The Blondie classic that was banned by the BBC
Radio stations must be careful with the songs they allow to feature in playlists, paying attention to world events and the potential link with music. As the BBC is a public service broadcaster, it is even more cautious, which once led to the exclusion of a Blondie classic on its airwaves.
Over the years, the BBC has banned songs for varying reasons. While some are justified, the reasoning behind others does seem perverse. However, their decisions are usually reflective of the times. For example, The Who’s era-defining hit ‘My Generation’ was pulled from the radio because frontman Roger Daltrey stutters in his vocal delivery. While Daltrey meant no offence, and he was mimicking the side-effect of pill addiction, the BBC felt it may have upset people who have a stutter.
The Kinks similarly found themselves on the blacklist with ‘Lola’ because the track mentioned the soft drinks manufacturer Coca-Cola, which goes against the BBC’s policy of promoting brands. To circumvent the ban, The Kinks frontman Ray Davies flew home from tour in the United States to record a different lyric, and the song was finally instated on the radio playlist.
During the 1960s, when The Kinks and The Who received their respective punishments, radio was the most important medium for artists. However, by the time Blondie were given their ban, it was no longer as vital for musicians, and notably, ‘Atomic’ was already a decade old when the BBC decided it would refuse to play the track.
By this stage, ‘Atomic’ was a track already widely known to millions as it reached number one in the United Kingdom many years prior. Blondie didn’t need airplay at this stage of the song’s existence, but the track was one of many the BBC deemed inappropriate to play following the breakout of the Gulf War in 1990.
As the track’s title could be interpreted as a reference to a bomb, the BBC didn’t feel it should be played alongside their news bulletins of potential bombings, which makes total sense. It wasn’t only Blondie who were banished from the airwaves due to the international conflict. In total, 67 songs were on the banned list. Other tracks include Cher’s ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) and ‘Boom-Bang-a-Bang’ by Lulu.
Despite the explosive song being called ‘Atomic’, Blondie only used the word to give the track a futuristic element rather than alluding to warfare, which was never their intention. Vocalist Debbie Harry once said of the lyrics: “The lyrics, well, a lot of the time I would write while the band were just playing the song and trying to figure it out. I would just be scatting along with them, and I would just start going, ‘Ooooooh, your hair is beautiful.'”
Listen to ‘Atomic’ below.
