Which Smiths song was inspired by the Chernobyl disaster? - RadioX

THE SMITHS

Which Smiths song was inspired by the Chernobyl disaster?
13 June 2019, 16:07 | Updated: 13 June 2019, 16:11


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The nuclear power station’s accident in 1986 has been the subject of an acclaimed TV drama… but the real events prompted Morrissey and Johnny Marr to write one of their most famous songs.

One of the most talked about TV series of 2019 is HBO/Sky’s Chernobyl, about the nuclear disaster that befell the Soviet power station in April 1986. The hard-hitting mini-series, written by Craig Mazin, and directed by Johan Renck, has prompted a lot of conversation about the incident - but did you know it inspired one of The Smiths’ most enduring hits?

One of the most rabble-rousing of The Smiths' songs, Panic was one of the Manchester band’s biggest hits, making Number 11 in the UK charts in the summer of 1986. The song - a stomping, guitar led tune that owes a lot to Metal Guru by Marc Bolan - talks of civil unrest around the country and bemoans the fact that “the disco” and “the DJ” play music that “says nothing to me about my life”.

The music press at the time took this to mean that The Smiths - and Morrissey in particular - were attacking hip hop culture and black music in general. Paolo Hewitt in the NME wrote: “When he starts using words like disco and DJ, with all the attendant imagery that brings up for what is a predominantly white audience, he is being imprecise and offensive." Even as recently as 2012, Buzzfeed called the song a “condemnation of dance music”.

Morrissey may have courted controversy before and after this furore, but the genesis of Panic was down to an exasperation at 1980s pop culture in general.

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An angry Johnny Marr put the record straight in the NME in February. He explained that the song was inspired by the news reports about Chernobyl, and the terrible accident at a nuclear power plant in the then-Soviet Union.

In the early hours of 26 April 1986, a safety test at the nuclear facility went catastrophically wrong, causing the core to explode and radioactive material was released into the air. An inxperienced team and inadequate designs at the plant were later found to be the cause - the quest to find whose fault it was is a key part of the Chernobyl TV series.

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Hundreds of people were affected by the accident, including deaths from acute radiation sickness and the effects were felt as far away as the UK, where radioactive traces were found in parts of Northern Ireland, Wales, Northern England and Scotland. It remains, with the Fukushima accident in 2011, the worst nuclear disaster in history.

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Marr recalled that he and Morrissey were listening to Radio 1’s Newsbeat programme giving the latest updates on the disaster - and at the time, people in the UK were worried about clouds of radioactive material heading their way.

He remembered: “The story about this shocking disaster comes to an end and then, immediately, we're off into Wham!'s I'm Your Man. I remember actually saying 'what the f*** has this got to do with peoples' lives?'

“We hear about Chernobyl, then, seconds later, we're expected to be jumping around to I'm Your Man... And so: 'Hang the blessed DJ'."

Marr went on: “I think it was a great lyric, important and applicable to anyone who lives in England. I mean, even the most ardent disco fan wouldn't want to be subjected to that stuff, would they?"

Morrissey and Marr were sufficiently outraged to put pen to paper and call out the inanity of daytime radio and pop music in general in the UK.

It must have been odd to hear Panic on the radio then - among the songs that Morrissey and Marr were criticised. Thankfully, despite hitting the Top 20, The Smiths didn’t perform Panic on Top Of The Pops, sparing them no end of embarrassment.

Panic went on to become a live favourite, thanks to the addition of second Smiths guitarist Craig Gannon, and Morrissey rammed the point home by cavorting around the stage with a noose to emphasise the chorus of "Hang the DJ, hang the DJ..."

https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/the-smiths/which-smiths-song-inspired-chernobyl-disaster/
 
Do yourself a favour, don't make judgements on my ex-wife, you know f*** all about it! That said, why don't you reveal yourself 'O' spineless one! don't be so ordinary, hey boy?

Jason
'Tis me the swede!

So wifey still makes you mad huh?

Wonder who dumped who, lemme guess.......
 
Swede? NAH never heard of you. OH I know who you are, your morrisseysolo.com's resident narcissist, do us a favour can you control the satellites that orbit your ever bloated gut, oh sorry, ego, they are interfering with intelligent conversation. And for the record, she's dead!

Jason
 
Swede? NAH never heard of you. OH I know who you are, your morrisseysolo.com's resident narcissist, do us a favour can you control the satellites that orbit your ever bloated gut, oh sorry, ego, they are interfering with intelligent conversation. And for the record, she's dead!

Jason
She die to get away from you?

