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Some songs didn't just push boundaries — they shattered them. Join us as we count down the most controversial songs that were once, or are still, restricted from airplay in various markets around the world! From classic rock anthems to pop hits, these tracks stirred up scandal, outrage, and even government intervention. Which of these banned songs do you think deserved its controversy?
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00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're looking at the songs that were once, or are still,
00:12restricted from airplay in various markets.
00:22Number 20.
00:24In the air tonight, Phil Collins.
00:32Even if you haven't heard it in its entirety, odds are you've at least heard of its legendary drum fill.
00:40But despite all of its critical praise, the song has been surrounded by strange urban myths
00:46and unexpected controversy since its release.
00:49One of the legends surrounding it was that Collins allegedly based its lyrics on someone drowning.
00:54The artist himself denied this rumor, although it became so widespread that Eminem even referenced
00:59it in his 2000 single, Stan.
01:02You know the song by Phil Collins from the air in the night about that guy who could have
01:06saved that other guy from drowning but didn't?
01:08Then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him.
01:10But the song was flagged twice.
01:12First by the BBC during the 1991 Gulf War, along with 66 others deemed inappropriate.
01:19In 2001, U.S. media company Clear Channel Communications included it on a post-9-11 advisory among songs
01:26that stations might not want to play.
01:29I've seen your face before, my friend.
01:33Number 19.
01:35Lola.
01:36The Kinks.
01:48A song about someone outside conventional gender norms?
01:53Three guesses why it was deemed controversial in 1970.
01:56Lola centers around a man's feelings for a mysterious woman, widely interpreted as transgender.
02:08In the UK, the Kinks brushed off criticism, with Ray Davies saying in a Record Mirror interview
02:14that it really doesn't matter what sex Lola is.
02:17I think she's alright.
02:19But that wasn't why it was banned.
02:21Instead, it was flagged because of a lyric mentioning Coca-Cola, which violated the BBC's
02:26product placement policy, forcing Davies to fly from New York to London just to re-record
02:32the line as...
02:33Sherry Cola.
02:34On the other hand, the song was indeed banned in multiple Australian stations because of
02:39its controversial subject matter.
02:48Number 18.
02:50If You Seek Amy.
02:51Britney Spears.
03:00It might not seem like it at first, but this song hides a pretty sneaky double entendre.
03:06Don't believe us?
03:07Try saying each word out loud, and you'll get the idea.
03:11I just wanna go to the party, she gon' go.
03:14Can somebody take me home?
03:16Ha-ha-hee-hee-ha-ha-ho.
03:18The Parents Television and Media Council definitely did, threatening to file indecency complaints
03:23with the FCC to prevent the song from being heard by children.
03:26Controversy followed Amy around the world, too, most notably in Australia.
03:31Similar complaints were reported by parents, with some claiming they were horrified and
03:35deceived by the song.
03:36Ultimately, a compromise was reached in the United States when some stations began playing
03:41an edited version called If You See Amy.
03:44In Australia, stations ranged from refusing to air it to playing the censored version or
03:50broadcasting the original.
03:52All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to If You Seek Amy.
03:56Number 17.
03:57I Can't Get No Satisfaction.
04:00The Rolling Stones.
04:02As you can probably guess by the title, this Rolling Stones classic refers to a lack of
04:07amorous activity.
04:08The song was initially prohibited from wide broadcast in the UK, only playing on pirate
04:14stations.
04:15Its suggestive lyrics weren't just a problem at home, either.
04:23While the track debuted on ABC's variety show Shindig, it was only allowed on air after
04:29one of its more suggestive lyrics was censored.
04:38But the song proved too popular to ignore, as massive audience reception eventually led
04:43to its acceptance across markets.
04:45Looking back, controversy seems to have had the opposite effect, with Mick Jagger acknowledging
04:51that the song changed us from just another band into a huge monster band.
05:04Number 16.
05:06Like a Prayer.
05:07Madonna.
05:08Its use in Deadpool and Wolverine served as a revival to modern-day audiences.
05:14But back in the day, Like a Prayer did more than raise a few eyebrows.
05:18Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone.
