MARTIN CLOONAN

Massive attack
n 12 January 1991, the day before the United Nations deadline for
O Saddam Hussein's compliance with its resolution demanding the
Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait ran out, Giles Peterson, a DJ and director
of the commercial radio station Jazz FM, played 90 minutes of'peace
music' to show his opposition to war. He also broadcast details of peace
marches that were taking place in London that afternoon. As a result, he
was sacked. The reason given for this was that the station had received a
'serious complaint' centring on a contravention of the 1990 Broadcasting
Act that requires commercial radio stations to be politically impartial.
The Radio Authority (which oversees the conduct of commercial radio
stations) said the sacking was an internal matter for Jazz FM and thus
beyond its remit, but ruled that the station had breached the rules on
politically impartiality.
Meanwhile, the BBC had shown its own political allegiance by
transferring Radio l's Simon Bates' show to the Gulf to boost the
morale of British troops. While commercial radio was expected to be
politically impartial, the BBC used pop to support the actions of'our
boys' in the Gulf.
Once the war started, it was clear that some people at the BBC had
decided that listeners' sensibilities back home needed protection. The
BBC Radio Training Unit compiled a list of records it believed should
be treated with caution for the duration of the war. The list was sent to
the BBC's 37 local radio stations and appears to have been an attempt to
avoid any offence whatsoever. Thus it included such titles as: ABBA's
'Waterloo', Aha's 'Hunting High and Low', The Bangles' 'Walk Like an
Egyptian', Kate Bush's 'Army Dreamers', Jose Feliciano's 'Light My
Fire', Lulu's 'Boom Bang A Bang', Nicole's 'A Little Peace' and Tears
For Fears' 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World' (Index Vol 20, Nos
4/5 1991).

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 SMASHED HITS: THE GULF WAR

The list attracted much hilarity in the British press and led Tim
Neale, Head of Radio Training, to explain that it contained as many
tracks as possible with lyrics 'that need thought in scheduling'. It also
included instructions on how to exclude them from the computer which
holds selections for each show. Neale emphasised that the decision on
what to include and exclude was left to programmers and presenters and
insisted that, contrary to press reports, there was no ban merely 'an
attempt to save ... some time and ensure proper care is taken not to cause
unnecessary offence'. However, it is clear that the list became a de facto
ban for the duration of the war.
While it is clear that the war was a sensitive issue that some listeners
did not want to be reminded of when they were listening to music
stations which are essentially escapist in nature, the BBC pursued its
desire not to be offensive to an extraordinary degree. Thus The Rolling
Stones's 'High Wire' single, which criticised the arms trade and was
released around the time of the war, did not receive the amount of
Radio 1 plays it might have expected. Johnny Beerling, head of Radio 1,
told the Sunday Times that playing the record would lead to the press
proclaiming 'another case of the leftie BBC supporting the enemies of
freedom'. Tory MP Sir John Stokes called the record appalling at a time
of war and asked why the band couldn't do something in a more
jingoistic vein.
The potential for offence is shown by the case of Paper Lace's 'Billy
Don't Be A Hero'. Originally a UK number one hit in 1974, it tells the
story of a soldier who is killed after showing the sort of bravery in battle
his sweetheart had implored him not to prior to his leaving home. While
the song is vaguely anti-war, at any other time the record would have
attracted comment only for its inanity. However, when it was played on
Radio 1 (on Bates' show) just after a Gulf war news bulletin, it attracted
110 complaints. This illustrates one of the major characteristics of
censorship: its historically contingent nature which ties it to
contemporary events. A text which at other times would have been
totally innocuous was potentially offensive during wartime.
Other records also failed to make the station's playlist or were
amended because of the war. Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine's
'Bloodsports For All' - a critique of racism in the army - was vetoed by
the BBC and the band flipped the 'B' side of the single, 'Bedsitter' to
become the 'A' side. The Happy Mondays had to omit the lines 'Gonna

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MARTIN CLOONAN

build an airforce place/Gonna blow up your race' from 'Loose Fit' to get
plays; The KLF had to edit out the samples of machine gun fire from
their '3 AM Eternal' single. The band Massive Attack were referred to as
Massive until the war ended and Tim Simenon reverted to his own
name rather than use his normal moniker of Bomb The Base. It was also
reported that the commercial Radio Victory in Portsmouth had banned
Blondie's 'Island of Lost Souls' for the duration of the conflict.
With hindsight, these restrictions seem amusing, facile even. This
begs the question of why they were implemented. It is clear that the
BBC was nervous after years of political attacks from a hostile
government that perceived the organisation as the embodiment of the
liberal establishment it detested. Beerling's remarks show this. The BBC
was also keen to have its Charter renewed around this time and reluctant
to rock the political boat. Thus the desire not to offend listeners is better
read as a desire not to offend government, although some genuine
concern not to cause listeners offence can also be seen.
However, the restrictions on popular music can also be read as part of
a concerted attempt to build a pro-war consensus, in effect to
manufacture consent. Dissident voices were stifled and potentially
embarrassing pop lyrics curtailed. Other than Musicians Against The
War, who organised an anti-war sing in, nothing was heard from pop's
anti-war tradition. Pop was presented as part of a consensus that either
supported or wanted to ignore the war. •

Martin Cloonan is the author ofBanned! — Censorship of Popular Music

in Britain: 1967-92 (Arena 1996)

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