Talbot Brothers’ Nuclear ‘Apocalypso’
This is the way the world ends — not with a bang but with a wop-bop-a-loo-la, a-lop-bam-boom.
Bermuda’s own Talbot Brothers are being credited with helping to originate the songbook of 20th century popular music classics inspired by fears of a countdown to nuclear armageddon.
“In 1957 the Talbot Brothers of Bermuda invented the genre of ‘apocalypso’ when they scored a hit with ‘Atomic Nightmare’, in which they assured us they were going to ‘run, run, run, like a son of a gun’ when the mushroom clouds started sprouting,” said Craven Lovelace, a Colorado DJ and popular culture historian in a “Grand Junction Free Press” column today [Jan. 21] entitled ”Music To Enjoy the Apocalypse By.”
Mr. Lovelace said musicians around the world found a powerful source of inspiration when they began to collectively contemplate the awful prospect of nuclear warfare in the mid-20th century.
Along with “Atomic Nightmare”, he cites such pop music classics as Bob Dylan’s “Talkin’ World War III Blues” and folk singer Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” as classic examples of the soundtrack for Judgement Day.
“If we are to judge by a certain trend in popular music, the Apocalypse will have a good beat, and you’ll be able to dance to it,” said Mr. Lovelace.
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