05:27With thematic imagery surrounding race and religion, Madonna found herself in hot water worldwide.
05:32Soon enough, the American Family Association and the Vatican condemned it.
05:37You know, a song's controversial when the Pope himself urges people to avoid it.
05:48Pepsi also faced mass boycotts for using the song in its marketing campaign.
05:53As a result, the song was heavily restricted in multiple markets, and Madonna's contract
05:58with Pepsi was canceled.
06:00It would take years until the backlash fully subsided with Like a Prayer now seen as Madonna's
06:05ascension from pop star to boundary-pushing artist.
06:17Number 15.
06:18Love to Love You Baby.
06:20Donna Summer.
06:21In all honesty, this disco track focuses less on lyrics and more on, shall we say, sounds
06:27of pleasure.
06:37While justifying its ban, the BBC cited at least 23 moans and gasps from Donna Summer as the
06:44reason.
06:49Summer initially agreed just to record a demo, but was convinced by composer Giorgio Marauder
06:56to release it as her own single.
06:58Along with facing bans in multiple markets and radio stations, Summer was also on the
07:03receiving end of crude and inappropriate questions from journalists.
07:07The singer weathered through this time, however, and Love to Love You Baby emerged as her defining
07:12hit.
07:12In retrospect, it's interesting how a controversial single turned Summer into the queen of disco
07:19we know today.
07:23Number 14.
07:24This note's for you.
07:26Neil Young.
07:41Rather than anything too salacious for audiences, Neil Young's spoof track simply rubbed big
07:48names the wrong way.
07:49A satire of the industry, Young takes direct aim at the likes of Whitney Houston, Michael
07:55Jackson, and even the canine spuds McKenzie.
07:58Intended as a shot at the industry's commercialization, the singer incorporated brand names directly into
08:04the track's lyrics.
08:05The results?
08:21A band from MTV refusing to air the video on any of its channels worldwide.
08:27The channel cited concerns over possible likeness issues, but when Canada's MuchMusic found
08:32success airing the song, MTV reversed course, even nominating This Note's for You at that
08:38year's Video Music Awards for Best Video of the Year.
08:42Looks like money doesn't just talk, it sings too.
08:45There's no distance, there's no distance for you.
08:52Number 13.
08:54Brown-Eyed Girl, Van Morrison.
08:58Lovin' and a-runnin', yeah, yeah.
09:01Skippin' and a-jumpin' in the...
09:03Known as an anthem for those nostalgic for first loves and simpler times, Brown-Eyed Girl speaks
09:10to listeners across generations, but its original message may have been far more progressive.
09:16Hey, where did we go?
09:19Days when the rains came
09:21Initially titled Brown-Skinned Girl, the song is believed to have hinted at an interracial
09:27relationship.
09:28However, that wasn't the reason why it didn't make it to certain airwaves.
09:32Instead, controversy rose from the lyric, Making Love in the Green Grass, which some radio stations
09:38found too bold.
09:38It was only after Van Morrison replaced the line with a more wholesome, radio-friendly
09:43alternative that the song was welcomed back.
09:46The toned-down track remained Brown-Eyed Girl's definitive version for years, until the original
09:51finally resurfaced in wider circulation.
09:53And you, my brown-eyed girl.
09:57Number 12.
09:59Cop Killer, Body Counts.
10:02This next record is dedicated to some personal friends of mine.
10:06The LAPD.
10:07Do we really need to explain why this song sparked an outcry?
10:11Well, we'll tell you anyway.
10:13He plays a cop on Law & Order SVU, but back in 1992, Ice-T faced significant bad press for
10:20this highly controversial track.
10:21Be your night, long-ass night, your neck looks shit's right, dread the bump in.
10:29With graphic lyrics behind its anti-police brutality message, even President George H.W.
10:35Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle publicly condemned Cop Killer.
10:39The buzz spread across the world, all the way to New Zealand, where officials attempted to have
10:44Body Count themselves banned from performing.
10:46Warner Bros. Records executives reportedly received death threats, and Ice-T ultimately
10:51left the label, choosing to remove the song from the album.
10:54Decades on, the studio version has never been released.
10:58A reminder of just how explosive the backlash was.
