I propose that this page be moved to List of songs banned by the BBC and extended. The BBC has banned many well known pop songs over the years and I don't see why this list should be confined only to songs that were released as singles. Readers coming to this page would probably want to find more extensive information on records banned by the BBC rather than just singles and will be disapointed as things stand. If nobody objects, I'd like to move the page and expand it. MarkB79 18:33, 25 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. Even songs released as singles are not all included (after all, it does not include anything by the Sex Pistols, who had a number of songs banned). Also, the note that they are arranged in "chronological order by date of release" is misleading, as for instance, the song "Bankrobber" by the Clash was included and it was released long after "Desdemona" or "Let's Spend the Night Together." So that note was removed. Beggarsbanquet (talk) 04:39, 24 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for that. I actually started editing the page some months back and intended to add a lot of songs to the list but I was too busy with work for uni and never got around to it. I apologise, I put in the chronological reference as I intended to arrange the new, longer list in chronological order rather than just a random or alphabetical order and I must have forgot to remove it when I didn't get around to completing the edits. There are a number of websites that give fairly detailed info about some records that have been banned and I have a couple of books that have infomation on it too, such as 'Rebel Rock' by John Street, so I'll have a go at editing the page extensively some time soon, hopefully in the next couple of weeks. I think it would be wise to move the page and expand it to include songs not issued as singles, for instance 'A Day in the Life' is one of the most famous instances of a record being banned by the BBC but it wasn't released as a single and so isn't currently mentioned on the page, and you are probably correct about the Sex Pistols, I'm fairly sure there were a number of well known records banned in the punk era which were not singles. And the list certainly does lack a large number of banned records which were actually singles. Only problem is I don't have much information on songs the BBC have supposedly 'banned' in recent years - they claim they no longer ban records but there have apparently been a number of songs they simply haven't played in recent years because of offensive or controversial lyrics. In any case, I'll move the page and add more content in the next couple of weeks since nobody seems to object. MarkB79 (talk) 20:11, 26 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fully agree and seeing that there is consensus, will do it right away. Looking forward to more input in near future.--Technopat (talk) 22:22, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Cheers for that, I was meaning to move the page for some time but never got around to it. I know have promised this on here before but now you've jogged my memory I shall hopefully get around to somewhat expanding this page shortly! As I say, I don't have much info on records allegedly "banned" in recent years so any contributions from anyone in this area in particular would be handy. Thanks again, MarkB79 (talk) 00:05, 15 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A selection of 75 songs which were banned by the BBC was released under the above title on Acrobat Music a couple of days ago. The liner notes explain why each was banned. My favourites include Stranger In Paradise by The Four Aces, Greensleeves The Beverley Sisters and Brahms' Lullaby by Frank Sinatra. --TrogWoolley (talk) 11:26, 31 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The full list of the songs on this album is available on the web but not with any explantion of why the songs were banned sadly. MarkB79 (talk) 00:15, 15 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Given the complexity of this issue, I reckon extra care should be taken in ensuring that items included here are adequately referenced, as per Wikipedia basic guidelines. I have therefore deleted the following:

• "Bankrobber" - The Clash

'cos the corresponding article makes no reference of it being banned by the Beeb - only to the record company refusing to include it on the album. Obviously the result is the same (great marketing gimmick, sorry!), but the Beeb was not [directly] to "blame". Any article out there on songs in general that can be included in a "See also" subsection at this article? Feedback, anyone?--Technopat (talk) 22:48, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The following one also goes on hold 'cos the article page doesn't reference "the fact":

• "Desdemona" - John's Children (1967)

I'm sure this will happen again with other songs included in the article, present & future. Sorry to be so pedantic, but them's the basic Wikipedia rules of the game... --Technopat (talk) 23:11, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

And another one:

- however some songs, such as The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up", are simply not played (or in some cases, not played before 9pm) without any official announcement of a ban.

