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The British Broadcasting Corporation also known as the BBC is a public broadcasting corporation. Therefore, it allows itself to ban materials that deviate from certain standards of civility. During the years, many singles that were seen as too explicit, distasteful or bear the potential for offending the British public were banned from BBC airplay. Here you can read about some of them.
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In 1977, when England was celebrating the Queens Jubilee, the Sex Pistols had released their second single titled God Save the Queen. The single includes controversial lyrics that rhyme the national anthem title with fascist regime. Moreover, the record cover displayed a picture of the Queen with a safety pin stuck in her nose.
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The single was found to offensive to be air played by the BBC, but it did not stop it from reaching number two on the BBC official singles chart. According to the myth, God Save the Queen was the top selling single in the UK at the time, but it was held back of number one to avoid controversies.
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Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin scandalous duet Je TAime ... Moi Non Plus, translated: I love you... me neither, was the first ever number one hit to be banned by the BBC. Although at the time of its release, in 1969, the sexual revolution was celebrated, the British radio still was not able to cope with such explicit lyrics, not to mention Birkins moans and groans.
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The BBC ban and The Vatican denounce, did not stop Je TAime ... Moi Non Plus from being a top selling single in the UK and worldwide. In October 7, 1969, the single reached number one in the BBC official singles chart. At the same time, it had reached number 69 at the US singles chart.
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Je TAime ... Moi Non Plus was a major influence on another BBC banned single, Donna Summers disco pioneer from 1976 titled Love to Love You Baby. After counting 23 faked orgasms performed by Summer in Love to Love You Baby, the British Broadcasting Corporation banned the song. However, it did not stop it from becoming a massive hit. Love to Love You Baby reached number four on the UK single charts but peaked to number two on the Billboard pop chart.
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Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood is one of the most controversial singles as well as commercially successful singles in history. The BBC did not only ban the song it also did not stop BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read to publicly express his feelings of disgust from the single explicit lyrics. In 1984, Relax stayed in the UK singles charts for 42 weeks. In five of them, it stayed in number one. By the end of 1984, embarrassed Auntie Beeb removed the ban. Relax is still very popular worldwide and it is one of the most recognized symbols of the era. The arguments on whether it gained such a huge success despite the BBC ban or the BBC ban helped promoting it have not been settled yet.
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Paul McCartney and the Wings response to the 1972 Bloody Sunday events titled Give Ireland Back to the Irish, was banned by every media resource in the UK. It was forbidden from being broadcast by the BBC, Radio Luxembourg and the Independent Television Authority. In addition, the song title was not allowed to be pronounced on the air, so when it arrived to the BBC Radio 1 chart show it was presented as a record by the group Wings. However, Give Ireland Back to the Irish hit the top of the Irish singles charts.
Donna Summer Photos
Donna Summer Photos
Eying the straight jeans tucked into the boots, the long sweaters, the dolman sleeves, the platform shoes and disco ball I recently saw in a store, I knew the sales woman, who looked 25, had no idea of what life was like here in New York City in the late 70's and 80's. A young taxi driver treated me like royalty because I told him I had seen "Queen" in concert, and I just couldn't bring myself to rattle off all the rock concerts I had been to-or tell him that later, I had spent every Friday night dancing at the clubs: Studio 54, Xenon, Ice Palace. I have happy memories of my girlfriend and I prepping and primping for Friday night, THE night, OUR night. It took days to figure out what we would wear, to find the perfect belt, shoes, or to figure out what we were doing with our hair; we bought Paul Mitchell "SCHPRITZ" (which was really glue in a plastic pump pray bottle) by the gallon, so we could go dancing.
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When I approach the step climber in the gym, my iPod is my master and Donna Summer 's " Enough is Enough" is still enough to get the blood pumping through me... If you see me up there, swaying and rotating with moves that would defy the average person's (of my age) balance... I promise I will not fall. I can dance, step, and read at the same time.
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In the early 80's I was an aerobics flunkie, and I am no runner-- I am more like a pile driver when I do run.... I even tried pole dancing --but I was like Lucille Ball on pot when I approached the pole, gracefully reached up, hoisted myself onto it, and promptly fell, bruising my arm and leg on the way down. I am, to say the least bored by walking on a loop, so the treadmill is not for me. Forget spinning to nowhere... no can do. But when I am "stepping" that low center of gravity is, very useful. Some mornings I can be found in the gym, quite early, gyrating on the machine, reading glasses perched on my nose and a day's worth of e-mail, trade papers and other stuff to pour through piled up on the floor next to me. Throwing the papers down from my lofty mount I make piles of the must keeps, and the disposable. Along with everything that floods my morning mind, it never occurs to me to care what anyone who sees this routine might think. I occasionally let loose the sounds of pieces of songs, and have provoked a few "SHUT UPS" from my fellow exercisers. But I don't care. I am not embarrassed.
