Bang! 101 Songs about Nuclear War from the 1980s

• This is Not a Test

  Welcome to Episode 10!Almost half way there. In the last episode we explored Cold War tunes of Australian and New Zealand. In this episode we look at the genuine funkatomic bombs that America produced in the world of jazz-funk and hip hop. There were so many examples to choose from, but we have settled on a list of 5 songs from artists with a huge impact on their genres, if not the chart positions of some of our other selections.First, the prescient and stunning “B-Movie” by Gil Scott-Heron, a spoken word piece of poetry that covers all of the issues that people faced in 80’s America. At 12 minutes in length, it is an awesome piece of work.An accidental microphone gaffe by President Reagan gave rise to Bonzo Goes to Washington’s (aka Bootsy Collins and Jerry Harrison together with producer Arthur Russell) amazing “5 Minutes”, an early example of sampling and looping that laid the foundation for what was to follow.The world of jazz-funk owes an enormous debt to Sun Ra, and his angry, but very laid- back, jam entitled “Nuclear War” is our next song. Born in 1914, Sun Ra’s musical legacy is too long to mention here.The Bus Boys “D-Day” is yet another example of a Cold War song that deals with the most unpleasant of issues, but with funky abandon. And we end with the wonderful “America” by Kurtis Blow, a wonderful hip-hop beat with rap is the background to this amazing history lesson. Watch the video for this too….Our playlist is updated on Spotify and Apple! Now 4 hours long, you can find all of the tracks that we have discussed in the episodes so far. We’ve even chucked in a couple of bonus tracks…https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vLjQBbJEhiDaFNOTz9snD?si=4da04b17ed3347eahttps://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-6mo4j9KFByBgKXlPlease keep in touch. We love to hear from you on socials and e-mail.Instagram: bangnuclearpodcastBlue Sky: @bangpodcast.bsky.socialFacebook: Bang Nuclear PodcastReddit: r/bangnuclearpodcastEmail: [email protected] and closing music: (Waiting for the) Heatwave – Fay Ray, appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John LoveringArtwork: Rachel MalbonAssistant Producer: Shivam PathakOpening words: Richie Wheeler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Funkatomic Bombs From Australia

  It’s Episode 9!Welcome – once again the guests come thick and fast as we explore the nuclear themed music of the 80s from two lands down under – Australia and New Zealand. Our special guests this episode are Vitabeats - Lissa and Andrew Barnum. They released the magnificent “Spot the Spanner” album in 1985, which included their funkatomic beat “Boom Box”, together with outlandish video. We discuss their musical journey, from LA to the countryside in New South Wales via the studios and record shops of Sydney and London.We then discuss Aussie favourites Icehouse and their wonderful “Sunrise”, full of poignant imagery. “Soviet Snow” by Shona Laing” is next. Part-orchestral, part-pop, it deals with the issue of the nuclear winter.Would it be possible to have an episode about Australian music without at least a mention of Men at Work or Midnight Oil? “It’s a Mistake” is a fondly remembered hit coming in the same year as “Down Under”, and the video has the same slapstick comedy as some of the other songs we’ve discussed in this series.Finally, “US Forces”: Midnight Oil’s constant activism and music about critical Australian and world issues make them stand apart from many of their peers. And thanks to our friend Michael Smith (Lord of Adders Black podcast) for his excellent contribution to this discussion.Our playlist is updated on Spotify and Apple! Give it a listen – it’s now 3 hours long. Something for everyone. A bonus track is included this week, “One Nation under the Bomb” by Conflict is added in tribute to their lead singer Colin Jerwood who died recently.https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vLjQBbJEhiDaFNOTz9snD?si=4da04b17ed3347eahttps://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-6mo4j9KFByBgKXlOur socials:Instagram: bangnuclearpodcastBlue Sky: @bangpodcast.bsky.socialFacebook: Bang Nuclear PodcastReddit: r/bangnuclearpodcastEmail: [email protected] and closing music: (Waiting for the) Heatwave – Fay Ray, appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John LoveringArtwork: Rachel MalbonAssistant Producer: Shivam PathakOpening words: Richie Wheeler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Look Now, Look All Around... There's No Sign of Life.

