German electro band Kraftwerk have updated the lyrics of their 1975 song Radioactivity to cement its status as an anti-nuclear anthem.
As pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk's whole image was futuristic and utopian. With lyrics like "I programme a home computer, beam myself into the future" and "fun fun fun on the Autobahn" there was usually an underlying suggestion that the future - and especially future technology - would be beneficial to the human race.
The original lyrics of Radioactivity were minimal and passed no explicit judgement on nuclear energy.
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| Kraftwerk performing Radioactivity in London in February 2013 |
But again there was an implication that the technology was helpful:
Radioactivity
Is in the air for you and me
But come 1991, the song was updated to list the names of famous nuclear disasters: Chernobyl, Fukushima, Harrisburgh… The following lyrics were also added:
Chain reaction and mutation
Contaminated population
Stop radioactivity
Is in the air for you and me
