With his death in 2016, David Bowie ascended to a position of virtual sainthood; musical blunders were forgiven, questionable fashion choices forgotten and rum collaborations with Mick Jagger, Tina Turner and a castle of Jim Henson puppets given a hall pass. Of course, it wasn’t always this way. Bowie’s ‘70s proclamations relating to sex and drugs, as well as his outrageous stage performances and costumery, often confounded the Establishment. His lyrics, such as "Rebel Rebel"’s teasing admission of Ziggy Stardust’s role in opening the sexual fluidity floodgates of the ‘70s - ‘You’ve got your mother in a whirl, she’s not sure if you’re a boy or a girl’ – meant Bowie was always going to have the censors watching him closely. Here are 10 lyrics, album covers and music videos that have caused consternation over the years.
Time (1973)
Banned from BBC’s playlist upon release, this Aladdin Sane track features the wonderful couplet ‘Time – He flexes like a whore, falls wanking to the floor’. Across the Atlantic, the word remained firmly in place in the US radio edit, however producer Ken Scott noted some American stations would remove the drug reference to Quaaludes in the version they put to air. The offending 'wanking' line was later used by Bowie collaborator Trent Reznor in the Nine Inch Nails track "Self Destruction, Final", while the term ‘whore’ also popped up on Bowie's 21st century tracks "The Next Day", "Heat" and "‘Tis A Pity She Was A Whore".
I’m Afraid Of Americans (1997)
Speaking of Reznor, the 32-year-old collaborated with Bowie on a number of mixes of the thumping Earthling track "I’m Afraid Of Americans". Intriguingly, the Nine Inch Nails V1 Clean Edit of the song retains the line 'Johnny wants pussy in cars', despite the fact some US video channels removed the pudenda reference. The video, which features a crazed Reznor chasing Bowie through New York, makes for an interesting commentary on gun violence in the US.
The 1980 Floor Show (1973)
While Bowie’s costumes had often courted controversy in his flamboyant Ziggy Stardust era, it was during his final outings as ‘Ziggy’ that caused the most dramas. Recording The 1980 Floor Show for US station NBC at London’s Marquee Club, Bowie had to make amendments to his attire to appease show producers. Designer Freddie Burretti had created a ‘cobweb bodysuit’ costume which featured two glittery, feminine hands crafted to look like they were fondling Bowie’s chest. While these passed muster with the NBC heads, a third hand, cupping Bowie’s manhood, was vetoed and a new pair of pants demanded. Although long believed lost and never officially released after the US broadcast, some amazing footage from The 1980 Floor Show (featuring Bowie’s censor-frustrating ensemble) now exists on YouTube.
Diamond Dogs (1974)
The 1980 Floor Show wasn’t the only time Bowie’s ballsack caused dramas in the early ‘70s. Long before his bulging pantaloons were creating a stir in 1986 film Labyrinth, Bowie’s undercarriage required special attention on the sleeve art for 1974’s Diamond Dogs. Artist Guy Peellaert, who painted Bowie as a hybridised dog-man, had his original image airbrushed after the doggy dong was ruled offensive. Early LP pressings that slipped through the censors and contain the controversial meat-and-veg earn good money on the collector circuit, although the original Peellaert art has been reinstated for many subsequent reissues.
Tin Machine II (1991)
An artistic rendition of Bowie’s manhood caused dramas again in 1991. Tin Machine II, Bowie’s final studio album with bandmates Reeves Gabrels, Tony Sales and Hunt Sales, featured cover art depicting each band member as ‘kouroui’, ancient Greek statues depicting athletic male specimens. Designer Edward Bell’s kouroui sketches became eunuchs in some territories, although here in Australia, where the album was recorded, it was available in uncensored form. It remains one of Bowie’s only official releases unavailable on streaming.
Moonage Daydream (1972) and Oh! You Pretty Things (1971)
The word ‘bitch’ pops up in a number of Bowie songs, including "Ziggy Stardust", "Oh! You Pretty Things" and the title (but not the lyrics) to "Queen Bitch", but it doesn’t appear to have caused as many censorship dramas as one might expect. "Moonage Daydream"’s “rock n rollin’ bitch” epithet remained intact on the BBC’s radio session recorded on 16 May 1972, while the “squawking like a big monkey bird” line, which author Peter Doggett sensationally claims is actually gay slang for someone being sodomised, also made it past the UK censors. Peter Noone, the former Herman’s Hermits frontman who released a cover of Bowie’s "Oh! You Pretty Things" prior to it appearing on the songwriter’s own Hunky Dory album, wasn’t taking any chances with offending radio overseers: the line ‘the Earth is a bitch’ is watered down as ‘the Earth is a beast’ on his version. While Noone’s recording sounds ridiculously feeble compared to Bowie’s cut, he at least made it to #12 in the UK chart for his troubles. Bowie reinstated ‘bitch’ when he recorded a BBC session for the song in May 1972.
The Man Who Sold The World (1971)
As with Diamond Dogs, Bowie’s third studio album The Man Who Sold The World ran into censorship issues due to its original album art. In the US, the record label Mercury baulked at releasing cover art featuring Bowie resplendent in a Mr Fish dress, so instead opted for an earlier draft cover featuring Mike Weller’s cartoon artwork of a cowboy carrying a rifle. Even this was censored: the comic strip John Wayne character was originally accompanied by a speech bubble featuring the word ‘Roll up your sleeves and show us your arms’. This pun on drugs, guns and LPs didn’t fit well with Mercury, who instead produced the sleeve with a blank speech bubble. In the ensuring 50 years the dress photo has become The Man Who Sold The World’s standard cover art, although different artwork editions still pop up occasionally for new pressings.
Friday On My Mind (1973)
Opening side two of the Pin Ups covers album, it’s unlikely this cover of The Easybeats’ song ever made its way onto too many radio stations: Bowie’s quite clearly added the backing vocal line ‘Feel like fucking you’ to Harry Vanda and George Young’s original lyrics. Maybe it snuck onto a few playlists though – after all, it’s still not even marked with an ‘explicit’ tag on streaming services almost 50 years after its release. You can read more about the song in our Classic Aussie Songs Covered By Massive International Hitmakers story here.
Day-In, Day-Out (1987)
The 1980s found Bowie dropping a few more swear words into his albums, with the Scary Monsters… And Super Creeps track "It’s No Game Pt 2" featuring a line about ‘camel shit on the walls’ and the 1989 Tin Machine single "I Can’t Read" suggesting ‘I can’t read shit anymore’. However, it was a music video from 1987’s Tonight album which caused the most issues with the censors. Directed by Julien Temple (The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners), a rape scene, a shot of Ronald Reagan’s Walk Of Fame star being pissed on and footage of a baby spelling out the word ‘fuck’ with alphabet blocks caused the greatest consternation. An revised edit was created to try and increase interest at music stations for Tonight’s lead single, however even this cut was banned by the BBC. “I think that they have a morality problem at the BBC,” Bowie grumbled at the time.
Dancing In The Street (1985)
In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, US radio conglomerate Clear Channel dispatched a list of 165 songs its stations were advised not to air due to ‘questionable’ content. Strangely, while Martha & The Vandellas and Van Halen’s versions of "Dancing In The Street" were included in the Clear Channel memo, David Bowie and Mick Jagger’s cover, originally recorded for the Band Aid charity in 1985, didn’t make the list. Perhaps it had already been blacklisted on a grounds of bad taste memo prior to 2001?
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