I knew a narcissist once and I am far too controlled and in touch with myself to be one. I'm not sure I even believe it exists cause I think even psychology abandoned the term or name for the diagnosis.

Many people throw terms around like you do but will find if they study it that it has changed names. Some still use schizo but that was abandoned some 20 years ago or more.

I think the dane Kierkegaard has lost almost all credibility by now but I believe he is dead now so not like he would worry about it.
 
Swede? NAH never heard of you. OH I know who you are, your morrisseysolo.com's resident narcissist, do us a favour can you control the satellites that orbit your ever bloated gut, oh sorry, ego, they are interfering with intelligent conversation. And for the record, she's dead!

Jason
You and Lanterns should go to a class and learn about narcissism cause none of you seem to get the concept of it. Maybe they would tell you that you are 20 years behind and are clinging to a diagnosis that is no longer used more than in books and movies and things like that.
That's the problem with people who fill their heads with books without ever understanding them or thinking that they do.
 
She die to get away from you?

I knew a narcissist once and I am far too controlled and in touch with myself to be one. I'm not sure I even believe it exists cause I think even psychology abandoned the term or name for the diagnosis.

Many people throw terms around like you do but will find if they study it that it has changed names. Some still use schizo but that was abandoned some 20 years ago or more.

I think the dane Kierkegaard has lost almost all credibility by now but I believe he is dead now so not like he would worry about it.
I believe being on a forum is the most narcissistic thing you can do and especially if you post pictures of gardens and books and movie and tv series covers or your feet in socks and your cats. Not to mention flowers and birds and creepy crawlers to like say "hello I am here this is the water Narcissus stared into".

But that's just me.
 
She die to get away from you?

I knew a narcissist once and I am far too controlled and in touch with myself to be one. I'm not sure I even believe it exists cause I think even psychology abandoned the term or name for the diagnosis.

Many people throw terms around like you do but will find if they study it that it has changed names. Some still use schizo but that was abandoned some 20 years ago or more.

I think the dane Kierkegaard has lost almost all credibility by now but I believe he is dead now so not like he would worry about it.
Never trust a dane named Churchyard and he obviously knew where he was heading.
 
You and Lanterns should go to a class and learn about narcissism cause none of you seem to get the concept of it. Maybe they would tell you that you are 20 years behind and are clinging to a diagnosis that is no longer used more than in books and movies and things like that.
That's the problem with people who fill their heads with books without ever understanding them or thinking that they do.

Its not what i've read, its what i've experienced, it's never wise to assume. I can use whatever term I see fit. The expectation of others to recognize without doubt their superiority is one give away, next time you witness "Humblebragging" tune in.
Is there anything else you need to know?

Jason
 
Last edited by a moderator:
She die to get away from you?

I knew a narcissist once and I am far too controlled and in touch with myself to be one. I'm not sure I even believe it exists cause I think even psychology abandoned the term or name for the diagnosis.

Many people throw terms around like you do but will find if they study it that it has changed names. Some still use schizo but that was abandoned some 20 years ago or more.

I think the dane Kierkegaard has lost almost all credibility by now but I believe he is dead now so not like he would worry about it.

As with all Narcissist's the only way to deal with them is to walk away whilst they are in mid flow of themselves!

------------------------------------------------------------ @-------------------------------------------------------
 
This version certainly relates to the story I remember reading at the time and the DJ playing the song was possibly Steve Wright, who at least liked to pretend the song was about him.

This may be because when I saw The Smiths (1986, Cornwall Colosseum) , I remember Morrissey carrying the noose and had also changed into a t-shirt that had a picture of Steve Wright and Hang The DJ emblazoned on it.

Thats right, steve wright had a nervous breakdown and instantly accused The Smiths of having a dig at him, this may explain the use of the "manic" looking Steve Wright on my old "hang the dj" t-shirt.

Jason
 
As with all Narcissist's the only way to deal with them is to walk away whilst they are in mid flow of themselves!

------------------------------------------------------------ @-------------------------------------------------------
But I never did and enjoyed Rolf ranting all red faced making his head explode imitating muslims throwing sticks onto a fire in some foreign land protest and he hated the sight of them.

He was such a narcissist he even had it in his journal but he refused to see it but everything was all about him and what he could identify and not and never at any time was he able to be objective.
 
Its not what i've read, its what i've experienced, it's never wise to assume. I can use whatever term I see fit. The expectation of others to recognize without doubt their superiority is one give away, next time you witness "Humblebragging" tune in.
Is there anything else you need to know?

Jason
Full for now, that desert killed me.

