International Times (IT)

International Times (IT)
Name	International Times
Other name	IT
Type	Underground newspaper
Format	Tabloid, magazine
Founded	1966
Founder	Barry Miles; John "Hoppy" Hopkins; Jim Haynes
Headquarters	London
Language	English
Political	Counterculture

International Times (IT) was a London-based underground newspaper founded in 1966 that became a central organ of the British and international counterculture, linking figures from the Beat Generation to the British psychedelic scene, Situationist International, and anti-establishment movements. It provided a platform for radical poets, avant-garde artists, and alternative politics, reporting on festivals, demonstrations, and the evolving rock and experimental music scenes in London, New York, Paris, and San Francisco. Over decades IT intersected with institutions such as the National Theatre, venues like the Roundhouse (venue), and movements including the Free Speech Movement, May 1968 events in France, and the anti-Vietnam War movement.

History

IT originated in 1966 amid the milieu of the Soho arts scene and the legacy of the Beat Hotel, with founders associated with the alternative publishing network and contacts across Paris, New York City, and San Francisco. Early issues chronicled the Monterey Pop Festival, the rise of The Beatles, and the proliferation of underground venues such as the Marquee Club and Roundhouse (venue), while engaging with the ideas of the Situationist International and activists from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Civil Rights Movement. The paper weathered police raids, injunctions influenced by figures linked to the Home Office and local magistrates, and runs-ins with proprietors associated with the BBC and the British Broadcasting Corporation. Through the 1970s IT adapted to changes in publishing technology influenced by printers from the Alternative Press networks and collaborative workshops associated with the London Free School and the Ken Loach film milieu. In later decades IT survived as a shadow publication, revivals tied to festivals like Glastonbury Festival and exhibitions at institutions such as the Tate Modern and Victoria and Albert Museum.

Editorial profile and content

The paper mixed reportage, manifestos, reviews, and art, publishing interviews with musicians from Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin alongside manifestos referencing theorists linked to the Situationist International, poets from the Beat Generation such as Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, and experimental writers connected to the Paris Review network. IT’s arts coverage featured visual artists like Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Yves Klein and reviewed avant-garde theatre at venues connected to the Royal Court Theatre and the National Theatre. Music journalism extended to profiles of performers associated with Sun Records, artists from the Motown roster, and electronic innovators tied to studios in Berlin and Detroit. Columnists engaged with political campaigns related to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, and the Gay Liberation Front, while cultural criticism invoked festivals including the Isle of Wight Festival and the Woodstock Festival. Visual design drew on typographic experiments popularized by practitioners from the Arts Council of England and exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

Contributors and notable figures

IT printed work by poets, musicians, and artists who were also associated with other outlets: poets from the Beat Generation and editors connected to the San Francisco Chronicle and The New York Times arts desks; photographers from agencies linked to Magnum Photos and galleries such as the Whitechapel Gallery; and musicians who performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Contributors and allies included journalists and editors who later worked with the Guardian and the Observer, promoters connected to the Bataclan and the Fillmore East, and cultural figures who collaborated with filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard, Ken Loach, and Nicholas Roeg. Columnists and cartoonists worked alongside designers who exhibited at the Serpentine Galleries and academics affiliated with Goldsmiths, University of London. Regulars featured poets with ties to the Ithaca Writers' Workshop and music writers who later joined the staff of Rolling Stone and NME.

Legal challenges and controversies

The publication faced obscenity prosecutions and police action reminiscent of cases involving other countercultural publications and venues that clashed with authorities in Notting Hill and similar neighborhoods. Legal encounters paralleled disputes involving the Daily Mail and libel cases seen in the history of the Sunday Times, with injunctions sometimes argued before judges sitting at courts in London and heard alongside cases involving activists from the Anti-Vietnam War movement. Issues prompted debates among civil liberties groups such as Liberty and supporters from the National Union of Journalists, and generated responses from politicians sitting in the House of Commons and members of the Greater London Council.

Distribution, circulation, and formats

Originally produced as a free or low-cost tabloid printed by independent presses that serviced the alternative press movement, IT circulated at outlets including record shops on Carnaby Street, stalls at the Portobello Road Market, and venues like the Roundhouse (venue) and the Electric Ballroom. Distribution channels later included mail-order subscriptions tied to newsletters from entities like the International Herald Tribune distribution networks and sales at bookstores associated with the British Library and university unions such as those at University College London. Formats evolved from newsprint tabloids to stapled magazines and full-color booklets collected in archives at institutions such as the British Library and the V&A.

Cultural impact and legacy

IT helped shape networks that linked musicians from The Beatles and Rolling Stones to the Velvet Underground and experimental composers associated with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Its legacy is cited in histories of the British counterculture, museum exhibitions at the Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and academic studies produced by scholars at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and Goldsmiths, University of London. The paper influenced later independent magazines and zines distributed at events like Reclaim the Streets and festivals such as Notting Hill Carnival, and continues to be referenced in biographies of cultural figures who performed at venues including the Royal Albert Hall and toured with labels such as Island Records and EMI.

Category:British underground press Category:1966 establishments in the United Kingdom