Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/9-songs-banned-from-the-radio-that-became-even-bigger-hits/
Radio programmers have spent decades deciding what’s too much for public ears, and artists have spent just as long proving them wrong. Every so often a station or a national broadcaster pulls a track, only to watch it climb the charts anyway, sometimes because of the ban rather than despite it. The following nine songs all ran into trouble with radio gatekeepers at some point, yet each one ended up bigger, louder, and more remembered than it likely would have been if nobody had bothered to object.
1. Sex Pistols, “God Save the Queen” (1977)
Released right in the middle of Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee celebrations, this snarling punk anthem was never going to slip by quietly. On May 31, 1977, the song earned a total ban on radio airplay from the BBC, a move that might signal the kiss of death for a normal pop single but instead proved a powerful endorsement. Major retailers refused to stock it, and the band even got arrested after trying to play the song from a boat on the Thames.
Four weeks after release, the track peaked at number two in the UK, losing out on the top spot to Rod Stewart’s double A side single, despite being blacklisted from BBC airplay and blocked by several major retailers. Fans have long suspected the chart was manipulated to keep the Sex Pistols away from number one during a royal celebration. The song finally got its moment decades…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-08-05 08:37:00
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