Episode #1392
Episode 1392: Everyone Deserves Music with Scott - 20 Sep 2026
Each year Sept 19 is International Talk Like A Pirate Day - I take a look at a few moments in time where music was banned from the radio airwaves due to fear of it's content being too strong for listeners sensitivities at the time (or in some instances far too upbeat and happy!). In the wake of the 2001 September 11 terrorist attack, Clear Channel Communications (these days iHeart Media) who at the time were the largest owner of radio stations in USA released a "memorandum" proposing that 165 songs not be played on the radio until further notice. These included classics like Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven", John Lennon's "Imagine" and Cat Stevens "Peace Train". The list also included the entire catalogue of Rage Against The Machine - the only band to have that "status". We look at TV shows that banned artists for playing songs that hadn't been agreed to, there's a couple of tracks from the soundtrack to the cult 1990 film starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis 'Pump Up The Volume'. We're also looking at a unique moment in Australia in 1970, where an industrial dispute broke out between Record Labels and Radio Stations dubbed the "Radio Ban". Deezer playlist here Info on the Radio Ban here Info on the Clear Channel Memorandum here