11:03Number 11.
11:05Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
11:07The Beatles
11:09Picture yourself in a boat on a river
11:14Not all Beatles songs are crowd-pleasing like Hey Jude.
11:18Some, like Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, are meant to be provocative and thought-provoking.
11:22Even before its release, the song's acronym drew speculation over its supposed relation
11:27to substance use disorder.
11:29Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes if she's gone
11:35Despite the group's insisting otherwise, claims persisted.
11:39Although the BBC treated it with caution and limited airplay, insiders and industry experts
11:44have repeatedly debated over allegations of an official ban.
11:48However, Clear Channel Communications in the U.S. did include it on its post-9-11 advisory
11:53list, reconfirming the song's dubious reputation as part of its overall legacy.
11:59See in the sky with Diamonds
12:02Number 10.
12:04Highway to Hell
12:05ACDC
12:14Some of the songs on our list today may surprise you with their inclusion.
12:19The rowdy Australian hard rocker's love-hate letter to touring, though?
12:22Probably not a shocker.
12:24Written by Bon Scott alongside Angus and Malcolm Young, this iconic barn burner was intended
12:30to reflect the band's experiences on the road and the grueling nature of life as a traveling
12:36musician.
12:44However, Highway to Hell and its album of the same title were met with instant controversy
12:50in the United States over the song's supposed implementation of secret satanic messages.
12:56Years later, Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, added Highway to Hell to a
13:02list of songs discouraged from being played on U.S. radio stations.
13:07Highway to Hell
13:10Highway to Hell
13:14Number 9.
13:15Relax
13:16Frankie Goes to Hollywood
13:24This British synth-pop new wave outfit garnered massive backlash in the early 1980s as a
13:31direct result of their out-and-proud focus on LGBTQ-plus themes and issues in their music.
13:38Their debut single and signature song, Relax, was a shock to the system to the BBC and the
13:43British public as a whole.
13:51The song's suggestive marketing didn't do poor Frankie any favors, and in January 1984,
13:58Radio 1 DJ Mike Reed personally banned Relax from BBC Airwaves, a decision echoed and supported by BBC
14:06management. Despite its lack of UK radio airplay, Relax stayed in the country's top 40 chart for 37
14:13straight weeks.
14:22Number 8.
14:23The Pill
14:24Loretta Lynn
14:25Speaking up about touchy social issues in one's art is almost never going to be a massively popular cause. Just
14:39ask country legend Loretta Lynn, whose bold 1975
14:42single single The Pill espoused the benefits of birth control pills for women.
14:47All these years I've stayed at home while you had all your fun.
14:52Although such contraceptive methods had been legal in the United States long before the song's release, the then
14:59recently established women's liberation movement brought this and other women's issues to the forefront of the cultural conversation.
15:06Although a number of American country radio stations refused to play The Pill, its surrounding controversy brought Lynn a great
15:14deal of attention and the admiration of rural physicians who thanked the singer-songwriter for demonstrating the positive effects of
15:22contraceptives.
15:29Number 7.
15:30God Only Knows
15:31The Beach Boys
15:37Remember a little earlier when we said that you may be surprised by some of our inclusions on this list?
15:44Yeah, this is one of them.
15:45For our 21st century ears, it may be hard to fathom how one of the purest love songs ever recorded
15:51could arouse the ire of censors.
15:54The world could show nothing to me So what good would living do mean?
16:01Well, it's all due to one simple word, God.
16:04At the time of the song's release in 1966, the word was still considered generally untouchable,
16:11and record labels knew better than to challenge the public with potential blasphemy.
16:16Similarly to The Pill, radio stations in the American South reportedly banned God Only Knows over its lyrical content.
16:29Number 6.
16:31Another Brick in the Wall
16:32Part 2.
16:33Pink Floyd
16:34We don't need no education
16:41This song and its accompanying album, The Wall, has been acclaimed as some of the greatest of their respective kinds
16:48in rock history.
16:49Taking the baton passed to them by the Beatles in terms of opening up the studio to new possibilities, Pink
16:55Floyd also used The Wall as a way to emphasize their socio-political leanings.
