Music from the anti-nuclear movement

Laka has a large collection of music (on vinyl, LPs & Singles and on CD or even VHS and Music Cassettes) supporting the anti-nuclear struggle. Most of these recordings are documenting a specific struggle in a specific era and location, and are living documents of that decennia long struggle. But at the same time, the music in this collection is part of artistic heritage of this struggle. Many of these albums - due to being part of the counterculture - do not focus solely on the struggle against nuclear power, but the antinuclear struggle has always been an integral part of the wider protest movement.

Music is part of Laka's 'special collections' - the culture of the international anti-nuclear movement - which also includes anti-nuclear songbooks, posters and graphic novels. If you have anything to add, want to make a contribution or an inquiry about a specific record, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We focus on music from the fight against nuclear energy. Often, this fight is strongly linked with the fight against against nuclear weapons, and together they are often referred to as the antinuclear struggle. But our focus is that of the struggle against atomic power. Music against the a-bomb is already better documented for example for the U.K.: George McKay: “They’ve Got a Bomb”: Sounding Anti-nuclearism in the Anarcho-punk Movement in Britain, 1978–84.

Many groups that were important in the anti-nuclear energy struggle, who stood on the stages of manifestations or participated in demonstrations countless times, many times for free or reduced fees, never recorded or released their anti-nuclear energy repertoire. And those who did, almost always accompanied songs about other social struggles in which they were active: war and peace, womens' liberation, discrimination, squatting/housing struggles, etc.

Many (also commercially more successful) artists have released a song about (and often against) nuclear energy in their career, for example after Harrisburg (1979) or Chernobyl (1986). These are often not included in this collection, because support for the anti-nuclear energy movement is an important condition for inclusion in this list. That 'support of the anti-nuclear energy movement' is of course difficult to determine, but an important factor is being part of that movement and thus playing (acting) on activities against nuclear energy or vocally express solidarity with the anti-nuclear struggle.

An attempt has been made to provide more information about each release: about the band/artist, the recording, the song, and, if there was one, a specific reason for the song. This was not easy, especially with regard to the old editions – and that is the majority – but due to a lot of searching and with the help of others, it has often been successful. Sometimes the information also came from the liner notes or inserts, sometimes from third parties who wrote about it, and sometimes through personal contact with the performers involved.

In the list very occasionally a digital release. Nowadays, many songs against nuclear power are published on YouTube, for instance. These are not included in this list.

Since the Laka collection is growing, these pages are frequently updated. It is work in progress. We have not finished adding information to all listed releases. So, visit us again!