In May 1975 the first Swedish nuclear power plant, Barsebaeck 1, started operation. In the same year this anti-nuclear compilation Vi Kan Leva Utan Kärnkraft (We Can Live Without Nuclear Power) was released by (and on) the Silence label. All nine tracks were written and recorded specifically for this album. In the gatefold sleeve six pages with information on nuclear power and alternative sources of energy. One of the stranger recording in this predominantly acoustic lot is Røde Mor, actually a Danish band but here complimented by Swedish blues musician and actor Totta Näslund on vocals. Silence was the most important record label formed during the early years of Progg (more about progg) to record and release this new music.
Although Roland van Malmborg is the undisputed ‘troubadour’ of the Swedish antinuclear movement, his only officially released song against nuclear power is on this album: Stoppa all Atomkraft

Listen to the song Stoppa all Atomkraft, written and performed by Roland von Malberg.

Hets (Heat) was a band from Nörrkoping, 100 km southwest of Stockholm. Not to confuse this band with the rather ‘famous’ Hets! (with exclamation mark) from the 2000s. This single against nuclear power and uraniummining was recorded in September 1979 and released in November 1979. It is the first single from this band, one more single and an album (titled simply Hets) in early 1981 would follow. This 7” is also one of the few releases on the small Alternativ-label.

Like many other artists, Swedish electronic music pioneer Hans Edler, joined the anti-nuclear cause in the run up of the referendum with this Nej till kärnkraft 7”. Pure 70s disco Bang on the A-side (‘There must be something safer / than atomic energy’) and the completely different electronic spacy instrumental Meltdown on the B-side. Both songs are from his album Space Vision from the same year. His first album was the very experimental Elektron Kukésko (1971), often considered his best work.

This is the only release under the name of Tomas Bergh, but the artist is better known as Thomas Dellert (aka Tommy Dollar). He is a photographer, painter, designer, actor, director, singer, composer, writer and film maker, specialised in American pop art and satirical art. He was born in Sweden, moved to London in 1975 and became close with the Sex Pistols. He toured with them and had his own punkband The Resistance.
This 7” single (also released on 12”) is his only official release. side A Upp till Kamp (up for battle) is a discoversion of L’Internationale the anthem of various anarchist, communist, socialist movements since the late nineteenth century. The anarchist Eugène Pottier wrote it in 1864, later the melody was composed by Pierre De Geyter, a Marxist. The B-side of this 7” Oh... tryggare kan ingen vara (Oh... no one can be safer) is a satirical (punk) version – dedicated to his son - , with some adaptations lyrically, of the Christian hymn (circa 1850) called "Children of the Heavenly Father". i fabriken trygga skugga / neutronbarn börjar plugga / Ringhals 8 Forsmark 4 / goda råd blir jävligt dyra (in the shadow of the secure factory / neutron children start studying / Ringhals 8 Forsmark 4 / good advice gets damn expensive).

This single Antikärnkraftwerk, another example of an release to support the antinuclear voice in the referendum, was released by Källan, a collective of artists from the Luleå area “who chose to use their knowledge as a means in the fight for a socialist society“.
The A-side of this single Frihetens Eko (The echo of Freedom), was written by Tomas Forssell and performed by Skottes Musikorkester. Tommy Skotte, whose main instrument is double bass, played in various progg groups in the 1970s. Thomas Wiehe (brother of Mikael) together with actors, singer & songwriters Per Dunsö, Ola Ström with whom he had been working for a long time, and Truls, performed the B-side of this release: Vaggsång fem i tolv (Lullaby at five to twelve). It is an old song from the 1977 album Professor Djurström and Göte Skötare by Dunsö and Ström with new lyrics. Thomas Wiehe was also part of the 1975 Vi kan leva utan kärnkraft compilation.
This single comes with A2 poster.

Torvmossegossarna was a spin-off from Elektriska Linden, and released only this anti-nuclear 7” EP in 1980 on their own label Skivbolaget EKO. Elektriska Linden had one track on ”Vi kan leva utan kärnkraft” on the Silence-label in 1975. The first song on this EP Folkomröstning (Referendum) was written by Ingvar Sundén, who was active in the People's campaign against nuclear power and other organizations in Stockholm during the 70s. Torvmossegossarna was one of the many bands that took part in the three day Rock Mot Atomkraft festival at Konstfack, the University of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm, November 1979.

