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Royston Ellis

1 of 2 portraits of Royston Ellis

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Royston Ellis

by Ida Kar
2 1/4 inch square film negative, 1960
Purchased, 1999
Photographs Collection
NPG x132974

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Ida Kar (1908-1974), Photographer. Artist or producer associated with 1567 portraits, Sitter in 137 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This photograph was commissioned by the poet Sir John Waller, Ellis's patron and a friend of Victor Musgrave. Ellis's biography The Big Beat Scene (1961) was one of the first contemporary accounts of the music scene in Britain.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Freestone, Clare (appreciation) Wright, Karen (appreciation), Ida Kar Bohemian Photographer, 2011 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 10 March to 19 June 2011), p. 112 Read entry

    Ellis left school at the age of sixteen to become a writer. Influenced by the American Beat poets, Ellis's first book Jiving to Gyp: A Sequence of Poems (1959) chronicled life in Soho coffee shops and jazz clubs. In 1959, backed by Cliff Richard and the Drifters, Ellis appeared on various shows performing his 'rocketry', a mix of music and poetry that had been popularised by Jack Kerouac and others. During this time Ellis also performed with the young guitarist Jimmy Page, who was later to found Led Zeppelin. In 1960 the Beatles backed Ellis at the Jacaranda coffee bar in Liverpool. Ellis introduced John Lennon to 'Polythene Pam' in 1963; later she became the subject of a Beatles song. Ellis's book The Big Beat Scene (1961) was one of the first accounts of the contemporary music scene in Britain. Ellis currently lives in Sri Lanka, writing travel books and fiction.

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Events of 1960back to top

Current affairs

Prince Andrew is born, the third child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip.
The Contraceptive Pill is introduced in England, dramatically changing the nation's approach to sex and relationships, and significantly contributing to the 1960s culture of liberation.

Art and science

Penguin books defend D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover against charges of obscenity by demonstrating that the novel was of literary merit. The 'not guilty' verdict was seen as a victory for free speech and marked the beginning if a new era of liberalism.
The satirical revue Beyond the Fringe launches the careers of Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller.

International

Harold Macmillan delivers his 'wind of change' speech to the South African Parliament in Cape Town, announcing Britain's decision to grant independence to many of her colonies. The speech recognised the emergence of African nationalism, and criticised the policy of Apartheid in South Africa.

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