Bang! 101 Songs about Nuclear War from the 1980s15 Syys 2025

"They've done it. They've done it."

It’s Episode 15, and we are delighted to welcome writer and journalist Chas Newkey-Burden. Chas has written eye-opening articles about life under a nuclear threat for The Spectator magazine and Metro newspaper. But his real obsession is the 1984 British film “Threads”, about the lives of the people of Sheffield in the run-up to, during and after a nuclear attack. It is truly horrifying and contributed a huge amount to the cultural landscape of Britain in the 80s. Chas discusses the film with us, his recent trip to sites in Sheffield that appeared in the film, and his future “Threads” related plans. It’s quite a listen.

As ever, there is music to discuss – and in the spirit of “Threads” we look at songs that deal with life after a nuclear attack. We start with 80s indie favourites Modern English and their wistful “I Melt With You”; we move on to the brilliant duet between Eurythmics and Elvis Costello called “Adrian”. Next is Billy Idol who finds himself in surprisingly restrained mood with “The Dead Next Door”. The under-celebrated – but brilliant – Microdisney are our next band with their wonderful “Town to Town” (thanks to one of our listeners for this suggestion). Chas himself chooses our last song – “Protect and Survive” by the Dubliners – it’s satirical and uplifting.

Our playlist is now bursting at the seams with 77 songs….

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vLjQBbJEhiDaFNOTz9snD?si=4da04b17ed3347ea

https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-6mo4j9KFByBgKXl

Stay in touch!

Instagram: bangnuclearpodcast

Blue Sky: @bangpodcast.bsky.social

Facebook: Bang Nuclear Podcast

Reddit: r/bangnuclearpodcast

Email: bangnuclearpodcast@gmail.com

Opening & closing music:(Waiting for the) Heatwave – Fay Ray, appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John Lovering

Artwork: Rachel Malbon

Assistant Producer: Shivam Pathak

Opening words: Richie Wheeler

Introduction to the film "Threads" taken from BBC 1984.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(39)

If it's Not Love, it's the Bomb that Will Bring Us Together.

Welcome to Season 2 Episode 17 of our 80s Cold War podcast. In this episode we discuss tracks 91 to 95 of our second list of 101 songs.But first, we introduce a special guest – Aidan Woods of Lightbri...

21 Syys 55min

Fifty Years in the Shadow of the Bomb with Fraser McCallum

Welcome to Episode 16 of Season 2. We have a very special guest, Fraser McCallum, author of the excellent “Cold War Britain – Fifty Years in the Shadow of the Bomb”. The book does not just deal with t...

31 Elo 1h 14min

By the Time this Record's Finished, Everybody Will Be....

This is Episode 15 of Season 2 and we continue to shine the spotlight on Legends – lesser known tracks by the biggest artists.To start with, though, we are delighted that our dear friend Tony Travis o...

10 Elo 53min

London Calling to the Faraway Towns

Welcome to Episode 14 of Season 2. Legends are the focus. We discuss some lesser known songs by the biggest artists. We start with Bruce Springsteen’s “Roulette”. Recorded almost immediately after t...

27 Heinä 36min

A Cold War Conversation with Ian Sanders

Season 13 of Episode 2 is devoted to Cold War espionage, and we welcome a very special guest. Ian Sanders is the creator, host, and inspiration behind the magnificent “Cold War Conversations” podcast...

13 Heinä 1h 11min

The Property Stays, but the People are Gone

Welcome to Season 2 Episode 12. We have discussed so many different genres of music over all our episodes, and now we enter the world of folk and country music from both sides of the Atlantic, and we ...

29 Kesä 1h 1min

Rolling Along Through a Rose Coloured Glow

Welcome to Season 2 Episode 11. After the extremely focussed and niche topics of the last 2 episodes, we go mainstream again with some of the biggest British artists of that era and beyond…. We start...

15 Kesä 54min