Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll
Two of the Reasons Why Music Gets Censored on Radio and TV
Songs and music get banned by broadcasters from time to time. Sex and drugs are only 2 of the reasons. Here are some others. Be surprised by which songs have been banned
Every now and then, some radio or TV station bans a piece of music because it’s considered obscene, violent or offensive in some way. Conservatives applaud the action. Liberals protest it. Banning recorded music is nothing new. It’s been going on for decades; for as long as broadcasting has been around.
Why are records or tracks banned? Why do the broadcasters who do the banning, do it? The most popular reasons are sex, drugs, religion, trivializing the classics, satire and violence.
Here are some of the tracks that have been banned over the years by, amongst others, the BBC. Readers will be familiar with some. They will find others more surprising. Still others will raise a laugh and, in some cases, readers will notice that the censors just didn’t understand.
Sex, Smut and Innuendo
This is the most common category. Banned songs include:
- Cole Porter - Love for Sale
- Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg - Je t’aime…Moi Non Plus
- The Who – Pictures of Lily
- George Formby – My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock
- Donna Summer – Love to Love You Baby
- Sex Pistols – God Save the Queen
- Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Relax
Drugs
- Frank Sinatra – I Get a Kick Out of You
- Ramones – Carbona Not Glue
- The Beatles – A Day in the Life
- The Byrds – Eight Miles High
- The Who – I Can See For Miles
Religion
This one has a very contemporary feel about it, although it has tended to be only the Christian religion which, historically at least, has led to bans.
- Frankie Laine – Answer Me
- Don Cornell – Hold My Hand
- Billy Fury – My Christmas Prayer
- Bob Dylan – Baby Let Me Follow You Down
Trivializing the Classics and Other Serious Music
Pop songs borrowing tunes from the classics did not go down well at the BBC. Versions of I’m Always Chasing Rainbows (based on a piece by Chopin) fell foul of the censors, as did many interpretations of Loch Lomond, and Greensleeves. A rock version of Swan Lake by The Cougars called Saturday Night at the Duckpond was not heard on UK radio.
Satire
- Tom Lehrer – Most of the tracks on The Tom Lehrer Songbook were banned.
- Barry Maguire – Eve of Destruction (placed on the Restricted List rather than being banned altogether.
Violence
- Mack the Knife, taken from the opera The Threepenny Opera could only be heard on the airwaves as part of the full opera. It was too violent and contained too much slang.
- The classic Rumble by Link Wray, the inventor back in the 1950s of the "KERRRRANG" guitar sound, was banned (but not this time by the BBC) for promoting gang violence.
- The Rolling Stones – Street Fighting Man
As can be seen, banning music isn’t new. As can also be seen, one generation’s banned music is the next generation’s classic soundtrack and everyone wonders what all the fuss was about.
This article draws on a recent piece in The Independent and a webpage on the amiright website.