  Welcome to Episode 8 – with our very special guest, Sylvia Patterson, influential music journalist who was at Smash Hits Magazine when it was at the peak of its popularity. She has written for the biggest publications in music and interviewed and toured with the biggest names in pop and rock music and has written two wonderful memoirs: “I’m Not With the Band” (2016) and “Same Old Girl” (2023).All of the songs discussed in this episode are by artists who were (either once or very many times) featured on the iconic covers of Smash Hits. We start with the Thompson Twins surprisingly rock-ish anthem “Bombers in the Sky”. Then we move on to “White Train” by Bananarama, which was the B-side to the huge hit “Venus”. Scottish duo Strawberry Switchblade’s wistful “Since Yesterday” wasn’t even widely known to be a nuclear song until Rose McDowall’s revelation in 2015. Our last two songs come from 2 of the biggest British bands of the 80s; Depeche Mode’s eery synth classic “Two Minute Warning” and Duran Duran’s era defining “Planet Earth.Sylvia gives her insights and anecdotes about all our artists – they’re a joy to hear. We discuss with Sylvia Smash Hits’ contribution to the nuclear debate and, more generally, how they dealt with the pressing issues of the day.And – as if all that wasn’t enough – we launch our very own line of Bang Nuclear Podcast Tea Towels….Our playlist is updated on Spotify and Apple! Give it a listen – it’s now 3 hours long. Something for everyone.https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vLjQBbJEhiDaFNOTz9snD?si=4da04b17ed3347eahttps://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-6mo4j9KFByBgKXlOnce again, our thanks to you all for keeping in touch via our socials:Instagram: bangnuclearpodcastBlue Sky: @bangpodcast.bsky.socialFacebook: Bang Nuclear PodcastReddit: r/bangnuclearpodcastEmail: [email protected] and closing music: (Waiting for the) Heatwave – Fay Ray, appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John LoveringArtwork: Rachel MalbonAssistant Producer: Shivam PathakOpening words: Richie Wheeler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Someone Pushed the Button Down

  It’s Episode 7 and, to coincide with the recent Eurovision Song Contest, we look at artists who have either been in Eurovision or have some indirect links with it….We start with UK champions Bucks Fizz and their forlorn nostalgia in “I Used to Love the Radio” before moving on to Swedish winners and pop pioneers ABBA – 2 songs form part of our discussion :“Soldiers” and “The Visitors”.German megastar (and the voice of Enigma) Sandra Lauer’s cover of Wishful Thinking’s “Hiroshima” is next, followed by the mesmeric performance of Klaus Nomi on “Total Eclipse”. The Eurovision link there is pretty tenuous as is the next song's – the dark but sunny “Vamos a la Playa” by Italian duo Righeira.We end with a genuine Eurovision nuclear war song – “Nuku Pommiin” by Finland’s Kojo. It scored nul points in 1982 but we give it douze every day….Our playlist is updated on Spotify and Apple! Give it a listen:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vLjQBbJEhiDaFNOTz9snD?si=4da04b17ed3347eahttps://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-6mo4j9KFByBgKXlOnce again, our thanks to you all for keeping in touch via our socials:Instagram:bangnuclearpodcastBlue Sky:@bangpodcast.bsky.socialFacebook: Bang Nuclear PodcastReddit:r/bangnuclearpodcastEmail:[email protected] and closing music: (Waiting for the) Heatwave – Fay Ray, appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John LoveringArtwork: Rachel MalbonAssistant Producer: Shivam PathakOpening words: Richie Wheeler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• A Witch Hunt and a Nuclear Party

  It's Episode 6, and this time the theme is "Angry Young Britain". We explore songs from bands who raged against the injustices of the day and welcome a very special guest. Four of them hail from the Midlands - The Specials, UB40, The Beat and The Au Pairs and Swindon's finest, XTC.The Au Pairs' lead singer is the great Lesley Woods and she spoke to us about the song "America" - a damning indictment of American foreign policy - and of the pervading nuclear threat - of that era. She also breaks some very exciting news.... the title of this episode is drawn from the lyrics.Our discussion begins with The Specials' dark but danceable "Man at C and A". We then move on to UB40's bleak "The Earth Dies Screaming"... a 4 minute intro before a word is sung. After our interview with Lesley, we then move on to "Dream House in NZ" - again, its dark lyrics make you want to move your feet. We then finish with XTC's wonderful "Living Through Another Cuba" - another up-tempo ska-infused tune that reminds us of a time when the world was on the brink....Thank you to all who have been loyally following and enjoying our podcast. Our playlist of all songs discussed is updated with each podcast:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vLjQBbJEhiDaFNOTz9snD?si=55356228bc354821https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-6mo4j9KFByBgKXlKeep in touch – we love your feedback and your song suggestions that have resulted in us extending beyond the 21 shows that we had planned!Instagram - bangnuclearpodcastBlue Sky - @bangpodcast.bsky.socialReddit – r/bangnuclearpodcastEmail – [email protected] and closing music – (Waiting for the) Heatwave – Fay Ray. Appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John LoveringOpening words - Richie WheelerArtwork – Rachel MalbonAssistant Producer – Shivam Pathak Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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