary-source accounts of the semi-mythical phenomenon known as ‘Swinging London’. By the mid-1960s, the anger and austerity of a previous generation had given way to prosperity — and a possibility, that of a classless meritocracy where anyone with energy, drive and talent could ‘arrive’. Pop stars, photographers, fashion designers, models, gallery owners, journalists, actors and even politicians and financiers became the ‘young meteors’.

Jonathan Aitken’s account, which coined the term and was forged in the white-hot heat of the moment, drew in many involved, including: Mary Quant, Bridget Riley, Pete Townsend, Twiggy, The Beatles, David Bailey, Nik Cohn, Alexander Pluncket Greene, Robert Fraser, Don McCullin, John Stephens, Ken Russell, Michael Caine, Terry Donovan, Peter Asher, and Jean Shrimpton. At the time of its original publication, many of the 200-plus interviewed were speaking for the first time about their experiences. Like all meteors, some rose and burned out. But many continued to soar, and the legacy of all of them still resonates today.

For this Ink Monkey edition, Jonathan Aitken has written a brief Afterword, setting out the circumstances in which The Young Meteors came to be written and the background against which it was published.

‘charming, cheeky… occasionally brash and always entertaining’

Kirkus Reviews