Content Warning: This section of the guide includes references to drug use and sexual relationships.

John & Paul is set against the historical and cultural backdrop of the 1960s cultural revolution. In the UK, this movement was known as the Swinging Sixties. It was an era defined by new attention on youth culture, modernity, excitement, fun, and hedonism as well as a surge of artistic innovation. The Beatles and other rock groups—notably the Rolling Stones, the Who, and the Kinks—were prominent voices in this cultural reimagining.

In the early 1960s, the Beatles began to toy with musical conventions—both sonically and lyrically. Their work was so innovative that, Leslie argues, music critics didn’t have the language to describe it. However, it wasn’t just the Beatles’ sound that inspired Beatlemania and exhilarated British youth culture. The Beatles were also influential in disrupting cultural stereotypes surrounding gender roles, sexual expression, and social equality. From working-class backgrounds, the Beatles’ bandmates overtly interrogated bourgeois culture in their songs and their presentation. Their long hair and androgynous style subverted expectation and inspired curious young adults to explore their identities in new ways.

The cultural revolution of the 1960s was not, however, limited to UK borders. The Beatles were instrumental in bringing this youth culture and rebellious artistic spirit to the US. Much of this cultural subversion was a reaction to the end of World War II. While the 1950s were defined by austerity, the 1960s invited in an atmosphere of experimentation, verve, and self-expression.

Throughout John & Paul, Leslie incorporates cultural and historical references to the 1960s mood. His descriptions of the Beatles’ sexual relationships, drug use, and general openness to human experience are representative of the cultural revolution at the time.