Bang! 101 Songs about Nuclear War from the 1980s

About Bang! 101 Songs about Nuclear War from the 1980s

A podcast delving into 101 more amazing songs from the 1980s that dealt with the threats posed by nuclear war. You'll hear us discuss the biggest hits of the decade (did you even know they were about nuclear war?), songs that you might have forgotten and that need to be heard again, and songs that you may never heard. In season 1 we discussed many of the 80s biggest songs and lesser known songs from around the world. We were joined by very special guests from the world of music and writing. In season 2, we carry on with the hits and explore some deeper cuts from some brilliant artists. Every genre of 80s music gets a look-in: punk, new wave, funk, soul, rock, heavy rock, indie, reggae, disco. We have already covered music from Japan, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Europe. Who knows what lies in store this year? We will be discussing the songs from a musical and cultural perspective. What else was happening in the world of television and literature to help paint this nuclear landscape? With every podcast, we will update our Spotify and Apple playlist with the songs we are going to discuss. Have a listen to the tunes, and then the chat, or the chat. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vLjQBbJEhiDaFNOTz9snD?si=05f85de012a84bfb Presenters: Dave and Pank Opening and end music:(Waiting for the) Heatwave by Fay Ray , appears courtesy of Fay Ray, written by John Lovering. With thanks to Richie for voice, Rachel for art and Shivam for tech Do email us at bangnuclearpodcast@gmail.com Message us at @bangpodcast.bsky.social Instagram - bangnuclearpodcast Reddit - r/bangnuclearpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Dave Malbon and Pank Pathak

Category

music

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Feb 2025

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

40 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   We'll All be Glowing for a Quarter of a Million Years

   It's the last 6 songs of the season - numbers 95 to 101 of Season 2 of ‘101 more songs about nuclear war from the 1980s'. All of these songs are loosely based around the theme of nuclear science. We kick off the final countdown with one of the decade’s catchiest songs: ‘Einstein a Go-Go’ by Landscape. It’s been a recurring theme of the podcast that the jolliest tunes often hide the darkest lyrics and this track is the ultimate proof! . Next we look at a more obscure track : Soma Holiday’s ‘Shake Your Molecules’ is another great dance track combing Gallic synth cool with an exuberant American New Wave vocal . It’s rather wonderful. Third up is an absolute favourite of both Pank and Dave . We’d hoped to get a Propaganda song in earlier but nothing from the flawless ‘Secret Wish’ album was nuclear enough. Luckily Claudia Brucken’s next project - Act - produced ‘Absolutely Immune’ which fits the bill perfectly. Our next song started life as a poem but ‘Uh-Oh Plutonium ‘ by Anne Waldman works just as well as an 80s pop single complete with video . Anne is a prolific anti- nuclear activist as a well as a superb wordsmith. One of Dave’s favourites next - ‘Uranium Rock’ by the Cramps . The song covers the brief craze for family friendly uranium hunting in America in the 1950s and is typical of the Cramps’ rockabilly and B-movie horror aesthetic. Finally, what else could we end on but ‘The Future’s So Bright,I’ve Got to Wear Shades’ by Timbuk3? Another big hit and another deceptively jaunty tune that’s not nearly as optimistic as the title would suggest. Our playlists are complete! Download and enjoy all 101 songs. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4aHCNYfoQ2gtko5z6pwS9O?si=81bce0c59ff2470d (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4aHCNYfoQ2gtko5z6pwS9O?si=81bce0c59ff2470d) https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-more-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-vxy6L76uzVzd8Zl (https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-more-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-vxy6L76uzVzd8Zl) We always love to chat with you via our socials: Blue Sky: @bangpodcast.bsky.social Facebook: Bang Nuclear Podcast Reddit: r/bangnuclearpodcast Email: bangnuclearpodcast@gmail.com (mailto:bangnuclearpodcast@gmail.com) Opening and closing music: (Waiting for the) Heatwave – Fay Ray, appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John Lovering “Why Don’t You?” Fay Ray, written by John Lovering. With thanks to Tony Travis. Artwork: Rachel Malbon Assistant Producer: Shivam Pathak Opening words: Richie Wheeler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   21 Sept 2026