--Technopat (talk) 12:23, 17 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Found a reference for it, so back it goes. --Technopat (talk) 12:48, 17 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No reference on corresponding article page for the following:

• "Disarm" - The Smashing Pumpkins (1994)

--Technopat (talk) 23:22, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I suppose all the entries on here will have to be sourced, even if it's common knowledge they were banned like the Wings track. I think 'Bankrobber' was banned but I've no idea about the other two. I'll check the web and see if there's info on those three tracks there. MarkB79 (talk) 00:15, 15 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

'Bankrobber' wasn't banned it was played all the time before and when it was a hit - probably on the playlist". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.152.40.89 (talk) 17:31, 29 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Greetings MarkB79 - trouble with "common knowledge" is that if it ain't sourced/referenced - out it goes... I've seen articles with much better referencing being proposed for deletion and narrowly surviving (common sense tends to prevail). At least if folks see that something is being done here to adhere to standards, this great article stands a better chance of surviving :) Regards, --Technopat (talk) 10:54, 15 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Removed - pending reference - "New Orleans Is Sinking" - Tragically Hip, The --Technopat (talk) 14:04, 1 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Greetings All, At the rate I'm going, this list is soon gonna be reduced to the first item 'cos it's the only one that's referenced! So rather than remove yet another song, I'm sticking the ^{[citation needed]} on those which need it, both here and at the corresponding article, in the hope that by duplicating it, there's at least twice as much chance of someone paying attention and sorting it out :) Regards, --Technopat (talk) 11:03, 15 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Greetings All, Am going through the article sticking in references and some are now being repeated, i.e. the same reference covers more than one song. Does anyone know how to format it better than my version. I know it can be done but don't have time to check it out right now. Cheers! --Technopat (talk) 12:05, 15 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I added a few references today for a couple of the songs but I couldn't find any online references for Fatboy Slim, George Michael and Colour Me Bad (and actually I seem to remember reading that Michael's track was only banned before 9pm anyway). I'll try adding some more references anyway over the next few days. The formatting of the references looks fine to me but I could check it against some GA status articles when I get the chance. I think it's actually supposed to be based on Harvard referencing but I'm not sure. MarkB79 (talk) 02:40, 17 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Given Wikipedia's insistence on references, and rather than risk the whole article going down the drain (aka AfD), I propose adding the following "warning" to the list:

Please do not add any song to this list unless it is referenced. Any new addition to this list will be removed and pasted on the talk page pending suitable reference.

or something along those lines. Feedback? --Technopat (talk) 22:44, 31 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Had been hoping for feedback on this, as in consensus, but it looks as if I'll just have to be bold an' go ahead, I suppose I can wait until the end of this month... In the meantime, people keep adding unreferenced stuff. Cheers! --Technopat (talk) 22:35, 17 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, sorry I didn't respond to the earlier post, I haven't been on Wiki much in the last month and didn't notice it. I'd agree that the best way of handling it would be to remove the unreferenced songs and paste them up on here until references can be found, rather than lose the contributions entirely, so I agree with the proposal. There seems to have been a very large number of songs added since I last looked at the page and few of them appear to have been referenced. I won't have a chance to do it this week but I'll try adding some more sources soon (whether for songs still on the page or pasted on here), I did add some a couple of months back but haven't been able to get back to it and now there are plenty more entries. MarkB79 (talk) 01:11, 18 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Greetings MarkB79 - thanx for feedback. Yep, with all those new additions, the unreferenced songs far outweigh the referenced ones, but I'll give it a couple more days. Once again, and for the time being, we have 100% consensus! Cheers! --Technopat (talk) 01:37, 18 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please reference the following and return them to the list as soon as possible:

• "The Winker's Song (Misprint)" - Ivor Biggun & The Red-nosed Burglars (1978)
• "We Are The World" - Chumbawamba (1985)

Cheers! --Technopat (talk) 23:25, 4 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ditto the following:

• "Bankrobber" - The Clash (1980)

--Technopat (talk) 23:25, 15 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

And another one:

• "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" - Iron Maiden (1991)

--Technopat (talk) 23:39, 15 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

And another:

• "Chocolate Salty Balls" - Chef (1998)

--Technopat (talk) 20:45, 16 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sigh!

