What were some 80's hits that had swear words?

Here's a few ...

Too Drunk to Fuсk - The Dead Kennedys
Working With Fire and Steel - China Crisis
Holiday Rap - MC Miker G and Deejay Sven

I can't really think of any of the top of my head. Come to think, manstream 80s music was strangely free of swear words (there was a squeaky clean feel about it - not only in the overproduction, but the banal lyrics). Although early pre-'Gangsta' rap like 'F*ck the Police' by NWA, and Straight Outta Compton had an abundance of four-letter words. I think it was about this time that explicit lyrics in music became a big issue.

The funny thing is that if you asked this about the '00s, almost every big hit would fit in the category.

ahem.....

back on topic:

How about anything from 2 Live Crew?

Oh me so horny
Nursery Rhymes
etc
etc


(Thanks Red Ant) ;)


;D

Living on the Ceiling used to have a radio version minus the swearing.  Now they play it with the swearing.

What year was The Stranglers song Peaches released?  It's not a swear word but I was surprised to hear it on the radio the other week!

[quote author=whis

Doesn't "Devil went down to Georgia" qualify?
It was a big deal to say s.o.b.

some of The Cure's music has the F word in it

"Never Say Never" by Romeo Void
"Let's Pretend We're Married" by Prince
"Irresistable Bitch" by Prince
"Let's Go All The Way" by Sly Fox

The Cure songs with the "F" word (in the 80s)

Give Me It- 1984
The Kiss- 1987

I don't mind cussing in music if it's done by artists (i.e. gangsta rap, metal bands) that are supposed to be badass.  But general pop radio? Give me a break.  Especially considering they censor it.


sorry whistledog, i know i'm keeping this off-topic, but in response to donnie..

the one i was most shocked about was james blunt- you're beautiful.  when i went to download it from itunes (for my NINE year old!) it says "explicit."  what is explicit about that song?  so i googled the lyrics and in the original version he says a different "f" word instead of "flying" high!  why?  i don't get it.  like you said, they sensor it anyway.  does he think that makes his flasetto singing sound tough?

The one that jumps into my mind is "Death or Glory" by The Clash from London Calling.

The song goes:

"But I believe in this and it

any punk song come on lol the 80s wasnt only filled with sheeshty club music it was the thriving of punk rock
here is the list of the top 10 punk bands of the 80s
bad religion
dead kennedys
minor threat
the misfits
circle jerks
tsol
angry samoans
mdc
fear
social distortion

Living on the Ceiling used to have a radio version minus the swearing.  Now they play it with the swearing.


*blink*.  As in Blancmange?  I suppose if you're British, "up the bloody tree" counts as swearing, but 80s radio wasn't that prudish on this side of the Atlantic.  Or do I have to go scavenging for some obscure 12" mix?


Doesn't "Devil went down to Georgia" qualify?
It was a big deal to say s.o.b.


We may have been able to deal with "bloody", but we Yanks had to have two versions of this one - one with "Son of a bitch", and one with "Son of a gun", and I know which one was the best that's ever been.

But yeah, "bitch" wasn't something you could easily get away with in certain venues.

There was Rough Trade in 1981, High School Confidential, which was an ode to a "cool, blonde, scheming bitch" who made the "cream my jeans", both of which might have been acceptable for radio play, except that the lead singer was female.

("You know it was the 80s when: You got your song censored for saying lesbians were cool.  You know it was the 10s when: You get your song censored use the line "that little bundle of wood or sticks with the earring and the makeup" to point out that most of your audience hated the music industry, even if they didn't know how to express those sentiments more politely.)

As long as I'm on a Canadiana kick tonight, the one that surprised me was the Headpins, mainstream Canadian rockers ca. 1983. I've Heard It All Before made same point about cheezy news coverage as Don Henley's Dirty Laundry did in 1982, but the Headpins did it with a lot more aggro:

"You turn around and you get screwed,
Make a livin' tryin' to bull*bleep* you!"
 - Headpins, I've Heard It All Before

Except that it wasn't bleeped.  

