In the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud

It’s 12 noon in London, 7am in Philadelphia and around the world, people are getting ready for Episode 11. July 13th 1985 saw one of the greatest concerts of all time, as the world of rock and pop united to raise money and awareness for famine in Africa.

The very greatest artists performed their greatest hits, and we discuss 5 of those artists now. Of course, there were controversies about the event, which are put into even sharper focus as we look back 40 years. But, as a spectacle and as a means of raising awareness for generations to follow, it remains unforgettable.

We start (naturally) with Hammer to Fall by Queen. Freddie’s performance was stunning that day and this (we think) is the only Nuclear song performed that day. We then move on to Time Will Crawl by David Bowie. His performance of “Heroes” at Live Aid was simply unbeatable. We then cross the pond to Philadelphia. Tina Turner performed with Mick Jagger in the American leg of the concert and we discuss her post-nuclear anthem “We Don’t Need Another Hero” from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Our next song is “P.O.E.” by Adam Ant. His one song at Live Aid came from the same album. While he now regrets performing at Live Aid, we are glad he did. Finally, U2’s “Seconds” is one of their many Cold War songs. Their performance of “Bad” lives long in the memory.

As ever, our playlist is updated on Spotify and Apple! Give it a listen – 59 songs to enjoy.

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

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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

Guitar lick: Shivam Pathak

Opening words: Richie Wheeler

Opening words of Live Aid – Richard Skinner.

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