1964 is a year without the single, big-impact story of other years. The assassination of President Kennedy is still a fresh, raw memory as Americans go to the polls later in the year. Political change is coming to the UK also with a general election on the horizon.

Children are going missing in the Manchester area, close to Saddleworth Moor. That's a story that gets very little attention in '64 but, while nobody know Brady and Hindley yet, they're names that make headlines later and will remain in infamy to the present day.

Having conquered England, four mop-tops from Liverpool lead British bands charge across the Atlantic. It's tempting to say they're “top of the pops” but that's a phrase given to us early by the gift-giving year that is 1964.