4 Classic Rock Bands That Were Banned From Entire Countries

Classic rock bands are often associated with their music as much as their legal troubles, drug use, and overall rock star drama. However, on rare occasions is a rock band straight-up banned from entire countries. That’s what happened to the following biggest bands of the 20th century. Some of the reasons behind their banishments are understandable, while others are just plain silly. Let’s take a look!

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Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin was famously banned from the country of Singapore in the 1970s. The reason? Apparently, the country had a strict law banning long hair on men. And we all know what kind of hairdos Led Zeppelin (and, honestly, most people in the 70s) were boasting. The band was supposed to play in the country back in 1972, but because of their long, wild, curly rock star hairstyles, they weren’t allowed to leave their plane after arriving and were promptly sent packing.

The Rolling Stones

This is probably the most famous instance of classic rock bands getting banned from entire nations. The Rolling Stones were no strangers to controversy, and one such controversy took place in 1973. The Stones were set to visit Japan for the first time and play a few sets there. Unfortunately, The Stones wouldn’t be able to play in the country until decades later, in 1990. That’s because Japan had strict laws on drug convictions. And due to Mick Jagger’s previous run-ins with the law when it came to drugs, Japan banned The Stones from playing there.

The Beatles

We all know about how Paul McCartney got banned from Japan for sneaking drugs into the country post-Beatles. However, The Beatles once got banned from a different country for different reasons. The Fab Four were banned in 1964 from performing in Israel, namely because the government believed that they would negatively impact and influence young people in the country. This was at the height of Beatlemania, and the government likely did want to cause mass hysteria by allowing the band’s mere presence in their country.

The Kinks

This entry on our list of classic rock bands that were banned from whole countries got the boot from the United States back in the day. The Kinks were banned from the US after a pretty rough battle with their management, promoters, and insurance companies following their rowdy shows. They made the wrong people mad, and after they toured once in the US in 1965, the American Federation of Musicians did not give The Kinks a permit to tour the country for four years.

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