   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 Lightbringers, an East London based musician whose first album “Weather the Storms” came out at the beginning of September. It is an album of differing moods with big synth sounds – full of introspection and views of the world. Aidan discusses the album, the recording process and his musical influences. Our five songs are a mixed bag this week. We start with Three Johns’ “Atom Drum Bop” (not from their album of the same name) – yet another memorable song about dancing to unthinkable destruction. We move on to Pop Will Eat Itself’s “Def Con One” – a reference to a state of military readiness that (happily) we have never reached. This should have been a much bigger hit (were it not for the blatant references to McDonald’s) and also pays tribute to Alan Moore’s Watchmen comics. The next song is “Seven Seconds to Midnight” by Wah! Heat. One of Pete Wylie’s many incarnations, this is a brilliant song from a fecund period of Liverpudlian musical output. We move on to “Friendly Fires” by Section 25 – a dark and bleak picture of the price paid by children in the face of heavy military bombing – nuclear or otherwise. Our final song is “Ask” by The Smiths. This got to 14 in the charts with Morrisey and Marr on fine form as they deal with the issue of spontaneity in love. The question at the end of the song provides the link to nuclear war and the title of this episode. Our playlists are updated – enjoy all 91 songs we have covered so far in this Season as an accompaniment to the podcast https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4aHCNYfoQ2gtko5z6pwS9O?si=81bce0c59ff2470d (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4aHCNYfoQ2gtko5z6pwS9O?si=81bce0c59ff2470d) https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-more-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-vxy6L76uzVzd8Zl (https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-more-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-vxy6L76uzVzd8Zl) Stay in touch via our socials: Blue Sky: @bangpodcast.bsky.social Facebook: Bang Nuclear Podcast Reddit: r/bangnuclearpodcast Email: bangnuclearpodcast@gmail.com (mailto:bangnuclearpodcast@gmail.com) Opening and 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 “Heartsoar”, “Hindsight” and “Times Like These” by Lightbringers appear courtesy of Aidan Woods. Give him a follow on @lightbringersofficial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   31 Aug 2026

   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 the important historical aspect of the post WW2 period, but also places Britain’s cultural landscape firmly in the foreground – its music, films and television. Huge thanks to Fraser for joining us. As always, there’s music to discuss. All 5 are British songs, and fit in well with Fraser’s interview. We start with Red Box’s “Billy’s Line” (the playlist says “Lane” – that’s wrong!), a typically anthemic but sad story of a young man from Scotland during the Cold War. The next song is the fantastic Tomahawk Cruise by TV Smith, formerly of The Adverts. We think it’s the only song which speaks from the viewpoint of the British missile itself. Everything But the Girl’s beautiful “The Night I Heard Caruso Sing” is our next song. A piano-based lament, which deals with the horror of discovering nuclear devices during the peace of a family holiday in Scotland. Bowie’s favourite band (of the time) was Screaming Blue Messiahs, whose allegorical guitar-driven “Bikini Red” deals with nuclear testing on that Pacific atoll. We finish with Thomas Dolby’s “One of Our Submarines”. The big synth sound, along with his own family references, make this an irresistible addition to our list. We also pay our respects to Dolly Parton, Frank Beard, Tim Curry, William Orbit and Barry Mitchell. We are up to 90 songs in our latest playlist, which is updated here…. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4aHCNYfoQ2gtko5z6pwS9O?si=81bce0c59ff2470d (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4aHCNYfoQ2gtko5z6pwS9O?si=81bce0c59ff2470d) https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-more-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-vxy6L76uzVzd8Zl (https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/bang-101-more-songs-about-nuclear-war-from-the-1980s/pl.u-vxy6L76uzVzd8Zl) Here are our links for you to stay in touch: Blue Sky: @bangpodcast.bsky.social Facebook: Bang Nuclear Podcast Reddit: r/bangnuclearpodcast Email: bangnuclearpodcast@gmail.com (mailto:bangnuclearpodcast@gmail.com) Opening and closing music: (Waiting for the) Heatwave – Fay Ray, appears courtesy of Fay Ray. Written by John Lovering “Why Don’t You?” Fay Ray, written by John Lovering. With thanks to Tony Travis. Artwork: Rachel Malbon Assistant Producer: Shivam Pathak Opening words: Richie Wheeler With thanks to Fraser McCallum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Who has been a guest on Bang! 101 Songs about Nuclear War from the 1980s

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Kirsty Harris
• Chas Newkey-Burden
• William Onyeabor
• Dog Detachment
• Los Prisioneros

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

12 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 19 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

37

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

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Books guests

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