*buuuurp*
 
Its not what i've read, its what i've experienced, it's never wise to assume. I can use whatever term I see fit. The expectation of others to recognize without doubt their superiority is one give away, next time you witness "Humblebragging" tune in.
Is there anything else you need to know?

Jason
I'm never proud of anything so can count me out but humblebragging is when people tell you where they are travelling and then they remind you where they are and then they come home and remind you of where they've been.

If they did not do that travel would fill no purpose but sadly for them the more you talk about what happened th less fulfilling it feels.

Some kind of karma is likely involved.
 
Just here to annoy Jason a bit with some pics.

The capacity sign showing how much power each plant is currently producing at Forsmark:

images


Not the reactor hall in Forsmark but ours looked the same and the picture is from Oskarshamn in Sweden:

reaktorhall-o3_2_foto-okg.jpg


Tempting to take a swim and swedish politician and conservative leader, the jew Ulf Adelsohn back then claimed that he would swim in that pool any day to show the green muppets it is safe.

Nice glow down there.

Forsmark 2 reactor hal during summer revision:

het-elproduktion-karnkraftver


Yellow instead of white these days and of course the body radiation scan is more modern than back then but still not too unlike the previous ones.

page_1_thumb_large.jpg


Pocket dosimeter looks more high tech as well.

The entrance looks very nice indeed these days.

folk-i-farten-under-revisione


Ulf Forsmark has nothing to do with this at all.

A-1430207-1240149066.jpeg.jpg


Kisses and hugs to my best mate Jason!
 
you really are a sad little man.
But I understand why are bitter Jason cause wearing that old style hockey goalkeeper mask must make you pissed off.

images


Our body scan was more claustrophobic and you put your hands inside these openings and shit so the one now looks very picnic out in the green.
 
Just here to annoy Jason a bit with some pics.

The capacity sign showing how much power each plant is currently producing at Forsmark:

images


Not the reactor hall in Forsmark but ours looked the same and the picture is from Oskarshamn in Sweden:

reaktorhall-o3_2_foto-okg.jpg


Tempting to take a swim and swedish politician and conservative leader, the jew Ulf Adelsohn back then claimed that he would swim in that pool any day to show the green muppets it is safe.

Nice glow down there.

Forsmark 2 reactor hal during summer revision:

het-elproduktion-karnkraftver


Yellow instead of white these days and of course the body radiation scan is more modern than back then but still not too unlike the previous ones.

page_1_thumb_large.jpg


Pocket dosimeter looks more high tech as well.

The entrance looks very nice indeed these days.

folk-i-farten-under-revisione


Ulf Forsmark has nothing to do with this at all.

A-1430207-1240149066.jpeg.jpg


Kisses and hugs to my best mate Jason!

But Ulf Adelsohn was told that if he did that he would contaminate the water so the goyim said no to a jew swimming. Would be unheard of today.

992adelsohn.jpg


Ulf Adelsohn

The socialist paper made a big deal of us telling the journo that Ulf would contaminate the water and the journo never stopped laughing and gave the then conservative leader a dig in the actual article.
 
Just here to annoy Jason a bit with some pics.

The capacity sign showing how much power each plant is currently producing at Forsmark:

images


Not the reactor hall in Forsmark but ours looked the same and the picture is from Oskarshamn in Sweden:

reaktorhall-o3_2_foto-okg.jpg


Tempting to take a swim and swedish politician and conservative leader, the jew Ulf Adelsohn back then claimed that he would swim in that pool any day to show the green muppets it is safe.

Nice glow down there.

Forsmark 2 reactor hal during summer revision:

het-elproduktion-karnkraftver


Yellow instead of white these days and of course the body radiation scan is more modern than back then but still not too unlike the previous ones.

page_1_thumb_large.jpg


Pocket dosimeter looks more high tech as well.

The entrance looks very nice indeed these days.

folk-i-farten-under-revisione


Ulf Forsmark has nothing to do with this at all.

A-1430207-1240149066.jpeg.jpg


Kisses and hugs to my best mate Jason!
The girl standing on the radiation scanner is wearing yellow cause the summer revision crews have that colour. So those scanners are not the regular ones but put in extra for the summer.

It was like that the guy working with radiation protection learned of the Chernobyl disaster when he was about to walk out again after doing a bit of washing up before his morning shift started and the scanner went ape shit and gave off the alarm and was red all over on the screen.

The sheer panic and horror before they realised it didn't come from Forsmark 2. The swedish nuclear plant mentioned in Chernobyl is Forsmark 2.

Jason is so happy now, can I call you Jax?
 

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