Consumer Guide / No.145 /Â and the tracks of Simon Swingler's years (with Mark Watkins).
MW: Why did you decide to post daily, year-on-year, on Twitter/X?
SS: I had been doing my little project for quite a while (4-5 years) starting in 1962 but it wasn't published or posted anywhere. I had seen similar nostalgia accounts on Twitter but nothing quite like what I was doing so I decided to give it ago. I think I was in the middle of 1966 at the time. I was genuinely surprised how many people seemed to enjoy it.Â
MW: When did you start with and how far do you plan to go up to?
SS: I started in October 1962 at the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I only meant to study the Cuban crisis in depth and leave it there but it snowballed. I remember thinking I wonder what happens in the rest of 1962 and here I am over a decade later!
I am not sure what year I will stop, it all depends on how much time my everyday life in the real world will allow me! I am hoping to at least get to the day I was born in January 1979.
MW: How do you source all your newspaper type materials?
SS: Originally, I only had access to the free newspaper archive that is available via Google which is predominately American. That all changed while I was in 1965 and I discovered that my local library card could give me access to The Times archive for free. I have dabbled with a couple of other archives which give me access to a plethora of regional and national publications but their monthly fees can be quite expensive so I dip in and out of them depending how flush I am feeling!Â
MW: What is YOURÂ favourite year, and why?Â
Undoubtedly it was 1969 (which coincided with the Covid lockdown!) purely because of the Apollo 11 moon landings. I can't explain how exciting it was watching it all unfold in real time (even though I already knew the outcome). I can only imagine what it was like really being there.
MW: What are your favourite records (singles), TV programmes and movies from YOURÂ favourite year, 1969? (in order of merit)...
SINGLES
1.Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman. One thing I have enjoyed about this project is how it has introduced me to artists and songs that I had previously never heard off and this beautiful song which always takes me back to that hot Covid summer lock down in 1969 (at least it was 1969 for me) is one of them.
2.The Archies - Sugar Sugar. In the latter part of 1969 following on from the mostly successful Apollo 11 mission came Apollo 12 is a mission that is almost always overlooked because it is sandwiched between the first mission (11) and the infamous disaster of Apollo 13. Apollo 12 is a fascinating mission in its own right and the mission commander Pete Conrad is quite a character. On the tapes of conversations between the craft and Houston you can hear various songs being played in the background on a tape recorder inside the capsule and this rather catchy hit from 1969 is one of them.
3.Dean Martin - Gentle On My Mind. Growing up in the 1980s I had heard of Dean Martin, but I had no idea how good he was until I was exposed to his work doing this project. This song hung around the Top Ten for a while. I seem to recall playing it on YouTube several times a day.
4.Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Tracks Of My Tears. This song always reminds me of that scene in Platoon. In 1969 the Vietnam war was still very much raging. As I move closer and closer towards May 1975 and the fall of Saigon it makes me feel very sad. I was right there at the start of the conflict (I listened to every minute of the LBJ's telephone calls that are available online; I saw how the whole thing escalated in real time alongside The President) and I still can't quite believe that the US is going to let a friend down so badly as they will in May 1975.
5.Rolf Harris -Two Little Boys. A controversial inclusion, however back in the 1980s when my Brother and I were in fact two little boys my late Nan had this song dedicated on the local radio station for us. I still remember the thrill of having our names read out on the air. So although the artist went on to disgrace himself this song from the latter part of 1969 will always have a place close to my heart.
TV PROGRAMMES
This is a subject very close to my heart, one of the joys I have discovered doing this project is watching the exact episodes of classic TV shows on the days they aired for the first time.
I often think about large portions of the nation watching along 51 years ago in the past, the fact that there were only three TV channels back then probably helped get some of the mammoth viewing figures that some of these shows enjoyed back in the day:
1.Coronation Street. I will cover this later, but there is a guy who I got to know through my Twitter/X account who has gone above and beyond to supply me with Coronation Street episodes from his own personal collection to allow me to enjoy the UK's most famous soap. I had honestly never watched Corrie before in my life prior to this. I find it very strange now going around to my Mum and Dad's house and seeing an elderly Ken Barlow on the screen having just seen him hours earlier in the prime of his life!