This 7# is a collaboration of two choirs En Röd Kör (Red Choir) and Sånggruppen Den Mänskliga Faktorn (singing group the Human Factor). Four songs on this single from early 1980 to support the antinuclear vote in the referendum: two from Röd Kör: Säg Nej !!! (Say No !!) and Framtidslandet (Future Land), one from Den Mänskliga Faktorn: The Sysselsättning Rock (The Employment Rock) and one from both together: Balladen Om Avfallet (The Ballad Of Waste).
On the back of the sleeve more explanation about the issues the songs deal with: radioactive waste and plutonium, employment and energy production, savings and efficiency. And an explanation about the three voting options at the referendum.

Listen to the song Säg nej, performed by En Röd Kör.

Swedish blues rock band which was founded in Gothenburg in the autumn of 1978 by guitarist Clas Yngström. In the beginning mainly a cover band (zz top, jimmy hendrix) but in the mid-80s they broke through in Sweden with the album Freezin' Hot. This single contains two bluesrock songs, Säj Nej...Till Kärnkraft and Säj Ja...Till Livet. Blues rock is rather a-typical in this list. This was their second single, recorded in the winter of 1979 and finished in January 1980. One of their few releases in Swedish language. Säj Nej...Till Kärnkraft is originally called Come On (Let The Good Times Roll) and was written by Earl King in 1960. Sky High made new lyrics on Jimi Hendrix's version from 1968. 50% of the surplus went to the Folkkampanjen mot Atomkraft. The single was printed in approximately 1,500 copies. Both songs are completely unique and cannot be found on any other album.

Members of Folkkampanjen Mot Kärnkraft in Göteborg formed the Musikgruppen Nejrösterna (the No votes) in september 1979, especially for the referendum: “With the help of music, we want to get the No message out to as many people as possible.”
Two songs on this 7” Solen Och Vinden Vattnet Och Jorden (The Sun And The Wind The Water And The Earth) and Kärnkraftsman (Nuclear power man), recorded early 1980 and released on the Live Studio Lane label (with only one release)
This 7” was also a way to raise money for the Peoples campaign: on the sleeve it is stated that “the entire surplus from the sale goes directly to the No side in the referendum”.

This single from the city of Växjo, north-east of Malmö is another example of a local initiative to support the Linje 3 vote at the Referendum. On the a-side of this 7" Kardus: Den Manskliga Faktorn (the Human Factor). It turned out to be the only release of the band who ceases to exist not much later. Kjell Johansson, bass-player of Kardus also cooperated on Up till Kamp by Tomas Bergh. On the b-side of the single, Växjö Sånggrupp sings Stoppa all atomkraft, the famous song by Roland von Malmborg, which he recorded for the 1975 compilation Vi kan leva utan kärnkraft. All proceeds from the single go to the Folkkampanjen Nej Till Kärnkraft.

Nej till Kärnkraft (No to nuclear power!) is the second Swedish anti-nuclear compilation album. Recorded in November 1979, it is an album with a number of very well known (mainstream) Swedish artists, to support the ‘Linje 3’ vote at the referendum and to raise money for the Folkkampanjen Nej til Kärnkraft (People's Campaign No to Nuclear Power). The two most notable progg labels (more about progg) MNW and Silence – Silence also released the 1975 compilation - joined forces for this release. The album encompasses a broad variety of musical styles: from singer/songwriters to reggae to jazz to almost easy listening. Included are all lyrics and background information on the referendum, nuclear power and the answer on the question if we need nuclear power. (‘No, we do not need nuclear power’).

