Monster Mash Obscene in Britain?

[Jim_B]

This comes from something I once heard a long time ago. I think I was still in grade school or high school in fact. And I was watching tv. The anouncer said the 1962 cult classic song “Monster Mash” was declared obscene in Britain! Is this true? And on what grounds did they do this?

Understand since this comes from my past, I have no other references to give. And in case any of you think I lost my marbles with this one, let me say ahead of time that since it was so long ago, I “might” be remembering what I heard inaccurately:).

Thank you in advance to all who reply:)

[seodoa]

Monster Mash [del]Obscene[/del] Obnoxious in Britain?

Fixed.

And, yes, it is obnoxious in Britain. It is just about equally obnoxious no matter where you are. Unless you are considering relative obnoxiousness, then, I suppose, in, say, France it would just sort of blend in with everything else.

[Wendell_Wagner]

Yes, it was banned in the U.K.:

Monster Mash

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Too morbid for 1962?

Must have been the same guy who said that guitar-based bands were on their way out.

[King_Solomon_Hill]

It was banned by the BBC, i.e wasn’t given airplay on their TV/radio programmes, not outright legally banned.

[RealityChuck]

Considering the fact that the Bonzo Dog Band performed their superior version on Do Not Adjust Your Set in 1967 – considered a children’s show – it’s unlikely it was completly banned. The show was on ITV, not BBC, though.

[Chez_Guevara]

@Exapno_Mapcase

Too morbid for 1962?

Must have been the same guy who said that guitar-based bands were on their way out.

Another song from that era that attracted some controversy in the morbidity department was Tell Laura I Love Her.

Decca Records declined to release Ray Peterson’s version on the grounds of taste or, more accurately, the lack of it. Wikipedia* informs that the company binned 20,000 pressed copies in its battle against lyrical impropriety. Welsh crooner Ricky Valance covered the song and, under release by Columbia records, it charted at #1 in August, 1960.

Columbia was an EMI label at that time and, famously, it was EMI who reaped the benefit from Decca’s decision to reject the Beatles, as you cryptically note above.

I think we can conclude that executives at Decca in the early 1960s weren’t exactly in touch with what the market wanted.

Tell Laura I Love Her.
.
.
*Note to Wikipedia: Monster Mash fails to appear on your list of songs banned by the BBC. Get it sorted.

[aldiboronti]

Yes, it was Auntie BBC that banned songs from receiving airplay, sometimes for the silliest of reasons.

One barbarian at the gates was Perry Como: I’m Always Chasing Rainbows was his rendition of Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu in C sharp minor. “This is a bad perversion of a Chopin melody and should be barred,” the BBC snarled, and, even in 1963, they stopped Ken Dodd’s cover version from being broadcast.

During the first Gulf War, Massive Attack had to abbreviate their name to Massive, while Bomb the Bass were renamed Tim Simenon in case anyone listening to their new single felt that they were being ordered to blow up RAF Brize Norton. John Lennon’s Imagine was also on the BBC’s Gulf War blacklist as was Lulu’s 1969 Eurovision winner, Boom Bang a Bang.

Link

[CurtC]

I was thinking maybe the song mentioned something about a monster’s fanny.

[An_Gadai]

The BBC banned playing crooners on the radio in the 1930’s/1940’s too.

[SmackFu]

@King_Solomon_Hill

It was banned by the BBC, i.e wasn’t given airplay on their TV/radio programmes, not outright legally banned.

Was there any other TV or radio at that time?

[An_Gadai]

@SmackFu

Was there any other TV or radio at that time?

There has been independent commercial television in the UK since 1955. At time Radio Luxembourg broadcast to the UK and Ireland, I’m not sure if there were other commercial radio stations based in Britain in 1962.

[Mk_VII]

at that stage there were just two TV channels (BBC2 didn’t start until 1964). Pirate radio stations, prompted by the BBC’s determination to ignore trends in popular music, didn’t really start until about 1964.