The 1980s were exceptional for music. This is the time when the first music videos began to appear on television, and musicians experimented with the visualization of the songs they created. There were experiments in those days that were considered controversial. So much so that music stations banned their broadcasts. Take Madonna’s music video for example. Long before the singer was banned by , Queen was banned.
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Censorship on MTV. The station even banned the band Queen
The first music video aired by MTV was the video for the song “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. The music station has paved the way for its likes and over the years it has had a huge impact not only on the tastes of viewers, but also on pop culture. The growing importance and growing audience, including young people, was followed by censorship. For years, the station avoided topics that could cause controversy, censoring and banning.
In 1982, MTV’s censorship caught up with Queen. The photos for the music video for the song “Body Language” were shot by Mike Hodges, a British director, creator of m.in. Flash Gordon movie. It was on the set of this production that he met the band. Freddie Mercury asked him to make a film that was bold for the 1980s. – The idea belonged to Freddie, I was very happy to capture it on film – Hodges in one of the interviews. The video was shot in 24 hours, but viewers had to wait a long time to be able to admire it fully.
MTV has banned Queen’s music video. Reason? Too much flesh and sweat
Although in the music video all band members and extras appeared clothed, no body parts that could cause scandal were visible, the station decided that it was too controversial. The main reason was that the film shows too much, and the scenes shown have a clear subtext. The body visible from under the heavily cut and leather clothes, sweat and suggestive movements pouring out of the screen made MTV unequivocally prohibit the music video from being broadcast on its air. Although today video can only evoke a shrug, in the 1980s it aroused controversy and fears of scandalizing viewers. The activities of the station meant that in 1982 the Queen band entered the Guinness Book of Records. All thanks to the ban imposed on the music video. “Body Language” was the first video banned by MTV.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
