The best 13 songs that were banned by the BBC

From the raunchy to the explicit, from worst to best

Cohan Chew

14:39 9th December 2015

Music has always been pushing the boundaries of social acceptance, but sometimes it goes too far, or at least according to the BBC.

The evocative nature of music is often exactly what draws us to it. In its attempt to be a true reflection of society, music embraces cultural language, activities and opinions that we engage in. Unfortunately, when music meets the extremities of society, it is often faced with censorship.

However, censorship doesn’t only stem from controversial themes and lyrics. As this countdown will show, negativity and advertising laws also incur censorship.

The most shocking thing about this list is that all of the banned songs are fantastic songs, even disregarding their respective controversies. As a result, we’ve ranked our favourite banned songs from worst to best.

13. 'Love to Love You Baby', Donna Baby (1975) - The BBC counted 23 orgasmic sounds in the final recording and deemed it too raunchy for British airwaves.
12. 'It Would Be So Nice', Pink Floyd (1968) - The original verse, which featured a line about the Evening Standard newspaper didn't wash with the BBC's no-advertising policy.
11. 'Ebony Eyes', Everly Brothers (1961) - Known for their tear-jerking songs, this Everly Brothers track was considered too upsetting for Brits. The song was a story of a man who loses his fiancee in a plane crash.
10. 'Baby, Let Me Follow You Down', Bob Dylan (1962) - The aged folk song, which has since been reprised numerous times in various forms, was not even Dylan's to begin with. Nevertheless, the "God-almighty world" was too offensive for British ears.
9. 'Leader Of The Pack', Shangri-La's (1964) - The sad tale of a motorcycle gang leader who meets his demise after an argument with his girlfriend was seen as too dark to air. It was also feared that the song would encourage violence between mods and rockers.
8. 'Smack My Bitch Up', Prodigy (1997) - The misinterpreted misogynistic lyrics were banned by the BBC, who later only permitted a lyric-free version to be aired.
7. 'Relax', Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984) - 'Relax, don't do it/When you want to suck it, do it/Relax, don't do it/ When you want to come' was too suggestive to be broadcast for DJ Mike Reed, who refused to play it. The BBC supported his view and banned the track soon after.
6. 'Atomic', Blondie (1979) - Blondie was unfortunate in the timing of her release. The BBC banned 67 songs that were deemed inappropriate around the time of the Persian Gulf War.
5. 'Creep', Radiohead (1992) - 'Creek' was apparently too depressing to be aired. It's a good job the BBC didn't hear the rest of Radiohead's work! The BBC also didn't like the use of the f word, so the band changed it to "very" in a re-release the following year
4. 'Come Together', The Beatles (1969), The Beatles (1969) - The BBC and the Beatles have a history of clashing, but 'Come Together' was apparently a step too far. The lyrics, which contained, "he shoot Coca-Cola" was seen as advertising and was thus banned by the BBC.
3. 'Anarchy In The UK', The Sex Pistols (1977), The Sex Pistols (1977) -The Sex Pistols' debut single was banned following their controversial behavioir on the news show, Today, where the band swore excessively.
2. 'Fairytale of New York', The Pogues Feat. Kirsty MacColl (1987) - It might be everyone's favourite Xmas song, or at least it should be, but the Pogues hit was actually banned, less than 10 years ago. On 18 December 2007, BBC Radio 1 suddenly realised that they didn't like the lyrics "faggot" and "slut" and decided to only air an edited version. The song had been released 20 years prior to the ban before the BBC decided to tinker with the classic.
1. 'Lola', The Kinks (1970) - The sixties was a wild time for experimental themes. The tale of Lola, proved to be one of the Kinks best songs, despite its controversial theme. However, it wasn't the cross gender theme that pushed the boundaries for the BBC. Instead, it was the fact that the lyrics contained 'Coca-Cola', which was considered triggered off the BBC. The Kinks later changed the lyrics to 'cherry cola', to make it appropriate for us to listen to.

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