Two Tribes - The Threat of Nuclear War
Stuart Maconie on the history of modern Britain in 50 records. He reflects on Britain in the shadow of the mushroom cloud, and hears about the paranoia of the Cold War age.
Following the end of WW2 there came a longer and a colder kind of war. The two global superpowers had gone from allies to sworn enemies, each armed to the teeth with weapons that could destroy the world many times over.
Although the two nations had already come close to war over the botched invasion at the Bay Of Pigs in 1961, it was during the 1980s that the Cold War reached its chilly apex. Under the respective reigns of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, nuclear paranoia was omnipresent.
Capturing the mood of the times, films like Mad Max, Threads and The Day After all portrayed the threat of global apocalypse with varying degrees of horror. And musically, acts as diverse as from Kate Bush, Sting, Iron Maiden, Prince and Ultravox all recorded anti-nuclear tracks. Almost literally, the threat of nuclear war was in the air.
This mood of rampant paranoia was even apparent in this episode's epic dancefloor filler, a colossal number one single about global destruction and political insanity. And like the nuclear threat itself, Frankie Goes To Hollywood seemed to be everywhere one looked in 1984. Their music, their controversial videos and their "Frankie Say" t-shirts were ubiquitous.
Last on
Clips
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The Life of a Submariner in the 1980s
Duration: 00:56
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Protesting at Greenham Common peace camp
Duration: 01:32
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Episode 2 Preview
Duration: 01:19
Music Played
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Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Two Tribes (Annihilation Mix)
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Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Relax
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Simon & Garfunkel
The Sun Is Burning
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Crosby, Stills & Nash
Wooden Ships
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The Byrds
I Come And Stand At Every Door
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Bob Dylan
Masters Of War
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Barry McGuire
Eve Of Destruction
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Nena
99 Red Balloons
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Ultravox
Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
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Thomas Dolby
One Of Our Submarines
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Elton John
Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding
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Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Two Tribes
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Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Ferry Cross The Mersey
Share your comments and stories
Your contributions will play a key part in this episode, take a look at the questions below and :
- Did you or your friends buy a Frankie Says T-shirt?
- Do you remember getting the Protect and Survive leaflets through the letterbox?
- Do you remember watching the Threads TV series?
- Did you march or protest against nuclear weapons, or join CND?
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Broadcasts
- Wed 9 Jan 2013 22:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2
- Tue 12 Jan 2016 23:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2
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