In the winter of 1979/1980, in the run up to the referendum, many worked in many different ways to avoid nuclear power in Sweden. This opera about energy was played, sung & danced by up to 250 people on Stockholm's streets and squares. The album Den Femte Naturkraften (the fifth force of nature) was recorded in the summer of 1980, so after the referendum. It is a reworked version of the energy opera played on the streets, where the music plays a more important role. On this record the Energieoperans Kör & Orkester consisted of 70 people: 23 people playing the instruments and the choir consisted of 47 people. On the sleeve: “People's concerns about nuclear power do not seem to have subsided much now that the mass media hysteria has subsided after the vote. But the resistance continues, doesn't it?“

Until the split up in 1976 Björn Afzelius was frontman (together with Mikael Wiehe) of the most succesful progg band Hoola Bandoola Band and he is one of the artists from the progg movement (more about progg) that have continued to remain popular over the years even when the progg movement vanished in the 1980s. To illustrate that, he, and Mikael Wiehe, reunited the Hoola Bandoola Band to be the supporting act during the 1996 Swedish Bob Dylan concert.
As a solo-artist, Afzelius continued to speak out on public issues and take part in benefits and support concerts for a wide variety of progressive causes. Not only in Sweden, but also in Denmark, where he performed at the OOA’s september 1983 Rock mod atomkraft concert. On this album Globetrotter (1980), recorded late 1979, the song Vi älskar dej, Amerika (We love you, America) in which he sings about his roadtrip through America. Jag träffade Miss Fonda, dom oförlöstas mor. / Det var vid Three Mile Island, där skräcken ännu bor. / Hon stod där med detektorn bland halvt förbrända kor. (I met Miss Fonda, the mother of the unredeemed. / It was at Three Mile Island, where the horror lives on. / She stood there with the detector among half-burnt cows.)

Povel Ramel (1922-2007) is a Swedish national treasure and the genius of words and music. Just about everyone in Sweden knows who Povel Ramel is and most Swedes can hum a Povel tune. In 1939 when he entered the talent hunt of the national newspaper Aftonbladet he was already a prolific songwriter.
The song The Nej Tack Jump is an Q & A between Ramel and the audience. Ramel: “I performed it in front of an audience that was extremely alert and answered correctly all the time, despite the fact that the final verse was at least twice as long and was also played at an increasingly intense tempo.” Although released in 1981, long after the referendum, the lyrics refer to Linje 3, so it is safe to assume that the song was recorded during a live performance before March 23, 1980.
Povel's clear political stance on nuclear power was conditioned by the fact that his wife, Susanna Ragnarsdotter Östberg, was intensively involved in the Folkkampanjen mot kärnkraft (People's Campaign against nuclear power).

Listen to the song The Nej Tack Jump, written and performed by Povel Ramel.

Pleutajokk, near Arjeplog in North Sweden, is one of the Swedish locations where uranium is found. From the mid 1970 plans to mine the deposit were developed. The site Pleutajokk was located between two low mountains a few miles north of Arjeplog; there were almost no people, but plenty of untouched nature. But there was popular resistance against the mining plans: local, but also nationwide. in January 1981 a large demonstration took place in Arjeplog. The plans were abandoned not much later: not economically viable, was the official reason.
Jorm, the progg band (more about progg) from Luleå joined the protests and made the song "Pleutajokkrokk". On the sleeve: en land som lämlas över till nästa generation ska vara brukat, inte missbrukat! (a country passed on to the next generation should be used, not abused!)

Öbarna is a well-known music group from the west-coast, starting in the late-1960s, when Eva Jarnedal and Janne Magnarsson met. They recorded their first album in 1977. With their atmospheric songs, and 40 year siof touring, they have a large and loyal audience throughout the country.
In the early 1980s Kynnefjäll in northern Bohuslän, less than 100 km north of Goteborg, was one of the possible locations – on the list beacause of its specific type of rock, called gneiss - for geological disposal of Swedish nuclear waste. herrar fran Stockholm / kommer hit med borrmaskin / styr upp mot gnejsen / högt pa Kynnefjall (gentlemen from Stockholm / comes here with a drill / heading up towards the gneiss / high on Kynnefjall). The struggle took 20 years but in the end Kynnefjäll was removed from the list. This was Öbarnas contribution to that struggle against the disposal of nuclear waste at the Kynnefjäll plateau. In the end Forsmark, coincidentally also the site of a nuclear power plant, was selected at the disposal site.