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Every once in a while I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and think it is really pathetic or funny or maybe both, as I hope for one more year of my butt defying gravity and notice that my arms still look pretty good to me considering I am a Jewish woman of a certain age. I can't afford to do what Demi Moore did --I am stuck with my elbows and knees for a lifetime.
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The only images I have of myself dancing as a child were from my father's 8 mm movie footage. There I was in ballet class, the whole class moving right, and I was going left, my finger up my nose. My sister became the ballerina, and I got piano lessons, guitar lessons, art lessons-anything to keep me from dancing --there was a reason for that-Recently at my company holiday party, as soon as the disco tunes started spinning, my young, and I mean very young dance partner whispered " I don't know how to dance like this, " (Even though he did...) and I whispered back, " I am the Dancing Queen, I won't let you down..." Nine dances later, they were calling us John (Travolta) and Olivia (Newton John --) there is something to be said for that-considering I was absolutely born in a year when I could have been my partner's mother. All the women I worked with thought I need a young guy, so I fulfilled their fantasy.
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In 1977, I came to New York to attend NYU. It was an era that has never left me. The end of The Vietnam war in 1975 gave license to a generation of dreamers and schemers to do our own thing... The anger and fighting was over... The clothes, the make-up the hair, the music, the drugs the pre-AIDS promiscuity, Jane Fonda's videos, all lent a certain allure and importance to the new found freedom of the era. The dancing sanctified it...When I arrived in New York I was really a hybrid, part aspiring Jewish American Princess, part activist, part hippie/bohemian artist, writer. It was here, through my love of clothes and make-up and my love of dancing that my true identity was born. I was at Bond's, The Underground, The Limelight, Max' Kansas City, and of course Studio and Xenon. If I am totally cool at all, I am totally cool for that. (Well maybe not totally cool) this information admittedly makes me old by lots of people's standards. And yes Rent and Chorus Line were my favorite plays.
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Those clubs created a platform for Madonna, Cher, Donna Summer, and a new kind of socializing that no matter where you went, it was all about how sexy you could look, and how many drugs you could do, and get yourself home at least by the next afternoon.. The man in the white suit was "the man..." no tie, lots of chest, chains and even tattoos. Unlike today's techno, we had moves and the moves were everything. My girlfriend and I practiced all the best moves on each other, and our weekend attire-- Gold lame, leopard skin, sequined bandeau tops, fat belts, stretch halter jumpsuits and lots of white and glimmer shimmer that glowed under the lights.
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The door-screening policies of the era added that last element of excitement-- to be rejected at the door would be the total failure of a whole week's work. Better be model pretty and dressed right. Disco wear was never EVER acceptable for day wear, but for night it was the only possible way to be part of the action, and the more baudy and crazy and bosomy and glittery, the better. A man's white satin jacket and a medallion resting on a tanned chest with an open neck shirt and the collar turned up, now vile and de rigueur, was considered hot.
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In those days "Starbuck" was still just a figment of Charles Dickens imagination, an ATM was probably a sex toy, the concept of an "internet" probably lived in the bowels of some government, underground cavern. An "i-pod" would have been the definition of something botanical, "Twitter" would certainly be something describing post orgasm movements, "Facebook" would have been a magazine and research was still done in a library. (I had to learn the Dewey Decimal System-THE WHAT?) If we wanted to "hook up" we had to call our friends on a land line, and even wait for the phone not to be "busy". Pay phones were actually a major convenience and not the obsolete relics they are today.
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The '70's rolled in and pretty much took up where the '60's had left off. The turbulent '60's had seen the assassination of president John Kennedy and soon after, the shooting of his brother, Robert, an unpopular and seemingly no win situation with the war in Vietnam, and another assassination of a man who was trying to bring about great change, Martin Luther King Jr. But there was light at the end of the tunnel for the U.S. In May of 1969, the first manned- moon landing took place.
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Not only did America beat the Soviets to the lunar surface, but we did it within the time frame that President Kennedy had proposed some eight years earlier. With all this going on, the music was there throughout.
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Music would take a hard shot as well, however, right at the opening of the new decade. After six years of creating and playing music that changed and made history, the Beatles went their separate ways. After about four years of artistic, financial, and personal differences, John, Paul, George, and Ringo called it quits. Their fans were devastated. Their last no. 1 hit was Paul McCartney's, moving 'Let It Be'. All four would have success on their own, but the chemistry and charisma that was the 'Beatles', was gone.