2.The Virginian. Another thing I learned about myself that I didn't know prior to undertaking this project is that I am a sucker for a Western and back in the day on the UK TV there were so many of them imported over from the US! In my humble opinion the pick of a very good bunch was The Virginian starring James Drury and Doug McClure. It was impossible not to chuckle at the exploits of Trampas or admire the quiet dry humour of James Drury as The Virginian.
3.On The Buses. This classic sitcom is indicative of so many that I have grown to love. I had heard of it growing up but I can't say I had watched a single minute until it first aired in February 1969 (or at least it was 1969 for me!) and so from that moment on I was captivated by it. Arthur's sarcasm was always the highlight for me. It was also one of those shows where I often found myself watching the background - particularly in the street scenes - just enjoying how an average British High Street looked back then.
4.Softly Softly (Taskforce). The UK had quite a few Cop dramas in this period, some of them quite superb. The pick of the bunch I have always thought was Softly Softly (Taskforce). The team of Barlow, Watt, Snow, Evans (who had an extremely large forehead) etc pitting their wits on a weekly basis against the rent-a-crook of the week was compulsive viewing.
5.Doctor In The House. This is a show I was completely ignorant off until it appeared on the tv screens while I was studying 1969. What I loved about this show is that it kept on evolving enjoying many spin-offs absorbing character losses easily with clever replacements and also eventually changes of environment (Doctor at Sea). Professor Loftus terrorising yet looking after these ragtag group of young and inexperienced disaster prone doctors was always fun to watch.
MOVIES
1.Carry On Camping. The year of 1969 saw many classic films hit the big screen, I don't know how well this fared across the globe but in the UK it was a massive hit and, as I am sure you are aware, receives many airings every year on UK television.
2.The Italian Job. My favourite part of this all time classic film is not Michael Caine discussing the merits of exploding doors or convoys of minis driving around Italy but is in fact the opening scene with Matt Munro singing, âOn Day's Like Theseâ, in the background. Munro is a singer who I was introduced to while studying the Eurovision Song Contest way back when I was in 1964. What a voice this rather underrated singer had.
3.Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. Going back to my earlier comments, I am a sucker for a Western and this one has to be in my Top Five of all time; superb performances from Paul Newman and Robert Redford compliments a fantastic storyline. I like to think they survived the final shoot out, but the odds were against them, I have to admit!
MW: Have your Twitter/X endeavours brought you into contact with others who also enjoy similar nostalgia/archiving?
SS: There are so many good nostalgia accounts on Twitter/X and also people who I have come to interact with on a daily basis who lived through the period and give me a unique perspective on the events I am studying that you wouldn't get just from reading the newspapers.
One of my favourites is Graeme Wood (@woodg31) who produces daily TV listings from years going back as far as the 1950s among other things.
Graeme Wood (@woodg31) / X
Others I owe a lot to are:
Robert Bates (@Robert8850Bates) who went above and beyond to give me access to Coronation Street episodes from his own collection.
Robert Bates (@Robert8850Bates) / X
David (@David70078685) who is from Northern Ireland and lived through the time periods I am studying during the troubles, he provides me with some fascinating insights into the complicated politics of the area during the 1970s.
David (@David70078685) / X
@ModernTVGold - Takes my TV listings posts on a daily basis and enhances them with a few links to episodes of his own. They have turned me on to a few shows I otherwise would have missed. One I believe was the series, Look! Mike Yarwood, which is now a firm favourite of mine.
ModernTVGold (@ModernTVGold) / X
MW: What were you like at school?
SS: I was an average student, hung around in the middle set on most subjects without really trying too hard, probably could have pushed myself but I was a bit lazy! I was in the school football team, which was the only sport I ever really took to. I couldn't stand cricket; the ball was too hard to hurt when it hit me!
MW:Â What would your ideal weekend look like?
SS: A win for my local team Rushden & Higham United followed by a decent drink in the bar afterwards!Â
MW: Any plans for the Summer?
SS: I have a holiday planned in Somerset at a Haven Holiday camp with my wife and two kids. The town of Watchett is nearby; it is a lovely place like stepping back in time which suits a person like me down to the ground!
The year is 1975 (@Fan89Footy) / X
© Mark Watkins / February 2026
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