17:08Another Brick in the Wall
17:10Another Brick in the Wall, in particular, serves as a searing indictment of corporal punishment and oppressive institutions.
17:16So pointed and powerful were its lyrics that the song was banned in South Africa.
17:22According to a 1980 New York Times article, demonstrators against the country's apartheid regime adopted it as their marching song
17:30during outbursts of political unrest that have swept South Africa.
17:41Number 5.
17:43Strange Fruit
17:44Billie Holiday
17:54Holiday's biggest-selling recording, the banning of Strange Fruit by southern radio stations, is yet another case of politically-minded
18:02censorship.
18:03An anti-lynching protest song that decried the horrific hate crimes at the turn of the 20th century, Strange Fruit
18:10was shocking, unsparring, and most of all, deeply important.
18:14Blood on the leaves, and blood at the root
18:22Said Liz Fields for PBS's American Masters, Holiday's revolutionary song irked the conservative U.S. government at a time when
18:30it was starting to crack down on suspected communists in the entertainment industry and beyond.
18:36In fact, Federal Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner Harry Anslinger framed Holiday for purchasing heroin after she refused to stop performing
18:44the legendary civil rights anthem.
18:46Strange Fruit remains Holiday's signature song and an anti-racism hymn for the ages.
18:52Strange Fruit hanging from the poplar trees
19:21Strange Fruit
19:29Number 4.
19:36Strange Fruit
19:39Strange Fruit
19:39Strange Fruit
19:48for its perceived distasteful nature.
19:51The Pistols ultimately won out,
19:53and God Save the Queen hit number one on the UK's NME charts.
20:033. Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine
20:07Rap-rock provocateurs Rage were never exactly known for keeping a low profile.
20:18The first single off of their self-titled debut album, Killing in the Name,
20:23finds the band raging against police brutality.
20:25The topic was particularly spotlighted in the wake of the brutal 1992 Los Angeles riots,
20:31as a result of the videotaped beating of unarmed black man Rodney King.
20:43In no uncertain terms, the band puts the Los Angeles Police Department
20:47and military-industrial complex on blast,
20:51even comparing the LAPD to the Ku Klux Klan.
20:54Due to the song's explicit lyrics and heavy political content,
20:57Killing in the Name was banned by American radio,
21:00and its video by the American arm of MTV.
21:092. War Pigs, Black Sabbath
21:19Another victim of the post-9-11 Clear Channel memorandum,
21:23the British metal icon's classic anti-war tune
21:26is a darkly ironic choice for censorship.
21:29The song chastises the titular War Pigs,
21:32or members of the ruling class,
21:34who send the poor to fight their battles.
21:44said bassist Geezer Butler,
21:47War Pigs wasn't about politics or government or anything,
21:51it was evil itself.
21:52So I was saying generals gathered in the masses,
21:56just like witches at black masses,
21:58to make an analog.
21:59As such, it was considered too disturbing for radio play
22:03in the aftermath of September 11th.
22:05Ironic, because of its tragic relevance
22:08to the then-upcoming war on terror.
22:11Our logicians ride their tails away
22:14They only started their own war
22:28Before we continue,
22:30check out this single from Sound Mojo's album current,
22:33EDM Transformed.
22:34Check out the full track and album below.
22:511. Imagine John Lennon
22:54Imagine there's no heaven
22:59This is one that's going to take a bit of explaining.
23:03After all, what could possibly be so objectionable
23:07about a song that calls for world peace
23:10and an end to war?
23:11As it turns out, quite a lot actually.
23:14Imagine upset religious groups who took issues
23:17with its call to conceive of a world
23:19without organized religion.
23:24Said Lennon,
23:26anti-religious, anti-nationalistic,
23:29anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic,
23:31but because it is sugar-coated,
23:34it is accepted.
23:35For the reasons listed above,
23:37it was included in the aforementioned
23:38Clear Channel Memorandum.
23:40While the list was not an outright ban,
23:43but rather a list of discouraging suggestions,
23:46the inclusion of Imagine only serves to highlight
23:48how ridiculous and selective
23:50the memorandum's reasoning was.
24:00Are there any other band songs
24:02that come to mind?
24:04Let us know in the comments.
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