Bang! 101 Songs about Nuclear War from the 1980s

• 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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  40:14
• 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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  55:57
• Hello? Is Anybody Home?

  Welcome to Episode 5 and thanks for being part of our ever growing nuclear family.There’s not a male vocalist in sight, as we discuss 5 entirely different but outstanding female vocalists of the age. We start with Blondie’s Atomic – paying tribute to the fabulous drummer, Clem Burke; then Hazel O’Connor’s anthemic Eighth Day from the soundtrack to “Breaking Glass”. We then move on to Anne Clark’s bleak but gripping “Poem for a Nuclear Romance”, and then a complete change of mood as we do the Neutron Dance along with the Pointer Sisters. To end with, we discuss one of the most remarkable songs of the 80s – O Superman (For Massenet) by Laurie Anderson. Sorry but we sing a tiny bit of opera… 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 suggestionsInstagram - 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 LoveringArtwork – Rachel Malbon Assistant Producer – Shivam Pathak Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  46:05
• So Glad We've Almost Made It....

  Welcome to Episode 4 of Bang! (Number 1 in Goodpods Rock and Pop charts for March 2025)We discuss one of the biggest and best loved songs of the 80s… “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears….. Over 2 billion streams on Spotify alone! We then move on to the wistful protest of Billy Bragg’s “Between the Wars”; then Kate Bush’s haunting and fearful “Breathing”.We then move on to with the wonderful, drily ironic (but jolly) “How I Learned to Love the Bomb” by Dan Treacy’s influential (ask MGMT) band, Television Personalities (with a nod to the Young Ones “Bomb” episode). We finish with the jazz-funk groove of The Stanley Clarke Band’s “Don’t Turn The Lights Out”. You will want to dance to this one.We are really enjoying the listener feedback – so keep it coming….Our playlist of all songs is updated with each podcast....https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vLjQBbJEhiDaFNOTz9snD?si=2d5f3c48a0b6424chttps://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-6mo4j9KFByBgKXlInstagram – bangnuclearpodcastBlue Sky - @bangpodcast.bsky.socialEmail – [email protected] – r/bangnuclearpodcastOpening and closing music – (Waiting for the) Heatwave – Fay Ray. Appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John LoveringArtwork – Rachel MalbonAssistant Producer – Shivam Pathak Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  45:57
• (Waiting for the) Heatwave

  In this episode, we are delighted to welcome Tony Travis of Fay Ray for an interview, in which we discuss his band, the album and the song that is the title of this episode and our regular intro and outro music. Thanks to Tony for joining us.We then move on to Deacon Blue's beautifully descriptive and evocative "He Looks Like Spencer Tracy Now"; Young Marble Giants' short but stoically beautiful "Final Day" and The Jacksons' plaintive nuclear lullaby "Be Not Always".The podcast ends with our discussion of the 80s behemoth "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (Annihilation Mix). Is there a greater nuclear war song?Our accompanying playlist is updated!https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vLjQBbJEhiDaFNOTz9snD?si=f40fdf0f2d204115https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-6mo4j9KFByBgKXlKeep in touch - we love to hear from you.Instagram - bangnuclearpodcastBlue Sky - @bangpodcast.bsky.socialEmail - [email protected] - r/bangnuclearpodcastOpening and closing music - (Waiting for the) Heatwave - Fay Ray. Appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John LoveringArtwork - Rachel MalbonAssistant Producer - Shivam Pathak Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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