Holy carp, the Headpins are still touring, some 30 years later.  Any Canucks would be well-advised to check 'em out.

A naughty word of 'arse' appears in the 1987 Christmas hit Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues Featuring Kirsty MacColl. The record is still released seasonally each year and the word is still not bleeped out.

A naughty word of 'arse' appears in the 1987 Christmas hit Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues Featuring Kirsty MacColl. The record is still released seasonally each year and the word is still not bleeped out.


The word "ass" doesn't seem like a swear word we all say it.

The word "ass" doesn't seem like a swear word we all say it.
Yes, that is the word 'ass', by the very word in the song is 'arse'.

A naughty word of 'arse' appears in the 1987 Christmas hit Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues Featuring Kirsty MacColl. The record is still released seasonally each year and the word is still not bleeped out.


It also contains the word Fagg*t, which is not a swear, but a slur, as another song that uses that word: 'Money For Nothing' by Dire Straits, has been banned in Canada, as a result.

It also contains the word Fagg*t, which is not a swear, but a slur, as another song that uses that word: 'Money For Nothing' by Dire Straits, has been banned in Canada, as a result.
Which is being discuss in another topic.

It also contains the word Fagg*t, which is not a swear, but a slur, as another song that uses that word: 'Money For Nothing' by Dire Straits, has been banned in Canada, as a result.



Maybe I should watch the video again.

"Piece of My Love", by Guy

"Piece of My Love", by Guy


I would have to see the video.

I would have to see the video.


In this song, Aaron Hall, the leader of the group said "bitch" after the group sang the chorus for the second time.  You can go to YouTube, and listen to the song.

In this song, Aaron Hall, the leader of the group said "bitch" after the group sang the chorus for the second time.  You can go to YouTube, and listen to the song.


I'm sure a lot of the 80's songs have the word "bitch" in it.

I'm sure a lot of the 80's songs have the word "bitch" in it.
There was that song by Elton John.

There was that song by Elton John.


The Bitch is Back.

The Bitch is Back.
That is the one.

That is the one.


But I think that's 70's.

No thread about 80s music too-hot-for-airplay could be complete without the Violent Femmes, Add It Up (1983).  Straddling the edge of punk vs new wave, that track's probably the first F-bomb I heard dropped over the air on something that wasn't college radio.

No thread about 80s music too-hot-for-airplay could be complete without the Violent Femmes, Add It Up (1983).  Straddling the edge of punk vs new wave, that track's probably the first F-bomb I heard dropped over the air on something that wasn't college radio.


They actually said it?  ???

My favorite Prince song with the F word:

"Let's Pretend We're Married" from the 1999   album.

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/10c646f05db562c3f051e023c66407ff/72666.jpg

My friends I scream the lyric with the F-bomb in it when it plays.  ::)

So sad Michael Jackson didn't use the F word until the 90's.

My favorite Prince song with the F word:

"Let's Pretend We're Married" from the 1999   album.

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/10c646f05db562c3f051e023c66407ff/72666.jpg

My friends I scream the lyric with the F-bomb in it when it plays.  ::)

So sad Michael Jackson didn't use the F word until the 90's.


Was it on his Bad or Dangerous album?

The History album.

In the unedited version of Scream Michael says "Stop f-ing with me".  :)

In the video, Janet shoots the finger for a split second as the line is sang.

LEGS-ZZ TOP........sheesh i gotta have her....the girl is alright!!

(Hey, yeah.  ZZ Top snuck that little s-bomb right in there, and managed to get it past almost every DJ or censor!)

Remember that wacky anti-videogame lawyer who went so far off the deep end as to get himself disbarred in 2008?  Well, he got his start in 1989, "assisting" the Broward County Sheriff's Department in pulling copies of As Nasty As They Wanna Be from store shelves.

Aside #1: Wikipedia page contains sample sources for every track on the album.

Aside #2: The obscenity charges against the album and the performers were eventually overturned.  It was the clean version of the album that went to the Supreme Court, not for naughty words, but because it contained a parody of Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman, and the copyright holder sued.

