Freak Out

Freak Out is Australia’s coming-of-age story, illustrating how the nation was swept into global culture through the unstoppable momentum of rock and pop music. The sixties was an era of extraordinary change and earth-shattering events. The music scene responded with popular anthems that reverberated across the planet. Furthermore, it marked the beginning of a period of unprecedented musical innovation and creativity, the likes of which have never been repeated.

Music spoke to young people in their own shared language, urging them to view themselves as distinctly separate from mainstream society—even suggesting they might ‘drop-out’ altogether. For a brief time, millions of young people across western culture genuinely believed they could successfully reinvent society. Liberation for pacifists, women, people of colour, homosexuals, students, and the oppressed seemed to be just a short revolution away.

There was no room for complacency or apathy in the face of the Cold War, Vietnam War, and the constant threat of nuclear annihilation. While Australians may have been spared the fear of bomb blasts, assassinations, and kidnappings, the upheavals abroad invaded the national psyche. The music generated in that milieu infiltrated Australian culture and transformed society forever.