• "Creep - Radiohead (1992) The article page for this song references the following: "Creepshow", Melody Maker, 1992-12-19 but as it's not accessible, out it goes till someone can come up with a verifiable ref. --Technopat (talk) 20:53, 16 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Double sigh!

• "Come Together" - The Beatles (1969)--Technopat (talk) 21:01, 16 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Two more:

• "Desdemona" - John's Children (1967)
• "Disarm" - The Smashing Pumpkins (1994)

--Technopat (talk) 21:12, 16 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Do I foresee a name change for this article along the lines of "List of half a dozen songs banned... "?:

• "Fight For Your Right" - Beastie Boys (1987)
• "French Kiss" - Lil Louis (1989)

--Technopat (talk) 21:15, 16 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That's it for this evening:

• "Gangster Trippin" - Fatboy Slim (1998)

--Technopat (talk) 21:19, 16 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Well, just a couple more:

• "I Wanna Sex You Up" - Color Me Badd (1991)
• "I Want Your Sex" - George Michael (1987)

--Technopat (talk) 23:49, 16 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Removed these, pending etc. etc.:

• "Virus" - Iron Maiden (1996)
• "Urban Guerrilla" - Hawkwind (1973)
• "Tubthumping" - Chumbawamba (1997)
• "Too Drunk to Fuck" - Dead Kennedys (1981)

--Technopat (talk) 14:10, 17 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

And again:

• "The Message" - Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five (1982)

--Technopat (talk) 11:43, 16 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• "Go All the Way" - Eric Carmen & the Raspberries (1972)

--Technopat (talk) 11:45, 16 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• "Spasticus Autisticus" - Ian Dury (1981)

--Technopat (talk) 11:49, 16 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• "Sexy M.F." - Prince and The New Power Generation (1992)

--Technopat (talk) 11:52, 16 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• "Magic Roundabout" - Jasper Carrott (1975)

--Technopat (talk) 11:54, 16 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, apologies again, I haven't been on Wiki for a while but I shall hopefully have more time on my hands for the next couple of months. Most of these songs I know were banned and I shall look for references in the next couple of days. Not sure about 'Creep' though - certainly the uncensored version was banned, but I think Radiohead produced a radio edit in advance substituting the lyric "you're so fucking special" with "your so very special" in order to get airplay so technically the song wasn't banned, only the uncensored version. That's a slightly different situation to 'Peaches' by the Stranglers that was released with no radio edit and banned by the BBC, forcing the band to return to the studio to re-record the vocals with different lyrics. 'Peaches' was banned entirely for a time, I don't think 'Creep' ever was. 'Creep' was taken off Radio 1's playlist after a short while, but that was because they judged it "too depressing", that's not a ban, they just declined to play the record for reasons of taste. Songs that were censored and had to have radio edits made for airplay might be worthy of inclusion but I think possibly they should be categorised seperately. In any case, I'll try and find sources for the songs up here in the next few days. MarkB79 (talk) 23:51, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Removed as per article guidelines:

• "Arnold Layne" - Pink Floyd (1967)
• "Candy and a Currant Bun" - Pink Floyd (1967)

