They Banned My Band! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Radio Radio

Within seconds of starting 'Less Than Zero', a song about British fascist Oswald Mosley, Costello ordered the band to stop playing and said to the audience, "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there's no reason to do this song here." The band then played 'Radio Radio' instead, to the shock of both the record company and the 'Saturday Night Live' producers. 'Radio Radio' was originally known as 'Radio Soul', but Costello revamped it as a dig at the commercialisation of British radio, in response to the BBC attempting to censor the Sex Pistols' 'G-d Save the Queen'. Costello said afterwards that he was inspired to suddenly change tack by Jimi Hendrix, who had stopped midway through a 1969 TV performance of 'Hey Joe', denounced it as 'rubbish' and played Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love' instead. Producer Lorne Michaels allegedly flipped the band off all the way through the song, though Costello refused to say either way if it was true. Costello was banned from the show until 1989. Ten years later, he referenced the original moment by invading the Beastie Boys' performance of 'Sabotage' and singing 'Radio Radio' with them backing him.

Answer: Bjork

Proclaiming support for Tibet and/or interacting with the Dalai Lama is one way to get yourself banned from China, as many musicians have found out the hard way. One of these was Björk, who played Shanghai in 2008 and was subsequently banned from playing in China after she chanted 'Tibet! Tibet!' during 'Declare Independence'.

The song was originally written about Greenland and the Faroe Islands, both of whom are subjects of Denmark like Björk's homeland of Iceland once was, but Björk has also dedicated it to other places and people, such as Catalonia and indigenous Australians.

When she performed the song, fans left the venue quickly and the Chinese government subsequently announced that any foreign musicians who 'threatened national sovereignty' would be banned.

Other musicians banned in China include Oasis, due to Noel Gallagher performing at a 'Free Tibet' concert; Lady Gaga, after posting a photo of her meeting the Dalai Lama; and Maroon 5 had Chinese gigs pulled when keyboard player Jesse Carmichael wished the Dalai Lama a happy birthday on Twitter.

Answer: True

Yes, this happened - when the Kinks played in the USA, they fell foul of the American Federation of Musicians. They toured there in 1965 and got off to a bad start when promoter Betty Kaye was unable to pay them in cash as promised, due to poor ticket sales.

In response, the band shortened their Reno setlist and spent most of the Sacramento gig playing an extended version of 'You Really Got Me'. They then threatened to cancel their San Francisco gig unless they were paid in advance. Ray Davies also got into a fight with a staff member on 'The Dick Cavett Show', who accused the band of being late and made anti-English comments, calling them 'commie wimps'. Kaye complained to the American Federation of Musicians, who took action against the Kinks by withholding permits and banning them from playing in the USA for four years.

This had a negative effect on their career in the USA as by the time they returned in 1969, people had moved on.

Answer: Iran

After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, female singers were banned from performing in Iran. Among these was singer and actress Faegheh Atashin, aka Googoosh, who became iconic for her short skirts and hairdos which were emulated by young Iranian women in the '70s.

At the time of the revolution, Googoosh had returned to Iran from the USA, saying she missed her homeland. Although her song 'My Dear, Lovable Sir' became an anthem for the revolution, with some interpreting it as a song of support for Ayatollah Khomeini, the Ayatollah himself was not impressed and banned her from performing, while all her music and merchandise was destroyed, though some people managed to smuggle in tapes. Googoosh moved to Canada in 2000 and toured that same year, with her final date in Dubai to mark Nowruz, the Iranian New Year; the majority of her audience there consisted of Iranians who had travelled across the border to see her.

Answer: The lyrics were too violent and some people associated it with the murder of James Bulger.

The lyrics of 'Disarm' are open to interpretation. Some people interpreted it as being about abortion, due to the line 'Cut that little child/Inside of me and such a part of you' and 'The killer in me is the killer in you'. The BBC ban was partly because of the abortion connotations, but also because of the horrific murder of James Bulger, a toddler from Liverpool, in 1993.

The lyrics were seen as being too close to home, although the song was not about the case; singer Billy Corgan stated that it was about his relationship with his parents, and wrote 'Today', which he dubbed his 'suicide anthem', around the same time.

In any case, to avoid offence, the BBC banned the Smashing Pumpkins from performing it on 'Top of the Pops', although the band were not banned permanently and returned three years later to perform 'Tonight, Tonight'.

The song also received little airplay on British radio.

