The Beatles: from drug references to political ties, we reveal five songs the BBC refused to play

As The Beatles promote their YouTube channel with new music videos, we reveal five of their songs that were once banned by the BBC
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The Beatles often used political messages in their music but mostly refrained from explicit content.

However, the BBC saw fit to prevent certain pieces of music from being broadcast if they felt it was unsuitable for the British public.

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Surprisingly the broadcaster blocked several of the band’s hits from the radio waves.

Here we look at five of The Beatles songs that were banned by the BBC and why.

These are five Beatles songs that were banned by the BBC. These are five Beatles songs that were banned by the BBC.
These are five Beatles songs that were banned by the BBC.

Back in the U.S.S.R (1968)

This classic was banned at the beginning of the first Gulf War in 1990 - 22 years after its release - due to its politically controversial lyrics.

Upon its release, it caused controversy as people believed the lyrics: “You don’t know how lucky you are, boys / Back in the U.S.S.R,” meant The Beatles had pro-Soviet inclinations.

A Day in the Life (1967)

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“A Day in the Life“ was released as the final track on their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and is regarded as one of the greatest songs of all time.

However, the BBC announced that it would not broadcast the song due to the line “I’d love to turn you on”, which, according to the corporation, advocated drug use.

McCartney once told Rolling Stone magazine: “This was the time of Tim Leary’s ‘Turn on, tune in, drop out’.”

He added: “And we wrote ‘I’d love to turn you on.’ John and I gave each other a knowing look: ‘Uh-huh, it’s a drug song. You know that, don’t you?’ Yes, but at the same time, our stuff is always very ambiguous and ‘turn you on’ can be sexual so … c’mon!”

I Am the Walrus (1967)

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It’s difficult to see why a song with nonsensical lyrics could be banned from the airwaves, but the BBC decided “I Am the Walrus” was too risque.

The lyrics discuss dead dogs, Edgar Allen Poe and the Eiffel Tower. Still, it’s the line “let your knickers down,” and the reference to a “pornographic priestess” that were deemed inappropriate by the BBC.

Discussing the lyrics of ‘I Am The Walrus’, Lennon once said: “The words didn’t mean a lot. People draw so many conclusions, and it’s ridiculous. I’ve had tongue in cheek all along–all of them had tongue in cheek. Just because other people see depths of whatever in it…What does it really mean, ‘I am the Eggman?’ It could have been ‘The pudding Basin’ for all I care. It’s not that serious.”

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (1967)

“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” was released in 1967 on The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

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The song came under the microscope of the BBC for what they believed to be a drug reference after speculation arose that the first letter of each of the nouns in the title intentionally spelt “LSD”.

The Beatles, comprising of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison. (Photo by John Pratt/Keystone/Getty Images)The Beatles, comprising of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison. (Photo by John Pratt/Keystone/Getty Images)
The Beatles, comprising of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison. (Photo by John Pratt/Keystone/Getty Images)

Lennon claimed the song was inspired by a drawing brought home from the nursery by his son Julian who had a classmate named Lucy.

In a 1971 interview on The Dick Cavett Show, Lennon said: “It never was [about LSD] and nobody believes me,” Lennon said.

“This is the truth: My son came home with a drawing and showed me this strange-looking woman flying around. I said, ‘What is it?’ and he said, ‘It’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds,’ and I thought, ‘That’s beautiful.’ I immediately wrote a song about it. The song had gone out, the whole album had been published and somebody noticed that the letters spelt out LSD, and I had no idea about it. … It wasn’t about [LSD] at all.”

Come Together (1969)

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Come Together, written by John Lennon, is the opening track to Abbey Road and was composed for Timothy Leary’s campaign to run for Governor of California.

It was banned for the same reason as The Kinks’ “Lola” in 1970. The BBC forbids songs that mention specific brands due to strict rules around advertising.

John Lennon once said of the track: “The thing was created in the studio. It’s gobbledygook; ‘Come Together’ was an expression that Leary had come up with for his attempt at being president or whatever he wanted to be, and he asked me to write a campaign song. I tried and tried, but I couldn’t come up with one. But I came up with this, ‘Come Together’, which would’ve been no good to him – you couldn’t have a campaign song like that, right?”

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