Banned Records - (Not what you think)

Summer later spoke to the British publication The Guardian about the controversy.
~ 'Were you alone in the studio?'
= She said. "Yes, I was alone in the studio.
~ 'Did you touch yourself?'
= "Yes, well, actually, I had my hand on my knee."

Extended (6 Minute) Version:


(I'll not post the 17 minute version) = ;)
 

"Ebeneezer Goode"
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-- is a song by Scottish electronic music group the Shamen.
It became their biggest hit when released as a single on 24 August 1992 topping the UK Singles Chart for four weeks.
The group's original version featured on the vinyl edition of their fifth album, Boss Drum (1992).

It was considered one of the most controversial UK number-one hits of the 1990s due to its perceived oblique endorsement of recreational drug use - and initially banned
by the BBC. It has been claimed the single was eventually withdrawn after the band were hounded by the British tabloid press, - although the Shamen stated it was deleted while at number one due to its long chart run.

 
1977
Firefall's 1977 follow-up to "You Are The Woman" was a song called "Cinderella", which was climbing the Billboard chart and had reached #34 when it suddenly disappeared.


Women's groups started objecting to its controversial lyrics that told the story of a girl who wants the fairy tale ending, but when she gets pregnant, her boyfriend kicks her out to raise their son on her own.
 
BLACK BETTY.
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A Cincinnati band called Ram Jam released a single called "Black Betty", which had civil rights groups, the N.A.A.C.P. and C.O.R.E., calling for a boycott of the song because it insulted black women.
It was in fact a re-release - Lead Belly recorded his version in 1935


Despite the controversy, the song still reached number 18 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in September.
  • It was in fact a re-release - Lead Belly recorded his version ..... in 1935
 
One of the few bits of musical knowledge I have is about Sam, the Sham, and the Pharaohs. "Wooly Bully" had Sam shouting "Hand job, hand job". at the beginning of the recording. Then one of the "mothers for decency" types got upset by the lyric. The song was headed for the top ten. So, they just released the song with the "Hand Job" garbled. If you hear "hand job", you have the original release.
 
Scott Walker – "Jackie"
.
This was the first record to be banned by the new Radio 1. Walker’s cover of the Jacques Brel classic was banned because of homosexual references in the lyrics.

The BBC was offended by the reference to “authentic queers” and “phony virgins”.
That same year the Sexual Offences Act was passed in England and Wales, decriminalising sex acts between two men over the age of 21 in private.


In 1991 Marc Almond covered the song and performed it on primetime television.
 
Ian Dury and The Blockheads – Spasticus Autisticus
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Ian Dury wrote this song as a protest against the International Year of Disabled Persons. As a polio sufferer he found this label patronising.

The BBC denied the song airplay, citing that the lyrics: “I wibble when I piddle 'cos my middle is a riddle” were offensive.

  • In 2012 the song was used in the opening ceremony to the Paralympic Games.
 
Screaming Lord Sutch – "Jack The Ripper".
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Produced by the legendary Joe Meek, this song was banned by the BBC for being in bad taste.


Lord Sutch is better known as the founder of the Monster Raving Loony Party, but back in 1963 he stood in his first election representing the National Teenage Party.
It’s unknown if this song helped increase his vote.
 
Tom Robinson – "Glad To Be Gay"
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Back in 1976 Tom Robinson was out, loud and proud. This song written originally for a gay pride march went on to become Britain’s unofficial gay anthem.


Released on an EP, the BBC refused to play it on the Radio 1 chart show, although John Peel broke rank and played the track anyway, as often happened!

Robinson later confused some journalists by marrying a woman and in 1996 added an extra verse to the song: “Well if gay liberation means freedom for all, a label is no liberation at all. I’m here and I’m queer and do what I do, I’m not going to wear a straghtjacket for you.”
 
Paul McCartney & Wings - Give Ireland Back To The Irish
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Macca got a firm slap on the wrist when his new band Wings' debut single was banned in February 1972 for being too political.
It was written in response to Bloody Sunday - the incident on 30 January that year when British Troops opened fire on a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland.


Both McCartney and fellow former Beatle John Lennon had Irish roots and wrote songs in protest (John's was Luck Of The Irish).

All radio and TV stations blacked out the song. In the intervening years, the Troubles escalated and EMI didn't include the track on his retrospective album Wingspan as the IRA had detonated a car bomb in Ealing, West London and the label didn't want to be seen to be supporting the terrorists with such an "inflammatory" song.
 
