3 Classic Rock Songs From the 1960s Banned by the BBC

Rock and roll music wasn’t for everyone. In fact, that was the point of the sound. It was meant to be rebellious. Rock musicians shirk the conventions of the time and create new ones. They wanted to bust up social norms as often as they busted up their guitars and amplifiers. But sometimes the powers that were—including the BBC—thought some rock songs crossed a line.

Videos by American Songwriter

Whether it was the subject matter, the sound, or innuendo, there were some major songs from some major artists that were banned upon their release. The tracks below represent three such examples. Prepare yourself for three classic rock songs from the 1960s that were banned by the BBC!

“A Day In The Life” by The Beatles from ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ (1967)

At a time when many were experimenting with drugs, The Beatles were no different. And so they wrote psychedelic, strange songs that were devoured by their young fans. But even the songs that didn’t have direct drug references were questioned by certain authorities. This track was banned by the BBC because of a lyric from Paul McCartney. He sings “found my way upstairs and had a smoke” and “I’d love to turn you on“. Seems like they crossed a line, despite being vague enough.

“My Generation” by The Who from ‘My Generation’ (1965)

Unlike some other tracks of the day, The Who’s classic hit “My Generation” wasn’t banned from radio for any offensive subject matter—nothing about the Pope, Communism, the devil, or anything like that. Instead, the BBC banned the song originally because the company thought it could be offensive to stutterers. Inspired in part by John Lee Hooker’s “Stuttering Blues”, The Who’s lead vocalist Roger Daltrey sings as if stuttering at some point on the track. But it wasn’t meant to be mean-spirited. It was just a sonic touch. Later, the BBC rescinded its ban. For a while, though, it stood.

“Space Oddity” by David Bowie from ‘David Bowie (Space Oddity)’ (1969)

This song was released with great and poor timing. On the one hand, space was on everyone’s minds at the time. America was about the land on the moon on July 16, 1969. And as a result, after this tune was released just a handful of days before that, radio stations like the BBC decided not to play it until American astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins had returned home and landed back on Earth. Better safe than sorry, it would seem.

Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images