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A huge gear was missing in the machine that was rock 'n' roll, but the machine wasn't broke. How could it be? There were still so many great artists that were and had been there. Not to mention new stars that were on the horizon. The hard rocking Led Zeppelin got mellow and poetic with '71's No. 1 smash, 'Stairway to Heaven'. Singer/songwriters like Elton John, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Neil Young, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, and the late great Jim Croce were filling the airwaves with songs that told stories that spoke to us all, then and now. Black Sabbath, along with front-man Ozzy Osbourne introduced the music to 'Metal Rock'. Hard-driving, in-your-face, and with no apologies, it struck a very loud core with listeners. Love it, hate it, face it, Metal was here and impossible to ignore. African American artist like "the godfather of soul", James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and Sly and the family Stone, were educating and bringing folks of different races together, as well as entertaining. Marvin Gaye's unforgettable classic, 'What's Going On', spoke to rising poverty and crime of the inner-cities.
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A new word, "funk" was being used more and more to describe the music that was coming from the black artists of the day. Stevie Wonder expertly mixed soul, funk, and a little touch of rock with mega-hit, 'Superstition', (challenge you not to move to it).
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Another genre of rock was developing and growing popular, especially with southern listeners. A combination of country and rock, this new sound was known as 'Country' or 'Southern' Rock. Leading the way were bands like .38 Special, the Almond Brothers, Bad Company, and the legendary, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their huge classic, "Freebird", is probably being sung along to by partially inebriated, enthusiastic, rednecks as I write this. God knows I have. Another band with a 'country' twang was the Eagles. Always just a little more rock than country, songs like, "Take It Easy", "One of These Nights", Best of My Love", and the ultra-classic, "Hotel California", along with an almost perfect melodic harmony between the members, made the Eagles one of the most popular, influential bands in pop-music history.
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Then, in 1977, the film, "Saturday Night Fever", opened up in theatres. Creating a mega-celebrity out of 23 year-old star, John Travolta. The movie's soundtrack introduced America to the 'Bee Gees' and 'Disco'. The Bee Gees, hit 'Staying Alive' was the no. 1 hit of that year. Lasting only 4 years the "disco era", made stars out of artist like, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Chic, and, at the top of the totem-pole,the Bee Gees. A pulsing rhythmic beat, along with a soaring choir of instruments like trumpets, the music was 100% dance driven. Although it's reign was short, disco's legacy has out-lived it's sound. Whenever you hear today's dance-club music, your listening to disco, (slightly evolved), but still there.
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For just regular, good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll, there was Paul McCartney and his band,' Wings'. The former Beatle was pumping out hit tunes like, "Band on the Run", "Juniors Farm", "With A Little Luck", and the simplistic but very catchy, "Let 'em In". Newcomers', Fleetwood Mac and their ground-breaking album, "Rumors", swept the airwaves in 1976. In 1979, Pink Floyd built an album and called it, "The Wall". It became an instant classic. Blondie sang about a "Heart of Glass", the Kinks met "Lola", but stayed just friends, and Queen promised, "We Will Rock You".
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In 1977, an unexpected tragedy occurred. Legendary performer, and the 'King of Rock 'n' Roll', Elvis Aaron Pressley died in a Memphis, Tenn. hospital at the age of 42. He had been found unconscious in the bathroom of his Graceland home. Prescription drug abuse was the primary cause.
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The Knack release their first album, "Get The Knack" (produced by Mike Chapman), and see their debut single, "My Sharona" spend six weeks at #1.
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WLUP disc jockey Steve Dahl's Disco Demolition Night takes place at Chicago's Comiskey Park between games of a doubleheader between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. Dahl blows up a pile of disco records in centerfield and, in doing so, causes damage to the playing field. Thousands of fans storm the field, starting fires of their own and causing a min-riot leading to the cancellation of the second game.
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Stevie Wonder's "Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants" is the first notable pop album to be digitally recorded. Despite being mostly instrumental and featuring no actual hit singles, the album peaked at #4 on the Billboard Albums chart.
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In February, the Clash play their first U.S. concert date in Berkeley, CA. Opening the show is Bo Diddley.
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In May, the Who perform their first concert after the death of original drummer Keith Moon.
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Kiss release "Dynasty", which goes Top 10 on the strength of the disco-tinged single "I Was Made For Loving You" (#11).