The controversy about the obscenity charges, the First Amendment implications, and the ongoing legal battles prompted the following (safe-for-work) opening track on the next album, Banned in the USA, and, of course, another flurry of lawsuits from the pro-censorship crowd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU7XsoQXSW8

Aside #3: One of the reasons this board exists is to provide a place where people can author, perform, and publish parodies of existing works.  Those artists exist in part because the "Pretty Woman" case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that even commercial parody could qualify as fair use.

But whatever happened to the 2 Live Crew? 

Well, lead rapper Luther "Luke" Campbell is now running for mayor, of Tampa, FL.  His career has already outlived those of his opponents -- but wouldn't it be a wonderful postscript to his career, especially for someone who mentioned election day and the political process in a comeback hit.

I wonder if Luke will get an endorsement from his former nemeses, former Gov. Bob Martinez or former Sheriff Nick Navarro?  (Hmm, Maybe not. (NSFW language.  This is, after all, a thread about naughty songs. :)

2 Live Crew always swore in their music.

No thread about 80s music too-hot-for-airplay could be complete without the Violent Femmes, Add It Up (1983).  Straddling the edge of punk vs new wave, that track's probably the first F-bomb I heard dropped over the air on something that wasn't college radio.


They actually said it?  ???

I think so, but whenever I hear it on the radio, they edit it out.


Another one that comes to mind is "Erotic City" by Prince.

NWA
"Straight Outta Compton"
"fudge The Police"
"Gangsta Gangsta"
"8 Ball"
"Parent Discretion is Advise"
"Something Like That"
"Compton's In The House"
"Dopeman"

How about the uncensored version of Me So Horny? :o

How about the uncensored version of Me So Horny? :o
As from Full Metal Jacket?

*blink*.  As in Blancmange?  I suppose if you're British, "up the bloody tree" counts as swearing, but 80s radio wasn't that prudish on this side of the Atlantic.  Or do I have to go scavenging for some obscure 12" mix?


Rather bizarre, but that's how it was...

As far as I'm aware, only the radio stations were given the 'clean' version ('up the cuckoo tree') and it's never been given an official release...

At the time, neither was The Jam's 'That's Entertainment', but courtesy of a French import, it shifted enough copies to chart...complete with the phrases 'kick in the balls' and 'pissing down with rain', which surprisingly slipped under the BBC's radar...

Also uncut on disc was Grandmaster Flash's 'The Message', one of the first 'serious' rap hits...however, the line 'people pissing on the stairs' wasn't going to get it much radio play, so this verse was subtly edited out...

Don't Tell Me was a surprise hit for Blancmange here in Canada, and from what I remember hearing of it on the radio and the video when it was aired on Much Music (our version of MTV), the "bloody tree" was left in.

Speaking of British songs, the 1984 hit 'Working With Fire and Steel' by China Crisis also got radio play here in Canada, but the lyric "When things get f*cked and we're to blame" did get bleeped out.

International songs:  The dutch duo MC Miker G and Deejay Sven .. "And I can write my own sh*t too".  Just the way I remember hearing it on the radio :o

As from Full Metal Jacket?


No,the uncensored version video from the mid to late 80's.

No,the uncensored version video from the mid to late 80's.
The song samples "Firecracker" by Mass Production and lines from the Richard Pryor film Which Way Is Up? and the Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket, and was released in 1989.

The song samples "Firecracker" by Mass Production and lines from the Richard Pryor film Which Way Is Up? and the Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket, and was released in 1989.


I should hear it again.

I should hear it again.
Me So Horny, comes from the camera snatching scene in Full Metal Jacket

NWA
"Straight Outta Compton"
"fudge The Police"
"Gangsta Gangsta"
"8 Ball"
"Parent Discretion is Advise"
"Something Like That"
"Compton's In The House"
"Dopeman"


It's been 20 years since gangsta came onto the scene and shocked the mainstream with its use of language.  During the intervening years, salty language has become commonplace in almost every venue, and the shock is gone - unless someone comes up with a new image involving a midget, a goat, and a herd of moose, we've probably seen and heard it all, haven't we?