Answer: Brazil

Caetano Veloso was part of the Tropicalismo musical movement of the '60s, a Brazilian artistic movement that combined traditional Brazilian and African music with American and British pop and rock. Musicians involved with the movement faced criticism from both the right-wing Brazilian establishment for their left-wing political beliefs, and from the Marxist student contingent for commercialising traditional Brazilian music. Several of Veloso's songs were either banned or censored by the authorities, and both he and Gilberto Gil, a fellow Tropicalista, were arrested and imprisoned in 1969 for three months.

After a further four months under house arrest, they were told that they would only be released if they left the country. Both musicians went to live in London, where Gil discovered reggae, which subsequently influenced his music. Veloso returned to Brazil in 1972, along with Gil, but still has a large following outside the country; he has won several Latin Grammy Awards.

Answer: Drove a car into the hotel swimming pool

Keith Moon did indeed enjoy throwing cherry bombs down hotel toilets, and The Who were repeatedly kicked out of hotels because of it, but that wasn't the main incident that got him and the band banned from the Holiday Inn and, subsequently, from playing in the city of Flint. Moon was celebrating his 21st birthday on 23rd August 1967 when The Who were staying there.

In an interview with 'Rolling Stone', which (rather irritatingly) wrote Moon's accent out phonetically, Moon told the story of what happened: The Who had been supporting Herman's Hermits, who were staying in the same hotel, and Moon had been drinking since 10am.

A drum company presented him with a giant cake, which ended up all over the place when Moon started a food fight with it.

The police were called and Moon, who was in his underwear, ran off and got into the first car he found, a Lincoln Continental, and released the handbrake. The car slid down a hill, through a fence and into the hotel pool. Moon emerged from the pool to find the police waiting for him and, while trying to escape, he slipped on some cake and broke his front tooth.

He was taken into custody and treated by a dentist, who was unable to give Moon anaesthetic as he was too drunk. The Who caused $24,000 worth of damage and were subsequently banned from all Holiday Inns, and from playing in Flint in future.

Answer: Malaysia

The strict Islamic Malaysian authorities are not big fans of metal. In 2015, Carcass were due to tour Malaysia, but had to pull out when the authorities refused to grant them a permit. The Scouse metallers released a statement, saying, "Sorry Malaysia, no show for you guys in May. Seems like your government officials still haven't updated their calendars to the 21st century - we've had our visas declined on the basis of our 'lyrical content'. Laughable and embarrassing. Give us a call when you get yourselves a sensible secular state." In a PS, they also pointed out that they had previously played at Kuching in Borneo in 2014, and the authorities were 'too late'.

Other bands who've been banned from Malaysia include Lamb of G-d, who were banned from there in 2013 as the authorities considered their music to be blasphemous; Mayhem, who were banned in 2005 for supposedly promoting devil worship; and Megadeth, who were banned in 2001, with their music being removed from shops. Beyonce was also banned from performing there because her costumes were felt to be too sexy.

Answer: Light My Fire

While the Doors did perform 'People Are Strange' when they appeared on 'The Ed Sullivan Show', the music show which brought the Beatles fame and fortune in the USA, it was 'Light My Fire' that got them into hot water. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek was surprised that the Doors were invited on the show, as they weren't the sort of band usually featured, and only found out while he was watching it with his wife and Sullivan announced that the Doors would be on it the following week. 'Light My Fire' features the line 'girl, we couldn't get much higher', which the producers of the show considered to be a drug reference.

They asked Morrison to sing 'better' instead of 'higher', so as not to offend their audience. Morrison refused to change the lyric. Sullivan did not shake the band's hands and instead cut to the commercial, while the enraged producers told the Doors that they would never be allowed on the show again. (If you watch the footage of the performance, you'll see guitarist Robby Krieger smiling cheekily at the camera after Morrison sings the line.)

Answer: Mike Read

A little controversy, as Frankie Goes to Hollywood found out, is not always a bad thing. The promotion campaign for the song, speared by ZTT co-head Paul Morley, featured plenty of saucy double entendres and dancer Paul Rutherford in a sailor hat and leather vest (both Rutherford and singer Holly Johnson were openly gay).

Although the song first charted in the UK at Number 67, it climbed up the charts and was at Number 35 by the time Frankie Goes to Hollywood appeared on 'Top of the Pops' in 1984. Radio 1 DJ Mike Read announced on his show that he would not play the song, as he disapproved of the lyrics and the suggestive cover art, and the BBC also banned it. Far from hurting Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the ban did the opposite; the song rocketed to Number Two, then Number One, and stayed there for five weeks. During that time, instead of the usual performance by the Number One artist at the end of the show, another artist would perform instead.

The ban was lifted later in 1984, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood appeared on the Christmas Day special of 'Top of the Pops'.

The song spent a total of 52 weeks in the Top 75 singles.