22 musicians whose videos were banned or censored
Queen, Nine Inch Nails, Björk, and other A-list artists all had videos that were deemed untouchable because of sexual content, violence, or disturbing imagery
Music Features Adam Jones
Controversy can often be good for musician’s career, especially when they’re making statements that rile up the establishment and rally fans around them. The BBC, MTV, and other networks have banned or censored music videos by musicians because of the images they contained or the statements they made. Oftentimes, there is an inherent hypocrisy in the way that censors decide what they’re going to allow people to see. It seems like cartoon sex and violence is more acceptable than anything realistic, and sometimes tackling hot topics that upset the status quo can make executives nervous.
Over the last four decades, especially during the 1980s and 1990s when music videos had an outsized influence on popular culture, it’s been interesting to see what sets people off. The following list looks at artists who produced music videos that were censored, taken off of the air (at least for a certain time period) or, in some cases, permanently banned. While the varied reasons for those restrictions might seem absolutely benign today, other videos on this list still might get certain individuals into trouble. Rock on!
51 Comments
No Relax? Holly Johnson’s view is that it was seeing the video that caused Mike Read and the BBC to interpret the lyrics in a way that got the song (temporarily and, as it turned out, highly profitably) banned.
Wasn’t the Two Tribes video also banned? At least for awhile?
I don’t think it was banned, but it may not have aired in primetime.
They very quickly released a version of the song with the lyrics changed from “when you want to come” to “when you want to have fun.” Once that happened, the song (and hence the video) was deemed suitable for broadcast, and it was, for weeks and weeks, if I recall correctly.
You recall it incorrectly.
For a while, a song being banned by the BBC was a sign that it was probably a good song. Wikipedia has a very long list of banned songs.
The three-part story, written and directed by Bartholomew CubbinsYou know that’s just Jared Leto, right? It’s a character from an old picture book series that he uses as a pen name.
Jared Leto using a Dr Seuss character as a pen name is the most Jared Leto thing possible.
I would say starting a cult made up exclusively of young women who worship him is the most Jared Leto thing possible. But this is second.
I thought this was Bartholomew Cubbins?
If we were going purely on name then yes, that would be a fair guess.
Of all the people who have been the voice of the Grinch I will say that he was one of them
at least it wasn’t holden caulfield.
“I direct our videos under a pseudonym; a lot of people don’t know that,” he announces every chance he gets. God, what a pretentious asshat.
Holy FUCK, he *CAN* get more insufferable!
Didn’t the original video for BYOB by System of a Down have an animated section featuring George W, Bin Ladin, and Tony Blair all happily riding nuclear bombs together and was subsequently banned from MTV? Or is this some weird Mandela Effect and this version of the video never existed?
Right band, wrong song. It’s “Boom!” at about the 2:15 mark:
Riiiiiiight! Wow I haven’t listened to this song in a minute. Thanks a lot for this!
Heart – You’re The Voice – too politicalVixen – Love Is A Killer – too violentGuns N’ Roses – Welcome To The Jungle – almost didn’t air because of the police brutality and riot clips from news coverage. It was snuck on at 4am and blew up.
Wait, Heart covered Farnsy?Holy shit.
sidenote: i think their video for ‘all i wanna do’ was banned as well.
You want censored? Can’t even find the videoclip for TISM’s “I Might Be A Cunt, But I’m Not A Fucking Cunt” online, not even on Dailymotion:That still on the single cover is as close as you’re gonna get.
I just remember “This Note’s For You” from being played on ALtv, where they’d let Weird Al run a special for a couple hours and play music videos you’d pretty much never see otherwise.I’m pretty sure I still have it on VHS somewhere.
They did not mention it, but I thought he took a shot at Clapton’s beer commercial as well in that video.
“The video was banned on MTV because religious groups mistakenly took it as being anti-Christian—it was actually about people who profiteer from religious zealotry….” Oh, I don’t know, from that description, this might be the rare instance where the protestors and the band were actually in complete agreement.
Van Halen “Pretty Woman” was the first banned video I remember as a boy.
The funny thing about Prison Sex is that while sure Tool does say it’s about the cycle of trauma and abuse, but if you really listen to the lyrics, it’s about prison sex.
i was just reading about when that tune came out. i guess the record company decided that in order to promote the single, they would send out promo kiddie tshirts to the radio stations. yep, kiddie t-shirts. with the band’s very phallic logo. to promote “prison sex.”
That Girls on Film video is such the epitome of early 80s videos that typically made little to no sense but had interesting visuals.
Queen – I want to Break FreeAh yes, the video where more than a few came to the conclusion that Roger Taylor made a cute schoolgirl.Ain’t no shame…dude has some good legs in stockings.
What did I learn from this? The US is weirdly, deeply, weird and awkward about sex in all its forms and that isn’t going to change anytime soon
When your country is initially settled, largely, by religious puritans, what do you expect might happen to a society?
It took this for you to figure that out?
Britain too, by European standards, but not as much as the US when broadcast networks still ruled the roost, for sure. The UK had much stricter rules about what violence could be shown on TV, though. I can’t remember which show it was now, but it was one where the vast majority of episodes were deemed fist for viewing early evening (i.e. suitable for kids) but they banned an episode from being seen at that time because it involved a not particularly graphic stabbing. Mind you, The A-Team was okay — I guess because nobody ever actually got shot…
Y’all included a link to a partial version of the Prodigy video. Only shows the first minute.
While the song does nothing for me, the “Rock DJ” video is kind of fun… a meat man ripping himself apart joyously? Why not!
The MTV version of the video for REM’s “Pop Song 89″ features Michael Stipe and 3 female models dancing topless with black bars obscuring their nipples. Originally the black bars were only used on the women but Stipe insisted if their nipples had to be censored than so did his.
As opposed to the banned for violence/nudity The Police’s Invisible Sun was banned by the BBC as the video contained clips of violence and unrest in Northern Ireland .
No mention of Jeremy by Pearl Jam?
I remember watching that a lot on MTV.
Yup. They didn’t ban the video, they made them change/cut short the ending. If I recall correctly, the original made it clear that Jeremy shoots himself. MTV forced them to leave the ending vague.
They didn’t ban the video, they made them change/cut short the ending. If I recall correctly, the original made it clear that Jeremy shoots himself. MTV forced them to leave the ending vague.
Didnt know Young was racist?
One of the freakier things about the Nine Inch Nails happiness in slavery video is that its star, bob flanagan, was a professional masochist performance artist. It really blurs the line of which violence is real and which isn’t (beyond the more obviously fatal stuff)
I feel like there might have been other reasons why Queen disappeared for a bit in the mid to late 80s that aren’t quite related to that video.
I either didn’t know MIA was anti-vaxx or I did and repressed it. Either way, what a fuckin’ bummer, man.
I think MuchMusic ended up airing most of these, but they did have an occasional show called Too Much For Much? which would ostensibly show you the videos they couldn’t otherwise show you. They got like a minute into “Happiness Is Slavery”. I’m not sure there were more than two or three episodes of TMFM.
They did. I used to watch that show. It was the only time you watch Ministry’s Just One Fix. Which this article left off the list.
I rented a Duran Duran video compilation when I was maaaaaybe 9 or 10. When “Girls on Film” came on, I stopped the tape and found my dad to ask if it was okay for women to be nude in a movie, to which he replied with the classic “As long as it serves the story, son.” On that day, I became a man.
The unedited video of “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood was too hot for MTV and might still make some homophobes blanche.
Ministry. Just One Fix