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After a near-fatal car accident the year before, Peter Frampton returns with the album" Where I Should Be", which peaks at #19 and features the Top 20 single "I Can't Stand It no More".
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After selling briskly as a Japanese import, Cheap Trick's "At Budokan" is released stateside, selling over a million copies and featuring the Top 10 hit single, "I Want You To Want Me".
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Pat Benatar's debut album, "In The Heat Of The Night" (produced by Mike Chapman), is released in September and hits the Top 20 on the strength of the Top 40 singles "Heartbreaker" and "we Live For Love", as well as her cover of John Cougar's "I Need A Lover".
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Funk music is a musical style which originated in America in the mid to late 1960's. This musical genre blends together Rhythm and Blues, jazz and soul music into a trendy and danceable style.
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Funk concentrates on a strong rhythmic groove from the rhythm section melody and harmony are de-emphasised. Back line instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass, Hammond organ and drums are used to play interlocking grooves. Most funk songs, unlike other musical styles such as soul and R and B, comprise of very few chords sometimes as little as a vamp on one chord. A horn section (saxophones, trumpets and sometimes trombones) is often used in funk bands to provide stabs and punches to accentuate rhythms and grooves.
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Performers in this genre include James Brown with songs such as 'I feel good', Earth, Wind and fire, Kool and the Gang who had a hit single with 'Celebration', and Tower of Power. Funk has had a large influence on more recent forms of music such as disco and hip hop.
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Nothing sets off a party better than a bit of disco music, the genre which blended together two favourite music genres, soul and funk. Disco music became popular in the 1970's and took over the mainstream pop music charts. This music form relies heavily on a very steady four to the floor bass drum beat, a quaver or semi quaver hi-hat pattern using an open hi-hat on the off beat, and a solid, often syncopated electric bass line. The vocals are high impact and use a great deal of reverb. Electric instruments including guitars, pianos, string sounds, often played on synthasisers, play in the background and are less important than the high impact drums and vocals. Popular artists in this genre include 'The Jackson Five', 'The Bee Gees' and 'Donna Summer', music by these artists is bound to get any aged person tapping or too their feet! Disco music helped the creation of techno and house in the 1990's.
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Donna Summer Photos
Donna Summer Photos
Donna Summer Photos
Donna Summer Photos
Donna Summer Photos
The disco era reached a fever pitch in the mid-1970s; the charts were crowded with hits by KC and the Sunshine Band, Gloria Gaynor, the Village People, Donna Summer and Chic. The 1977 film Saturday Night Fever featured five hits by the Bee Gees; their success encouraged rockers like Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones to release disco tracks.
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But in the summer of 1979 a straight-out rocker reminiscent of the British Invasion was released that would introduce "new wave" to America; its sound was so addictive that it became the most popular record of the year... and would break disco's stranglehold on the charts. That song was "My Sharona" by the Knack.
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The band was assembled in Los Angeles in 1977-1978 by singer Doug Fieger: lead guitarist Berton Averre, Bruce Gary on drums and bassist Prescott Niles. The group's name came from a film by A Hard Day's Night director Richard Lester called The Knack... and How To Get It.
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The Knack recorded a series of demos but got zero interest from record companies. But the band played everywhere, often for free, and established a local reputation, packing LA clubs like the Troubadour. The turning point came when the rock elite began to show up at their performances.
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First to come was keyboardist Ray Manzarek of the Doors, who asked to sit in for a few shows, followed by Eddie Money, Tom Petty and Stephen Stills, But it was an appearance by Bruce Springsteen that changed the band's fortunes.
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Bruce got up with us on a Friday night at the Troubadour and on Monday we suddenly had fourteen offers! said Fieger. "I'm not sure but I think it was the fact that Bruce Springsteen got up with us that suddenly made all these record companies think we were cool."
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One of the demos turned down by so many record companies was "My Sharona." The song's inspiration was a beautiful 17-year-old high school senior, Sharona Alperin. Fieger, then 26, first saw Sharona at the clothing store where she worked. It was love at first sight, but only for Fieger.
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Turned down at first by Sharona, Fieger wrote his most successful song for her in fifteen minutes; the lyrics were crafted around a riff that guitarist Averre had written years before. Fieger and Sharona became a couple; that's Sharona on the picture sleeve of the single.
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Capitol Records won a bidding war for the Knack and put the group together with producer Mike Chapman, who'd had hits with Blondie and Nick Gilder. The Knack's debut album, Get The Knack, was recorded at MCA Whitney in Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles. The production of "My Sharona" and the rest of the album was quick; seven days to record and four days for mixing.
