“Anarchy in the U.K.” by The Sex Pistols
By the time the English punk band disbanded in 1978, the Sex Pistols had been banned from radio, television, and live performances, as well as rejected by two different record labels. EMI dropped them for using obscenity during a live TV broadcast, while A&M dropped them after only six days. Too hot to handle and with nowhere else to go, renowned punks Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten of the Pistols carried their show to the United States. It unraveled in San Francisco. They made only one studio album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols,” which was released in 1977. Its debut release was “Anarchy in the U.K.” The violent, anti-government character of the song compelled the band to postpone the release of the rest of the album for a year. “God Save the Queen” was also prohibited from radio, yet it still reached No. 1 in the British charts.
Anarchy In The U.K. By The Sex Pistols
“Johnny Remember Me” by John Leyton
John Leyton’s song “Johnny Remember Me” was released in 1961. The song fit into the popular genre of the time known as “death ditties.” These death-pop songs, as popular as the bell-bottom craze of the 1960s, incorporated horrific love-and-loss storylines in pop music, which youths enjoyed. The phenomenon concerned the expurgators. (Would those critics have also outlawed Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”?) The BBC has banned “Johnny Remember Me.” Nonetheless, it peaked at No. 1 on the UK singles chart and sold more than 500,000 copies. Artist — one; censors — zero.
Johnny Remember Me By John Leyton
