Over the years many great songs have suffered some form of censorship. They’ve been banned for a variety of reasons, some of which seem ludicrous or unthinkable now. At the time the establishment and others, whether it be media, TV companies, radio stations, politically based, law agencies, or others - they just didn't want us to hear them played.
Sure, sometimes it’s obvious why. Strong sexual content or explicit language is more commonplace today. But even now, that can be inappropriate for daytime radio play or public broadcasts when families and young children are around. While such songs may be restricted in where you can hear them, it’s rare now for an outright ban.
Then it can just be the sounds or suggestive content of a song that gets the censors of the time twitching. “Je T'aime” by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin was a bit too hot even for the late 1960s. Or Donna Summer with her range of additional sounds on “Love to Love You Baby” in 1975, for example. You can perhaps understand the rationale better for those songs at the time.
Songs the Establishment did not want you to hear
There are of course other songs that may get a form of ban. That's usually more for something visual on the supporting video and prevents us from seeing that. Rather than for the song itself, which may be perfectly fine for radio play. Madonna's 1989 hit “Like A Prayer,” for example, had a video that no less than the Vatican declared as blasphemous with Pope John Paul II encouraging people to boycott her gigs in Italy.
Putting those perhaps more obvious examples to one side, many others were deemed too controversial for our ears and minds. Right now, it’s the censorship of those songs which seems much more questionable. Here are 15 great songs which they tried to stop us from hearing.
The political climate of the day caused bans on these songs
“God Save The Queen” - Sex Pistols
It’s almost inevitable that punk rock would have a few bans across the genre's discography. Let's face it, anarchy doesn't usually go down that well with the establishment. The song was highly critical of the British government of the time, goodness only knows what they’d have written today! References to ‘The Fascist Regime’ and digs about the Queen not being human were enough for the BBC to ban this song from their airwaves. So much for free speech.
“Walk Like An Egyptian” - The Bangles
It’s hard to imagine this bright pop song being deemed offensive. It’s one of many which was blocked by the BBC in the UK and Clear Channels Communication, overseeing the US. It was banned twice, in 1991 and again in 2001. On both occasions, a large number of songs were listed as do not play. The reason was that they may have been deemed offensive during the Gulf War and just after 9/11.
For this Bangles song, it was the direct reference to Egypt and Egyptians which triggered the block. It wasn't just a reference to a nation or its people that caused a problem. Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” and John Lennon’s “Imagine” were both surprisingly on the block lists.
“Street Fighting Man” - The Rolling Stones
This was subjected to a more local ban, initially in Chicago. Its 1968 release came after violent confrontations there between Police and anti-Vietnam war protestors. Chicago radio stations, fearing the song may incite more trouble on their city streets, decided not to play it. The ban spread wider and dented sales of the single. It was the Rolling Stones lowest charting single since their debut release four years earlier.
Product placement or commercial issues can trigger bans too
“Lola” - The Kinks
An initial ban for this 1970 song caused a round trip across the Atlantic for songwriter and lead singer Ray Davies. In the original recording, the lyrics referred to Coca-Cola, a product placement which was heavily frowned upon and contravened the strict BBC rules.
Davies hastily reworded to Cherry Cola but had to fly back from the US, where The Kinks were on tour, to London so he could re-record the single for release. Today's technology could have had that fixed in an hour, but the urgent flight was the only route to a quick fix back then.
“Radio Radio” - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
In an odd quirk, this is about a song that did get played. Much to the fury of Saturday Night Live and its producer, Loren Michaels. The ban went instead to the singer. Elvis Costello and the Attractions were a late call-up for the TV show, replacing the Sex Pistols.
It was a big break in the US for Costello and the band, but after just a few bars of “Less Than Zero” Costello called a halt on live TV and switched to a different song “Radio Radio”. The lyrics for that are very critical of the way TV and radio are highly commercialized and corporate controlled. It was very much a song that SNL, Lorne, and NBC weren't happy for us to hear. Costello was banned from the show, eventually making a second appearance 12 years later.
The times they have been changing
“God Only Knows” - The Beach Boys
Again it’s hard to imagine this song getting banned. It is a good example of where times and society have changed and a ban would be highly unlikely these days.
This huge hit from their Pet Sounds album was controversial at the time. In 1966 it was banned in some parts of the US. Using the word god in song lyrics was deemed blasphemous and unacceptable.
“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” - The Shirelles
This sixties classic could easily have been sidetracked by bans from radio stations. Many refused to play the record due to the sexually charged words. If you read through the lyrics today or have a listen to them you’ll wonder why, they are pretty tame really. The underlying story is simply asking a question about love and respect after a sexual encounter the previous night. Fortunately, and sensibly, it went on to sell hugely and become a huge hit.
“The Pill” - Loretta Lynn
When you read of contraceptives being handed out free at some pop concerts today, it’s quite a contrast to this story. Loretta Lynn’s 1975 song was about greater freedom, liberty, and fun for women when the contraceptive pill became widely available. But the subject matter, especially the fun element in the context of birth control, was frowned upon and radio stations chose to ban this record too.
Other sensitivities and content can trigger a ban too
“My Generation” - The Who
This record faced up to an initial ban by the BBC in the UK when released in 1965. It wasn't exactly about the lyrics and more about how they were sung. “Why don’t you all f-f-fade away” sang Roger Daltrey, just one of a few lines which had that hesitant stutter in them. The BBC was concerned about offending those who did suffer from stuttering and stopped airplay for a while, repenting once it was clear the song was going to be a big hit anyway.
“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” - The Beatles
Drug-taking references are another reason why some songs faced bans. The BBC must have had nightmares then when The Beatles Sergeant Pepper album came out. They put a block on this for perceived drug references and that LSD acronym in the title.
But they also blocked other songs from the album too. “A Day In The Life Of” had a line “I’d love to turn you on” which went on their drug-related ban list. As did “Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite”, for its reference to Henry The Horse which the broadcaster feared was referring to heroin. John Lennon later revealed it was just a name he’d taken from an old Victorian circus poster he’d seen.
“Paper Planes” - M.I.A.
Background sounds in a song recording can be another trigger point, in more ways than one. However in this case it was quick and specific censorship of the relevant sections rather than a complete ban. MTV and the Late Night With David Letterman TV show noted references to weed or cannabis and also heard gunshot sounds in the chorus of this song. Both were altered or covered up to allow the song to be broadcast.
Despite the many controversies, bans, and censorship the music lived on. Often the media and establishment efforts were in vain. At times a ban accelerated a record’s rise to the top. We should definitely let the music play!