SPARKS

[MrDemotime]

RON AND RUSSELL MAEL HAVE REACTED ANGRILY TO SPARKS' NEW SINGLE DICK AROUND BEING BANNED BY BBC

RON MAEL THIS MORNING RAGED: "THE BBC HAS OFFICIALLY KILLED OFF OUR NEW SINGLE DICK AROUND, OSTENSIBLY THROUGH RATHER CHILDISH OBJECTIONS TO THE TITLE, AN INNOCENT REFERENCE TO THE IDLE LIFE.

THAT A PIECE OF MUSIC CAN BE CONDEMNED PURELY BY ITS TITLE WITHOUT THE 'DECISION MAKERS' EVEN HAVING THE DECENCY TO OPEN THE CD CASE IS A TRAVESTY AND AN INSULT TO BOTH US AS THE CREATORS OF THE MUSIC AND TO THE LISTENERS OF THE BBC"

RUSSELL MAEL RESPONDED "THE REACTION FROM THE PUBLIC TO THIS RECORD HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT POSITIVE SO THE BCC SHOULD STOP TRYING TO BE THE MORALITY POLICE WHEN IT IS SO CLEARLY MISPLACED"

[david uk]

funny how they let the song be performed on Jonathon Ross and Loose Ends before banning it...

but why didn't they just play waterproof instead?
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metaphors- don't mix 'em!

[Eric Murray]

I hope the tabloids pick up on this nonsense and give Sparks the media coverage they truly deserve.

[david uk]

good point Eric

I am sharing the video link on different websites and Forums I am a member of.... I have started a thread on the gay site outeverywhere.com and also on ths ite of my fave US singer songwriter Janis Ian (www.janisian.com)

share it everywhere

however the link below is much better than the one quoted on the news page of this site (better pic and sound quality)

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sparks

scroll down and you will find it.

let's get the word out!

david x
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metaphors- don't mix 'em!

[CALI]

Well I don't know if anybody remembers the Judge Dread tracks from the 70s but they used to get banned as well and everybody used to buy them for the hell of it. Lets hope it applies to Dick Around as well (I know Dick Around has a lot more musical talent than Big 8 etc but you know what I mean).
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Carol wears Cacheral.....

[Leanne]

[rwolf'68]

[Leanne]

[Uhu_Rodion]

To restore a more serene perspective, I'd point you at the fact the original post had not been typed in capitals, but was only a "copy & paste" from the "news" section at AllSparks. I didn't expect to see it re-typed in small case just for sake of netiquette.

Moreover, sure I can't be witness in this case, but I guess Dick Around has been played, possibly extensively, on BBC after the controversy, and not before - so maybe the many e-mails of complaint and the reaction from the Maels have altered the position originally assumed there.

Just my two pence in the bin
;-)
Marco

[Alex Robertson]

As far as I was able to make out,the BBC DID ban Dick Around...then realising it had already been played on several BBC shows(and possibly due to the furore created on their message boards)...the ban was overturned.
Since then Dick Around has been played occasionally...usually late night slots or on BBC regional stations.
Anyway this was all resolved and put to bed a couple of months ago..on other threads...oh and for the sake of harmony...
I retract the statement that the wonderful faultless,does sterling work for charity Auntie Beeb ever banned Dick Around...in fact I'll pay twice the licence fee this year in homage to this excellent organisation and slur on it's good name

[Leanne]

Some song lyrics might not be considered suitable for certain audiences. In the UK, "Dick Around" is not used to describe messing around, as it might be in the USA. The term is more readily interpreted as relating to the male appendage, and so our primary interpretation is more likely to be a rude one, since we have no innocent alternative. Now, that in itself is not a reason to have the song banned, but some care may be required in determining its suitabilty for particular audiences. BBC local stations, such as LDN, are aimed at a more family-based audience, and also to older people, especially the over-50s, although, maybe LDN is slightly more younger-based than its provincial syblings. The ten national stations, six of which are music-based, each tend to be attract a more specialist audience.

A producer will consider his audience, and whether a song is suitable. Radio is more sensitive to this than television. The F-word can often be heard on BBC television, but it is bleeped even on a late show, such as Ross, if the producer feels it might also attract younger viewers. National Radio 1 put this out in the afternoon in 1998.

http://www.compulink.co.uk/~lemoncurry/ra/dboys.ra

This was a song by then Radio 1 presenters, Mark and Lard, and although it's bleeped, (which adds to the humour for me), we can all tell what the words are. My dad was driving me home from school when this came on, and we fell about laughing, and we could see other people smiling in cars around us. This is MUCH more risque than Dick Around, but Radio 1 can get away with it. So can 6music, but maybe more care is required with LDN and other broader-based locals. Just because it isn't considered suitable for the LDN Breakfast Show, doesn't necessarily mean it's been banned by the BBC.

