10 Well-Known Songs Banned by the BBC (For Ridiculous Reasons), 1965-1977
In my second list of “10 Well-Known Songs Banned by the BBC,” I’m looking at the period from 1965 to 1977 when more and more very big acts fell victim to the censor’s ax. (Psst – to see the first part of this list, click here!) During this period, however, some artists were becoming more accommodating, as many actually altered their lyrics rather than see the songs banned – perhaps because many of the artists below were home-grown British acts. What follows is a list of 10 more hits banned for somewhat ridiculous reasons.
1) “I Am the Walrus,” The Beatles (1967)
Given the Beatles’ — and especially John Lennon’s — seeming desire to court controversy later in their careers, it’s no surprise that several of their songs were banned. The BBC censors ostensibly had a problem with what appeared to be references to suicide in “A Day in the Life,” the mention of Coca-Cola (see the Kinks below) in “Come Together,” and not surprisingly to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” for what might have been seen the band’s attempt to advocate the use of LSD. “I Am the Walrus,” however, a song with some of the most confusing verbiage since James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, was banned for lines such as “pornographic priestess” and “let your knickers down.” What’s odd about this is that they aren’t part of a story and have no context, they are simply nonsensical phrases. Nevertheless, it was enough to see the record banned.
2) “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” The Rolling Stones (1967)
This was pretty predictable given the title, and the BBC banned it on the grounds that it “promoted promiscuity.” This song also got them in hot water in the US with Ed Sullivan, who made Jagger change the lyrics to “let’s spend some time together” when he sang it on The Ed Sullivan Show.
3) “Je t’aime… moi non plus,” Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin (1969)
If you’ve never heard it, listen to it above. Jane Birkin’s panting is so heavy at times that the rumor (though not true) was that the duo actually recorded the song while having sex; it’s not that hard to believe as we hear what sounds like Birkin climaxing near the end. The lyrics certainly didn’t help, with lines (in French) such as “I go and come, between your loins.” Banned by the BBC for “overtly sexual content,” it encountered similar problems in most of the US, Italy, Brazil, and a host of other countries. But admittedly, it’s hard not to agree with Birkin’s assessment that the song was “so hot.” Interestingly, this song was the inspiration for Donna Summer’s 1978 hit “Love to Love You Baby,” which the BBC would also ban.
4) “Lola,” The Kinks (1970)
This is one of the most famous examples of a BBC-banned song of all time, probably because it wasn’t banned for the reasons you’d expect. This song wasn’t banned for describing an encounter in a club with a transvestite who “walked like a woman and talked like a man,” or because the singer says “I’m glad I’m a man/And so is Lola.” Instead, it was banned under the free advertising clause I mentioned last month in relation to the Playmates’ “Beep Beep,” in that the BBC had very strict rules about naming specific products in songs. Consequently, the lines “I met her in a club down in old Soho/Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca-Cola” were prohibited, and thus the song was initially banned. (Ray Davies changed the line to “tastes just like cherry cola.”)
5) “All the Young Dudes,” Mott the Hoople (1972)
Another victim of censorship due to the free advertising clause, and in the case the beneficiary was the British retailer Marks & Spencer. Songwriter David Bowie’s lyrics mentioned “Wendy’s stealing clothes from Marks and Sparks,” a slangy reference to the retailer. It was subsequently changed to “Wendy’s stealing clothes from unlocked cars” so the BBC would play it. Oddly enough, the BBC had no problem with the song describing a criminal act. Go figure.
6) “The Cover of the Rolling Stone,” Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show (1972)
It’s bad enough when you have to change a couple of words, but when you have to change the whole title, the whole gist of the song? That’s what happened to Dr. Hook, as the BBC refused to play their song about a band whose goal is to finally make it to the cover of the world’s most famous music publication, Rolling Stone. Problem is, again, that constituted free advertising for the magazine, and that was a no-no. The band’s solution was to quickly re-record the song as “The Cover of the Radio Times,” which is a reference to an entertainment guide produced by the BBC. Apparently self-advertising was okay, though somehow the revised title didn’t have the same panache.
7) “Hi, Hi, Hi,” Paul McCartney and Wings (1972)
The title of the song would suggest that it was banned for drug references, which was apparently part of the justification based on, “We’re gonna get hi, hi, hi.” But this one was also banned for having sexually suggestive lyrics based on the lines, “I want you to lie on the bed/get you ready for my body gun.” McCartney said the BBC misheard the lyrics, which were actually, “Get you ready for my polygon.” I doubt anybody was buying that.
8) “Kodachrome,” Paul Simon (1973)
Even though the song went all the way to #2 in the US, the title mentions a product, so the BBC wouldn’t play it. Unlike Dr. Hook though, Simon didn’t give an inch. By the way, Simon also ran afoul of the BBC censors with “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” for the line, “We was all on the cover of Newsweek.”
9) “Come Monday,” Jimmy Buffett (1974)
This is about as gentle and innocuous a song as one can imagine, so it makes sense that it wasn’t banned for anything off-color. The problem is the line, “I’ve got my Hush Puppies on,” once again because of the BBC’s very strict rules about mentioning products by name. Buffett’s solution was to change, “I’ve got my Hush Puppies on” to, “I’ve got my hiking boots on.”
10) “God Save the Queen,” The Sex Pistols (1977)
“God Save the Queen” was reportedly the “most heavily censored record in British history,” which isn’t all that surprising since the song begins “God save the Queen/the fascist regime.” What is remarkable is that despite the refusal of the BBC and almost everyone else to play it, and the fact that many record stores wouldn’t stock it, it was the #2 record in the country. Given their proclivity for courting controversy, it’s pretty certain that Johnny Rotten and the Pistols knew exactly what they were doing. Banned for its anti-establishment message, the song is often recognized as punk rock’s greatest accomplishment.
