Hiroshima/Nagasaki August 6th 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. On August 9th, a more powerful weapon was dropped on Nagasaki. Needless to say, they caused Mass Destruction.

Survivors accounts describe scenes from hell, no surprise to those that know about atomic weapons and what they do. But none of the victims had any idea of what it was that had hit them. One survivor wondered 'how such extensive damage could have been dealt out of a silent sky'. Almost no-one heard the bomb. They experienced a silent flash, 'a sheet of sun'. And those who were looking in the direction of this 'sheet of sun' saw nothing else again. 'Their melted eyes had run down their cheeks'. Pumpkins were roasted on the vine, potatoes baked under the earth. The extraordinary testimonies of six survivors were recorded by John Hersey in 'Hiroshima', published by Penguin in 1946.

From the liner notes to Foreign Accents from Robert Wyatt's new album Cuckooland

Mohammed Mossadegh In 1953, after two failed coup attempts, the British and American secret services succeeded in ousting Mohammed Mossadegh, the elected nationalist prime minister of Iran and his government. Within three days, the Shah of Iran was installed for twenty five years of pro-western dictatorship. Mossadegh's 'crime' had been to nationalise Iranian oil. He was imprisoned for three years and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.

From the liner notes to Foreign Accents from Robert Wyatt's new album Cuckooland