Which brings us to NWA.  Ever wonder what happened to all the naughty words after they got bleeped out by the radio stations?

Well, they ended up here: Explicit Content Only.  (Obvious warning: really NSFW audio.  There are .zips with MP3s available).  

By editing NWA down to include only the not-safe-for-radio words, the entire Straight Outta Compton album can be condensed into less than three lulzy minutes, and Eazy Duz It clocks in at just over two similarly-wacky minutes.  20 years after the originals had ceased to shock, DJ Evan Roth had me grinning in shocked glee once again.

What the f**k is this thread about?  ;D  http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/14/read2.gif

What the f**k is this thread about?  ;D   http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/14/read2.gif


http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s330/Metroidtinbot/remarkable.png

NWA broke out in 1989, it's technically still 80s music :)

http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s330/Metroidtinbot/remarkable.png

NWA broke out in 1989, it's technically still 80s music :)


Si Senor.  8)

Me So Horny, comes from the camera snatching scene in Full Metal Jacket


Exactly.

http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s330/Metroidtinbot/remarkable.png

NWA broke out in 1989, it's technically still 80s music :)



Right,1989 is the end of old school rap and into the gangsta sound.

The Lords of Acid had a release in 1988 called "I Sit on Acid"-all of my fellow old school rivitheads will remember this one.  The opening line is "Darling come here and #@$# me up the @##".  Ahh, the days when romance MEANT something...  :D

If you're curiousa about this one... (NSFW!!! / NSFK!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_qQLOgcVOw

The Lords of Acid had a release in 1988 called "I Sit on Acid"-all of my fellow old school rivitheads will remember this one.   The opening line is "Darling come here and #@$# me up the @##".  Ahh, the days when romance MEANT something...  :D


Forgot about that one.  (I was kinda partial to the other single, "Pussy".  Rated PG, obvious innuendo, but the clever bit about that track is that if you knew nothing about the intended meaning of the song, she could have been singing about cats.  Technically, there's not a single naughty word in the song.)

Obligatory Naughty Word: Sigue Sigue Sputnik: Love Missile F1-11 - the line "Mondo teeno giving head" often had the word "head" either faded out  (at 1:10 in the 3:48 mix) around the time the X-15 is launched in the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiNguu_fGd8

...and replaced with either "...Giving, giving, giving...", the sample "What we need is designer violence" (as in the video), and/or played backwards ("Mondo teeno dehh-gnivig").

Quarter-Century Pet Peeve: Just because the label on the record, on the ID3 tags, and in print, all agree that "F1-11" is the official title to the song, doesn't mean it's not a reference to the F-111 Aardvark, which may or may not have had hardpoints suitable for end-of-the-world sorts of fun.

I once had a weed freak-out listening to this song.  'Nuff said!

Yeah, bad words for sure.  Ugly ones too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5_Z2lh4Opc&feature=related

1989's Pretty Hate Machine (NIN)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy5gXC2AgbY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3aLqKnTuHs

Not '80's songs but I know a couple of '60's songs-like THIS one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02lXLiFsRtE

There is also Bob Dylan's Hurricane. The word "sh!t" is used.


Cat

1989's Pretty Hate Machine (NIN)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy5gXC2AgbY




Haunting and beautiful song!!  One of my favorites!

Underworld I Need a Doctor, track 7 of 1988's Underneath the Radar.

There's an S-bomb in I Need a Doctor, cleverly squeezed in at about the 2-minute mark.  If all you remember about the band is the (awesome) title track, the rest of the album is worth a listen.

"In the 80s, the CRTs were 4:3 and drums were hexagonal."

The Bollock Brothers: Harley David Sonofabitch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJqut44z99M

The Bollock Brothers: Harley David Sonofabitch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJqut44z99M


HOLY CRAP!  :o ;D