--Technopat (talk) 23:18, 15 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm 99% certain that 'Arnold Layne' was never banned by the BBC. It was banned by Radio London because of its references to transvestisism but they were a commercial station obviously unconnected with the BBC. It's often mentioned as a rare example of a commercial station banning a record that the BBC in contrast were happy to play. I think its inclusion was a well meant mistake by the contributor - I can't find any reference to the song in the source given and even if I'm mistaken, I'm pretty sure Spencer Leigh would have got his facts wrong. 'Candy and a Currant Bun' would have been banned since it includes the F-word in the lyric but that song would not have attracted much attention since it was only a B-side and I can't find any reference to that song being banned online either. MarkB79 (talk) 00:03, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Greetings MarkB79 - thanks for that. As this is a long-term project, i.e. no hurry, I think that posting the songs here on the discusssion page for future editors to check out is the best way of dealing with the current lack of online references. As for songs banned by other radio stations, however interesting they might be, am not quite sure how to deal with that particular variation of a theme. If we include 'em here, some exclusionist editor will come along sooner or later and rightly delete 'em as not belonging here. I haven't had time to check out the other articles dealing with banned stuff, but I'm sure there must be one out there that can be a sort of catch-all for such cases. Cheers! --Technopat (talk) 00:13, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Cheers for the reply, I agree with posting the stuff up on here since it allows us to find references later and not lose accurate but initially unsourced entries permanently. There is difficulty in finding references for some - for instance, I know 'Open You Box' by Yoko Ono was definitely banned but when I looked for an online reference the other day I couldn't find a reliable one. There is a site somewhere which gives a very large list of recordings banned by the BBC, I'll have a look for it but I'm not sure if it can be classed as a reliable source. There are a number of books on the subject which would provide great references but I don't have access to them at present, I do have 'Rebel Rock' by John Street but that only mentions a couple of these songs and dosen't give a large list of banned recordings. I don't think records banned by other stations is really at all relevant to this article as it's specifically about the BBC. At most, maybe there could be a brief paragraph mentioning a few notable records banned by other stations but played by the BBC (of which 'Arnold Layne' would certainly be one) but I don't think large lists of songs banned by other stations is relevant since it's outside the scope of the article. MarkB79 (talk) 01:16, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

(outdent)Adding these two to be referenced: *"Bloodsport For All" - Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (1991) (banned during Gulf War)

• "Desdemona" - John's Children (1967)

--Technopat (talk) 20:54, 16 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Am removing the following pending references:

• "Big Eight" - Judge Dread (1973)
• "Big Seven" - Judge Dread (1972)
• "Big Six" - Judge Dread (1972)
• "Big Ten" - Judge Dread (1975)

The Allmusic article allmusic.com biography by Jo-Ann Greene included at the JD wikipedia article refers to all JD's song having been banned but methinks that's too much of a blanket reference and that each song on the list needs to be referenced separately. Feedback?--Technopat (talk) 23:16, 15 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I remember reading that all the songs with that sequence of titles were banned but I'm not sure all of the songs he ever released were banned. I probably wouldn't use that as a source as theres a possibility that it could be an inaccurate claim as well as a blanket reference. MarkB79 (talk) 00:07, 8 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

• "Peaches" - The Stranglers (1977)
• "Physical" - Olivia Newton-John (1981)
• "Push It" - Salt-n-Pepa (1988)
• "Open Your Box" - Yoko Ono (1971: Original Version)
• "Love Is Strange" - Mickey and Sylvia (1957)
• "The Man Don't Give a Fuck" - Super Furry Animals (1996)

--Technopat (talk) 18:42, 17 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Shouldn't this page include the dates when the bans were lifted? For example, Gloomy Sunday was banned by the BBC but the banned was lifted very recently. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.238.110.66 (talk) 20:58, 4 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Agree - but must be suitably referenced. --Technopat (talk) 22:58, 4 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'd agree that where possible we should be more specific about the dates the songs were banned (if different from the release date) and when bans were lifted but in many cases specific information on this might be hard to find. In the case of some songs, the bans have apparently never be lifted and are still in place now (such as 'Give Ireland Back to the Irish' and 'Love to Love You Baby' supposedly). However where infomation is available on the subject, I would agree with adding the dates to the article. MarkB79 (talk) 00:07, 8 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Would it not be more consise to change this list into a table complete with reasons for the banning of songs, ban lifting etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.158.16.244 (talk) 20:37, 8 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed The Byrds’ 1966 single "Eight Miles High" from this list/article because this record was not in fact banned by the BBC. Yes, the single was banned by many radio stations in the USA and Europe but the BBC was not one of them. I know that The Times' article "The music the BBC banned" says it was banned but this is an error and you will not find any official BBC sources corroborating this erroneous information. In addition, several notable books on The Byrds, including Johnny Rogan's Timeless Flight Revisited (second edition p.162) and Christopher Hjort's So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star (p.94) specifically state that the record was not banned by the BBC. Furthermore, a contemporary statement from a BBC spokesman published in the May 14, 1966 edition of Melody Maker makes plain that the BBC will not be banning the record. --Kohoutek1138 (talk) 14:22, 24 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Have removed the following, as per Wikipedia:SPS#Self-published_sources_.28online_and_paper.29:

