6.30PM News - The Topp Twins Sing 'Radiation' at the Beehive

Television (Excerpts) – 1985

The weather is upon us now, and winter's turned to spring, and we can only wait and hope to see what summer brings, I only hope that we don't die with radiation burns...
– The opening of Radiation Song

They just rocked up to us and said we want you to do a tour round New Zealand... and from that moment on we were big names. It suddenly went stupid. And [as with] students, we all thought we were invincible, we could change the world, no one could stop us from doing anything, we were all highly politically motivated. And it was amazing because every political moment in the world needs a song, so there we were, ripe for the picking.
– Jools Topp on being asked to tour Student Unions and the start of their national fame, RNZ, 28 April 2018

In a 2018 interview Jools Topp said that in speaking out and standing strong, she believes others will see the ‘truth’ in what you’re saying and will come along with you. ‘Untouchable Girls’ is a song that reflects this idea, it challenges people to ‘stand up and have guts’ to change the world. It’s one of the Topp Twins most well-known songs, with lyrics that celebrate their individuality, their sexuality, and their activism – a song that succinctly represents their life work.
– NZ History profile of The Topp Twins, 17 August 2018

I think things have changed — we’ve been a part of all of those movements: the Springboks tour, the nuclear-free New Zealand, Māori land rights issues, the homosexual law reform bill. All of those things, and we wrote a song for every one of them, and the great thing about it is that – when you look back – we won all of those things that we were part of. We won every fight that we ever fought.
– Lynda Topp on their history of writing political anthems, Radio New Zealand, 18 April 2018

Audiences are picking up more on the politics in the Topps’ songs because of the context of the tour, and because the nuclear issue is the number one issue in New Zealand right now. And that’s because the Prime Minister has stood up and said “No” to nuclear ships.
– Linda Topp on singing anti-nuclear songs written two years ago, Salient, March 1985