The controversial Rolling Stones song that was rejected for Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Moulin Rouge!’
In many ways, the new generational surge of music fans being endeared to the work of many legacy acts could be traced back to Baz Luhrmann‘s Moulin Rouge!. The movie features many big names, including Elton John, The Police, David Bowie, Nirvana, Queen, The Beatles, U2 and more. However, one name usually expected to appear alongside those was omitted from the story—The Rolling Stones.
The Moulin Rouge! soundtrack is one of the most famous aspects of the film, and it perfectly demonstrates Luhrmann’s ability to blend musicality with powerful storytelling. This has always been one of his defining qualities, even with films that aren’t so effervescent in their musical quality. Romeo and Juliet, for instance, utilises music beautifully, underscoring the poignancy of the characters’ romantic and tragic unfolding.
With Moulin Rouge!, however, music supervisor Anton Monsted had to work extra hard not only to ensure the music fit but to gain licensing, which became especially challenging with so many avenues to secure. It all paid off in the end, though, with the songs being both sources of comedic relief and signalling the story’s more emotionally profound climaxes.
The villainous thread in the film comes in the form of Richard Roxburgh’s Duke, who acts maliciously towards Nicole Kidman’s Satine, which comes together in various numbers, highlighting his sinister tendencies and their disruption to her budding romance with Ewan McGregor’s Christian. During one particular scene, Monstead and the team were intent on having the mischievous character sing one of the Stones’ hits, but it ended up being removed from the cut.
The song, ‘Under My Thumb’, includes a message that’s quite difficult to swallow. Its overt misogyny renders it one of the band’s most controversial tracks, especially considering its lyrical content, which tells the story of a man who controls his girlfriend and gets her “under my thumb”. Like its namesake, therefore, it refers to a lot of intense coercion, the perfect setting for Luhrmann’s Duke during a scene when he feels particularly boastful about his dangerous nature.
However, the song not making it into the story actually had nothing to do with its controversial nature—rather, they couldn’t obtain the rights in time. As Monsted explained, “It wasn’t a moral objection and it wasn’t a creative objection from anywhere,” she said, adding: “It was just the terms of the music license and we couldn’t quite get there with [The band’s former manager] Allen Klein. So, that was one that had to go.”
Thankfully, although it wasn’t meant to be in 2001 when the movie took to the theatre in 2018, the music director made sure the Stones were included somehow and ended up including a medley called ‘Sympathy for the Duke’ that combined ‘Gimme Shelter’ with ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’—arguably a much more fitting take on the classic movie moment, considering ‘Under My Thumb’ likely wouldn’t have laced the performance with as much of a lighthearted appeal.