• "McDonald's Girl" - Dean Friedman (1982)<ref>{{cite web|title=Dean Friedman Bio|publisher=Dean Friedman's Official Web Site|url=http://www.deanfriedman.com/bio/bio_home.html|accessdate=2010-07-03}}</ref>

You're welcome to stick it back in the article if you can find another source. --Technopat (talk) 16:54, 3 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This is a cool list, but can we get a list of lists listed on Wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.91.201.209 (talk) 23:12, 31 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

why is the Fairytale of New York on this list as it was not banned it was censored as many songs do that contain offensive language on Radio 1 C. 22468 (talk) 16:39, 7 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It's complicated. The BBC wanted to cut the line 'Merry Christmas your arse' when the song was on TOTP but Kirsty sang it with venom straight into the camera and was banned from performing on the BBC till a year before she was killed. The first time around the like 'Old Slut on Junk' was passed because they thought Shane sang 'Old Southern Junk' this might sound odd by 'Old Southern Junk' is a line in Tennessee Williams 'Streetcar named Desire. It was only more recently the line was heard properly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.10.84.3 (talk) 11:26, 20 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I dont think the above quote gives the whole story. It's a British media myth that the song was ever banned. This is what happened, from kirstymaccoll.com [1]

"in a recording for the TV programme 'Top of the Pops' in the UK (with Shane McGowan), Kirsty changed the lyrics slightly from 'You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot' to 'You scumbag, you maggot, you're cheap and your haggard' - wording which was later used by Maire Brennan in Ronan Keating's cover version."

Youtube confirms this. Radio 1 always played this 'pre-watershed' version until the media moral panic about it being "banned" was (and this is only my opinion) cooked up as part of the British Press's standard BBC bashing, years later.

Either way, I think it should be under 'censored', not 'banned', as an example of censors backing down under pressure.

--PRL1973 (talk) 09:06, 1 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I am fairly sure the BBC Radio did a programme called 'records not to be broadcast without permission'; I recorded it (but sadly dumped the cassette recently) - and I am sure there were song extracts played that are not listed - some from WW2 time (think it was called 'Deep in the heart of Texas' ); others more recent. The latter ones were usually sexually explicit (unknown song with lyrics 'Lie down johnny she said' etc )or seditious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Offbeam (talk • contribs) 19:09, 1 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I think the list would be more useful as a sortable table. That way, users can easily sort the songs by artist (which I think would be more useful anyway) or year. What do you think? --The Evil IP address (talk) 12:35, 20 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Not a bad idea. Sijtze Reurich (talk) 13:39, 22 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

According to the article about Twinkle her song "Terry" was banned by the BBC, but I do not find it here.

And I am somewhat surprised that P.J. Proby was banned from BBC tv after his trouser splitting incident, but none of his songs is on this banned songs list. Sijtze Reurich (talk) 13:39, 22 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It may be that "Terry" wasn't banned at all, but some sources erroneously say it was. You often see similar such misinformation about The Byrds' "Eight Miles High" being banned by the BBC, but it definitely wasn't (as noted above). Alternatively, maybe "Terry" was indeed banned and it is a genuine omission from this list. If you can source a reliable, third party reference supporting the fact that it was banned by the BBC, you should definitely add it to this list. --Kohoutek1138 (talk) 11:41, 23 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Was there ever an "official list"? Anyway, this says it was banned, as does this (she was a friend of Camilla - who knew??). Are they sufficiently reliable? Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:12, 23 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, they're fine. I'll add it when I get a moment, unless someone else wants to.--Kohoutek1138 (talk) 03:14, 25 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]