Ladbible X Whatsapp
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
BBC Once Asked Rage Against The Machine Not To Swear During Live Broadcast And It Went Exactly As You'd Expect

Home> Entertainment

Updated 10:15 29 Apr 2022 GMT+1Published 10:16 29 Apr 2022 GMT+1

BBC Once Asked Rage Against The Machine Not To Swear During Live Broadcast And It Went Exactly As You'd Expect

The incident took place as the protest rockers battled X Factor winner Joe McElderry for Christmas Number One

Simon Fearn

Simon Fearn

A video has re-emerged of the time that BBC Radio 5 Live broadcast a live performance from Rage Against the Machine, and its request for the famously sweary band not to turn the airwaves blue was completely ignored. Watch below:

Back in 2009, when the leftist rockers were battling against X Factor winner Joe McElderry for Christmas Number One, the four-piece were invited to play their 1993 protest anthem Killing In The Name on the BBC.

Aware that the song culminated with frontman Zack de la Rocha yelling ‘f*** you I won’t do what you tell me’ a total of 16 times, the Beeb warned the band to keep things clean. But, in the spirit of rock and roll, this request was totally ignored.

Advert

La Rocha managed four refrains of the line, dropping the f-bomb each time, before producers managed to halt the broadcast.

Exasperated host Shelagh Fogarty could be heard shouting, ‘Get rid of it!’ in the background, before telling listeners: “Sorry, we needed to get rid of that because that suddenly turned into something we weren't expecting.

“Well, we were expecting it and we asked them not to do it and they did it anyway.”

Rage Against The Machine's performance did not go the way the BBC had hoped.
BBC Radio 5 Live

The BBC later issued a formal apology, saying in a statement: “5 Live breakfast featured a live broadcast of the song Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine.

Advert

“We had spoken to the band repeatedly beforehand and they had agreed not to swear. When they did we faded the band out and apologised immediately to anyone who was offended.”

5 Live editor Richard Jackson also spoke out about the incident at the time, responding to fans who accused them of being naive for expecting a band with Rage Against The Machine’s reputation to stick to their promise not to swear.

He wrote on the 5 Live blog: “When Rage Against the Machine swore on Breakfast this morning, some people felt we should have seen it coming.

“The song ‘Killing in the Name’ includes the f-word in the lyrics – and when the band accepted our request for an interview for today's programme and then agreed to perform the song live from Los Angeles, we were aware of the need to address this issue.

Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha.
Alamy

Advert

“Which is why our producer had several conversations with the band and their management about the requirement not to swear. We told them it was a breakfast show. We took them at their word when they said there would be no bad language.

“When it became clear on air they were including the f-words, we faded the song out and apologised.

“Not before we heard some swearing on air. We're sorry for that and I apologise again to anyone who was offended.”

Despite telling porkies to the Beeb, Rage Against The Machine did go on to snag the 2009 Christmas Number One, beating McElderry’s cover of Miley Cyrus’ The Climb and ending The X Factor’s four-year streak of Christmas Number Ones with a track that was 16 years old.

Featured Image Credit: BBC Radio 5 Live

Topics: Music, BBC

Simon Fearn
Simon Fearn

Simon is a sub-editor at LADbible. He studied journalism at City, University of London, and has written for Digital Spy, The Stage and The Drinks Business. He's a big fan of low budget horror films, regular caffeine hits and extended arguments about Oxford commas. You can contact Simon at [email protected].

X

@smffearn

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

12 hours ago
13 hours ago
14 hours ago
  • 12 hours ago

    Kesha said infamous red carpet incident with Jerry Seinfeld was the ‘saddest moment of her life’

    Jerry Seinfeld said 'no thanks' to Kesha during a red carpet event

    Entertainment
  • 13 hours ago

    Movie fans say they still think about ‘traumatising’ but ‘amazing’ film 14 years after watching

    The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet and Michelle Trachtenberg

    Entertainment
  • 13 hours ago

    Ex-Superman Dean Cain hits out on ‘woke’ new version of the film after James Gunn called superhero an ‘immigrant’

    Cain also took issue with James Gunn changing Superman's motto

    Entertainment
  • 14 hours ago

    Follow up to The Office is coming to TV incredibly soon

    Expect to see a fan-favourite character pop-up in the follow-up series

    Entertainment
  • Lewis Capaldi asks BBC news presenter if she asked for a rim in 'break down of communication'