10 Rock Music Songs That Got Banned From Certain Countries
8. Lola - The Kinks (Australia)
Lola, a 1970 song by British band The Kinks, was famously banned by the BBC for reasons of product placement.
The BBC is a publicly-funded organisation, so anything referencing specific brands is usually avoided. The line in Lola where Ray Davies sings about champagne tasting like "Coca-Cola" crossed that particular line, so it was left out of playlists until the lyrics were changed.
However, on the other side of the world, the track ran into a different set of difficulties.
In Australia, the record was banned from several radio stations for what having what was deemed to be controversial lyrical content. The whole premise of the song is that, although she presents and identifies as female, Lola's biological sex is a mystery.
This sort of discourse is still a touchy subject in today's society, so imagine how people reacted to it over 50 years ago.
Some stations would fade the record out during the parts that mentioned Lola's sex, whilst others just refused to play it outright. Thankfully, attitudes have come on somewhat since the 70s, and Lola is now remembered fondly as an early example of a queer anthem.