I tried to think of some alternative lyrics for this song. Maybe we could lighten the tone by thinking of some. It's right to use the word as written by Sparks, and I wouldn't advocate changing them, but it's fun to think of our own.

It might appeal to allotment owners if it was called "Dig Around"

Or Dorito lovers might prefer "Dip Around"

Or toffee-apple eaters might go for "Lick Around" (Hmm, that has certain pitfalls too).

[Deano]

A quick change of tracks on the turntable and out pops Perfume.Perfume was playlisted on BBC radio2 on the C list i think.Anyway to my amusement sometimes when it got played the words-(Screw the past) were edited out.Surely this was going overboard.I know this was a long time ago but i would be interested in Leanne's thoughts on this.

[Douglas McIntyre]

To try and recall what happened(and excuse me my memory is not what is used to be).

Were Ron and Russ not required to get out of bed at a very early time to go on BBC radio to prompte their new single, only to be told as the interview started (or just before) that the producer had just noticed the title and announced he couldn`t play it at all. I believe it wasn`t even opened from its shrink rapper?

I think if I had gone to the trouble of getting there in such circumstances then I would be extremely cheesed off myself. Hence the reaction.

Bear in mind this was at the preparations for the start of a major tour and at the time it seemed it had been banned when the aforementioned statement was made.

Hope this clears up some confusion, not wanting to get into a slagging match with anyone.

[Leanne]

Hi Deano.

Well, you said the words were 'sometimes' edited out, and this is in line with what I was saying above. The song will be played with the audience in mind. Sometimes, it's suitable, other times it's not. The thing is, people DO complain, when such things are played. It might only be some grannie living at No42, with her pet cat, but there should be a place in radio for her. She shouldn't always have to listen to what she feels is rude lyrics. We all know where and when these lyrics might be played, and we know how to avoid them if we want to. Grannie won't be listening to 1xtra, or 6music, but daytime Radio 2, or the locals, is a place for her, and we should respect that. The rest of us shouldn't be denied the full lyric, and we know we will hear it on later programmes, or on certain stations such as Radio 1, 1xtra, and 6music. I think that is how it should be. We should respect those of a more sensitive nature, such as grannies, and give them a space.

[Leanne]

Douglas,

I understand what happened, and I have said elsewhere that the producer may, or may not, have been wrong. I described it as a lack of prep on his part. But just because he got it wrong, doesn't necessarily mean the BBC have banned the song. Programme producers have to consider if a song is suitable for their intended audience, and that's all he seemed to be doing here. Yes, he should have told R&R beforehand, I do agree, but we shouldn't condemn the whole BBC for the actions of one of thousands of producers.

[Sparksswede]

Yes but how on earth could he know that the song was not suitable just because of the title "Dick Around".The least they could have done was to listen to the song and they hadn´t as I understand.If they had they would have come to the conclusion that it´s NO reason to not play the song because the lyrics in it has no "dirty meening" or something like that.That was the big fault I believe and think.It was respectless to Ron and Russell to do so especially because they we´re there to talk about their new single (that very same song we´re talking about here "Dick Around").
Then it´s another question if the song really was banned or not but anyhow BBC (or someone there) did wrong to choose to not play it at that time.I have got the info from BBC that they didn´t want to play it because of the title and that´s not a good decision,I think, because "Dick" can meen other things as a "dirty" word so to speak and if they (or someone) had taken their time to listen to it it would have been obvious it´s no reason to not play it.The least they could have done was to listen to it before the interview with Ron and Russell.Sorry if I said the same thing(s) more than once.

[Leanne]

Sparksswede.

Who is this "They", you refer to. BBC LDN is a very small part of the BBC. It is a radio station for London only. I have already said that the individual producer who made this decision, albiet for the right reasons at the time, didn't do his prep properly. This the LDN Breakfast Show. There were 39 other Breakfast Shows going on around the UK, and also 10 national radio programmes, not to mention Breakfast television of various types on national television. This is not a ban by the BBC, but was a lack of attention to detail, IMHO, by the individual producer responsible for this one part of the BBC output on that morning. Most of the posts I've read in here on this subject, are condemning the whole BBC, and saying they banned the song. I see no evidence of that, and indeed, there is no 'guru' within the BBC who can make such a decision.

[Sparksswede]

Sorry! I wrote "they" not in the sense of the whole BBC but I wasn´t sure that it was only one person responsible for that specific show or more than one,sorry for that.
OK so we can agree on that he did wrong not to listen to the song (lyrics) before the interview and therefore chose to not play the song only because of the word "Dick" in the title asuming the lyrics was inapropriate (correct english from me???).
I´m aware of that BBC probably didn´t ban the song. It was just this one person for that program but anyway that´s bad enough.So Ok I don´t blame the BBC but that one person OK.

[Leanne]

So we are not disagreeing about much.
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Luke for pope ;)

[Sparksswede]

OK that´s good Leanne.