Elton John’s song All the Young Girls Love Alice (1973)


- marked the first time Elton sang about a gay character – which means, of course, that the story comes from lyricist Bernie Taupin.
Released four years after the Stonewall riots (1969), the song talks about the brutal and exploitative nature of identifying as a young, gay woman in the 70s.

Like many of the choices in our playlist, this open critique of the treatment of sexual minorities is an example of how a song is controversial due to its message, not as a result of objective problematic material.

Interestingly, same-sex relationships between women have never been illegal in the UK (whereas male relationships had the death penalty until 1861, and were still punishable with imprisonment until as recently as 1967).
 
Let’s Talk About Sex by Salt-N-Pepa,


... is a song promoting safe sex, which seems unremarkable to 2024 ears, but was a big deal in 1991.
The song encouraged honest conversations surrounding sex, at a time when there was an increased stigma and scaremongering of AIDS and HIV.

Given the censorship of sex in the American media, the song addressed topics that were deemed taboo.
The song is built on a sample of The Staple Singers’ 1972 civil rights anthem “I’ll Take You There”.

This song was also considered to be one of the most ‘pure’ and highly religiously regarded commercial successful gospel songs, so the poignant sampling combined with the all female sex-positive African American hip-hop group formatting makes for an advocacy light years ahead of 1991 prejudices.

The lyrics walk the line between sincere messaging of care with that signature Salt-N-Pepa wit underpinning the tone; resulting in an incredibly authentic but soft tone of concern for young people. An alternate version of the song, “Let’s Talk About AIDS”, was released to radio as a promotional single.
 
Olivia Newton-John, “Physical” (1981)


Radio stations banned Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” because of its sexual innuendo, such as “Let me hear your body talk.”

The video, themed around multiple men working out in a gym with Newton-John, includes two men holding hands and walking away suggestively.

Despite the pushback, it was among the most popular songs of the 1980s and helped launch a new phase of Newton-John's career.
 
BBC BAN
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The 1980 anti-war song "Enola Gay", synthpop classic was blocked from any airing during the BBC's children's programming due to the word “gay” in its title.
After it was played on popular BBC1 children's programme Swap Shop sources say it was restricted due to misinterpretations of its connection to homosexuality

The ban was applied only to its airing on the BBC's children's programming, - with some within the organisation perceived the word "gay" as a corrupting sexual influence
  • (Obviously History was not a subject they were familiar with)

 
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"The Millennium Prayer" ~ Cliff Richard
.

Whilst not 'technically' banned, many radio stations, including BBC Radio 2, refused to play it due to a lack of "broad appeal" and perceived "oldiness".

Despite this, the song became a success, reaching number one on the UK charts due to strong fan support and a backlash against the radio stations due to Richard's enduring fan base.
 
1991.
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The BBC considered the song inappropriate due to its reference to the historical Battle of Waterloo, given the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf.

Even though the battle was historical and the song uses it as a metaphor.

This was one of several songs taken down by the BBC due to their association with war, violence, or even the word "bang".

 
  • ‘Gimme Hope Jo’Anna’ ~ Eddie Grant
This was targeted at the South African apartheid National Party government and apartheid culture after Grant had visited Africa.
It included several references to South African culture.

The song ends on an optimistic note of hope that the apartheid system would end soon, which it ultimately did in 1991.
  • (Taken from Nelson Mandela Concert)
 
“Walk Like an Egyptian,” ~ The Bangles
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- Another song banned by both BBC in 1991 and Clear Channel Communications in 2001.

Again, the purpose of this was to avoid offending those who would relate this song and its references to Egypt to the conflicts in the Middle East.

 
TWO TRIBES ~ Frankie goes to Hollywood.
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Anouther record which wasn't completely banned, the BBC restricted its video from prime-time airplay due to its depiction of a violent fight between Ronald Reagan and Konstantin Cheernenko.

Controversial for its anti-war theme and graphic imagery showing the world leaders fighting to the death in a cockfighting pit.


- The video was eventually approved for late-night viewing after violent scenes, like Reagan biting Chernenko's ear, were edited out.
 
Let's hear it for the Judge
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Judge Dread was known for having many sexually suggestive songs that were banned by the BBC and other radio stations, though specific titles aren't consistently listed as "banned" across sources, with .....
"Big Six"
AND
"Big Seven"
- being notable examples of his numerous controversial "Big" series songs.
His lyrics often used innuendo and humorous sexual themes, leading to their restriction from mainstream radio play.
  • Judge Dread holds a place in music history as an artist with many banned songs, a fact even acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Judge Dread - Wikipedia
 

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