Saturday, July 30, 2022
Disco Chart 1980
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Marching against megadeath - June 22 1980 in London
The announcement of the deployment of a new generation of US nuclear weapons in Europe, coupled with increasing tension between NATO and the Soviet Union, led to a mass peace movement across the West in the early 1980s. In England the first major demonstration against these cruise missiles was called by the Labour Party on June 22 1980.
Around 25,000 people marched in the pouring rain from London's South Bank to Hyde Park. Speakers included veteran peace campaigner Fenner Brockway, soon to be Labour leader Michael Foot and the actor Susannah York who told the crowd, 'I refused to accept that 25,000 people here today are one fortieth of a megadeath. I am not a millionth of a megadeath. We are ourselves'.
The image of the megadeath and mass nuclear destruction haunted the nightmares of young people like myself getting involved in this new peace movement and recurs across popular culture in this period. In its report of the demo, Socialist Challenge noted that 'One of the most striking features of the demonstration was the high proportion of young people who turned out. Groups of friends carried home-made placards calling for an end to war: "Fall in against fallout", "Education not Missiles", "Wage War on Weapons", "Germ Warfare means Nightmare".
Socialist Challenge, 12 June 1980 |
Socialist Challenge front page for the demo - demanding 'Give up NATO', which was not the position of the Labour Party organisers |
Sunday, October 10, 2021
The first march against nuclear missiles at Greenham Common, 1980
Luton Nuclear Disarmament Campaign banner makes its public debut |
Some kind of street theatre, mocking Government's 'civil defence' plans |
Rally at the end of demo - 'Cruise missiles make Newbury target No.1'. The speaker here was from the Luton group. Not sure who the folk singers were - anybody know? |
Report from Socialist Challenge, 25 September 1980 |
Monday, October 26, 2020
Protest and Survive- CND reborn, October 1980
The massive October 1980 Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 'Protest and Survive' demonstration in London represented the rebirth of the 'Ban the Bomb' movement that had been largely dormant since its previous high point in the 1960s. The reason for this revival was that nuclear war was once again seeming a real possibility as the Cold War began to hot up.
In 1979 Russian forces had entered Afghanistan in support of the beleaguered pro-soviet government. The ascendancy of the new right to power in Britain and the USA saw a cranking up of anti-Russian rhetoric from Thatcher and Reagan, soon to be followed up with the deployment of a new generation of nuclear missiles in Europe.
The British Government's publication of its 'Protect and Survive' booklet in May 1980 only made the nuclear nightmare more tangible, with its absurd advice for turning your home into a fall out shelter amidst nuclear war. This was parodied by EP Thompson in his 'Protest and Survive' pamphlet published by CND shortly afterwards.
Photomontage artist Peter Kennard produced a memorable image of a skeleton reading the Government publication as well as designing the leaflet/poster for the demonstration set for 26th October 1980.
I was at sixth form and with a group of friends that year had set up Luton Peace Campaign (soon to be Luton Nuclear Disarmament Campaign) which quickly grew to having over 100 members. Similar groups were springing up all over the country. We organised a couple of coach loads to go to London for the march and were amazed at the turn out, variously estimated as between 50,000 (the police) and 100,000 (Socialist Organiser). For the first time I had a real sense of how the efforts of small groups of people meeting in pubs and kitchens could coalesce into a mass social movement.
As reported in the Daily Mirror (27 October 2020):
'Britain’s ban the bomb movement was reborn yesterday with a massive show of strength. More than 60,000 demonstrators jammed London streets for the biggest nuclear disarmament rally in 17 years. The day started with a huge inflatable mushroom ‘cloud’ being floated above Hyde Park as the demonstrators gathered under a sea of banners. The protesters then brought traffic to a standstill as they marched to Trafalgar Square…
There were hippies, punk rockers, skinheads and supporters of all ages. A girl on rollerskates joined the protest. So did a band of Buddhist monks. 12 people were arrested and charged with minor offences such as threatening behaviour and obstruction. Scuffles broke out as one group tried to march down Whitehall towards Downing Street and Parliament. But a line of policeman headed them off and the rest of the demonstration was peaceful'.
The mushroom cloud inflatable in Hyde Park (from 'Socialist Organiser', 8 Nov. 1980) |
Luton Nuclear Disarmament Campaign banner on demo |
'Heavy armour, little brain - died out' - dinosaur on demo |
The speakers included MPs Tony Benn and Neil Kinnock, actor Susannah York, EP Thompson and Bruce Kent of CND. I was excited that The Pop Group and Killing Joke were playing in Trafalgar Square at the end of the rally, though it was one of those occasions when the crowd was so big (and the PA so small) that you had to be up front to really experience the music - and I wasn't. Luckily I got to see The Pop Group at their peak earlier that year at the Beat the Blues Festival at Alexandra Palace.
The Pop Group on stage in Trafalgar Square |
A poster from Liverpool advertising the demo |
Thursday, December 13, 2018
How it all began (for me): a School Kid against the Nazis in Luton 1979/80
'People of Bedfordshire Against Racism - Day of Action, Sat 7th June... your support in the fight against racism is needed' (reverse of Luton Anti Nazi League leaflet reproduced above) |
'to stand aside is to take sides' |
Leaflet for Luton Anti Nazi League meeting, 14 July 1979 'Learn the lessons of Southall' I went to this meeting with a friend, David Heffer. Sadly he was killed in 1992 in an IRA bomb at the Sussex pub in London's Covent Garden. |
'SKAN' - School Kids Against the Nazis |
(from 'The Leveller' no. 45, November 28 1980). |