Controversy and rock’n’roll go together like peaches and cream.
Ever since Elvis Presley started swinging his hips, people have been outraged – or at least pretended to be – by such licentious behaviour. Of course, the passage of time tends to render what was once considered beyond the pale to be rather tame by modern standards.
Conversely, what was once entirely acceptable can now be seen as deeply offensive. Murdering a band mate is, however, never acceptable. Read on for a hair-raising rundown of rock's most controversial incidents.
1. 'The Beatles are more popular than Jesus'
This wouldn’t be seen as controversial in some quarters today, but back in 1966 John Lennon’s comment to the London Evening Standard that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus now” led to protests and record burnings among excitable Christian fundamentalists in the US Bible Belt.
Lennon was simply contrasting the popularity of the Fabs with the decline in organised religion, which was a perfectly legitimate argument to make. But that wasn’t how it was seen in the Southern states, where the lovable moptop’s comments were considered to be an attack on Jesus himself.
The interview provoked no reaction in the UK, where it was initially published, but in the US right-wing religious groups seized on it as an example of Limey blasphemy. Lennon was later forced to apologise in Chicago, prior to the band’s US tour. "I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have got away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion,” he said.
2. David Bowie gives a 'Nazi' salute
The music press of the punk era was obsessed with the notion of rock stars as Nazis – especially those of the Boring Old Fart persuasion – with some hacks building entire careers on ‘outing’ musicians as Tories or worse.
Into this fevered atmosphere goose-stepped, metaphorically speaking, a coked-up David Bowie, in his Thin White Duke persona. It was alleged by excitable hacks that in May 1976 he’d greeted a group of fans at London’s Victoria Station with a Nazi salute. Bowie denied this, saying that he had merely offered a friendly wave.
But he certainly fanned the flames in a Playboy interview in which he said: “I believe very strongly in fascism. . . Adolf Hitler was one of the first rock stars.” Bowie quickly back-pedalled, blaming his mental fragility, poor diet and “astronomical” use of amphetamines and cocaine for his brief flirtation with fascism.
3. The murder of Euronymous
Rock stars have often flirted with the iconography of Satanism, usually of the Dennis Wheatley variety, but a handful of daft buggers have taken it very seriously indeed. The most bloody example is the Norwegian black metal scene of the early 1990s.
This was centred on a record shop called Helvete, owned by a chap named Øystein Aarseth, who went by the stage name of Euronymous with his band, Mayhem. In August 1993, Euronymous was stabbed to death by his former bandmate Count Grishnackh, aka Varg Vikernes (real name: Kristian Vikernes), at his Oslo apartment.
The following year, Vikernes was convicted of murder and arson and sentenced to 21 years in jail. On his release, he resumed recoding as Burzum. A nasty piece of work, he has enthusiastically embraced racism and far-right politics.
4. Bob Dylan outrages the folkies
Folk fans tend to be mild-mannered, er, folk. But when one of their icons seems to turn his back on them they can get quite irate, as America’s leading folkie discovered to his cost in 1966.
Bob’s status as the “spokesman for a generation” meant that he was one of the genre’s most revered figures. So when he embraced new-fangled amplified electric music, sections of his audience – and some of his peers – were vocally upset. Bob first unveiled his “Hope you like my new direction” approach at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, to cheers and boos alike.
He persisted with it during his world tour of 1966, which included dates in the UK. It was during these shows that the legendary “Judas!” incident took place. Bob’s show at the time consisted of separate acoustic and electric sets, during which he was joined by The Hawks (who later became known as The Band).
At the Manchester Free Trade Hall, an upset punter bellowed “Judas!” towards the end of his electric set. Bob’s response was to snap "I don't believe you. You're a liar!" before telling his fellow musicians to "Play it f***in' loud!" That’s the way to do it!
5. Ozzy and the bat
Ozzy Osbourne tended to attract fans who liked to believe the offal-drenched hype. When someone threw a dead bat onstage in Des Moines, Iowa, in January 1982, he naturally thought it was made of rubber and bit its head off. Big mistake. He had to spend the next three weeks getting painful rabies shots in the bottom. Poor Ozzy. Talk about suffering for your art...
6. Eric Clapton makes racist comments
You’d have thought that any musician who owes much of his career to the influence of black music wouldn’t be a racist. But who knows what was going on in Eric Clapton’s head in 1976. Certainly not Eric, by all accounts.
During a concert in Birmingham, he embarked on a racist rant (“I think we should vote for Enoch Powell. Enoch's our man. I think Enoch's right, I think we should send them all back.”) that shocked his audience but at least did some good by leading directly to the founding of Rock Against Racism. Subsequently, when challenged about the incident he has variously doubled down on his comments, or said he was “disgusted” with himself.
7. Jim Morrison is arrested for ‘indecent exposure’
No photographic evidence has ever emerged of Little Jim poking out of the Morrison trousers. But that hasn’t stopped the ‘Miami Incident’ entering popular rock mythology. Here are the facts, your honour.
Jim arrived late and intoxicated for The Doors’ show at the packed Miami’s Dinner Key Auditorium in March 1969. He was in a belligerent mood and began goading the crowd. It’s what happened next that has been hotly disputed.
The allegation – hotly denied by the band, their manager and the promoter – is that Jim exposed himself in front of thousands of people. Criminal charges were brought against the singer and 20 subsequent shows were cancelled, effectively ending the band’s touring career.
Alas, Jimbo carked it in that Parsian bathtub before the appeals process was exhausted, so the matter was never fully resolved. Four decades later, in 2010, he was posthumously pardoned by Florida authorities, who accepted that the evidence against him was “ambiguous”.
8. The Sex Pistols say rude words on the Bill Grundy Show
Queen were supposed to appear on Bill Grundy's ‘Today’ Show on 1 December 1976, but pulled out at the last minute. Instead, Grundy got another EMI act and their entourage.
So it was that the Sex Pistols made the legendary uncensored TV appearance that established their yobbish reputation. Grundy clearly didn’t have the faintest idea who Johnny Rotten and co were and goaded them into swearing (“You dirty f***er!”). He soon lost control of the interview altogether.
The tabloids were, naturally, overjoyed at the opportunity to foment some confected outrage, claiming that the nation was shocked – even though the show only went out in London. Grundy’s career never recovered. And the Pistols? Manager Malcolm McLaren defended the group and claimed that they were 'set up' by interviewer Bill Grundy. They fizzled out and got back together several times...
9. Neil Young vs Lynyrd Skynyrd
Back there in circa 1970, Neil Young was the toast of liberal North America for taking potshots at the South in songs like 'Alabama' and 'Southern Man'. The latter, in particular, which appeared on his brilliant After the Gold Rush album, addressed directly the area’s history of racism and slavery.
What ol’ Neil perhaps did not anticipate was that the South’s favourite sons, Lynyrd Skynyrd, would issue a rebuttal in song: the magnificent 'Sweet Home Alabama'. Ironically, Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant was a huge fan of his and was often photographed wearing a Neil Young T-shirt. But that didn’t stop him from addressing Young directly in song: “I hope Neil Young will remember/A southern man don’t need him around anyhow.”
It’s important to point out that 'Sweet Home Alabama' *isn’t* a defence of racism. It merely warns against tarring a large group of people with the same brush (“In Birmingham, they loved the governor, boo, boo, boo! Now we all did what we could do . . .”). Young himself was quick to recognise that 'Southern Man' could have been better phrased, writing in his autobiography Waging Heavy Peace: “I don’t like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending .”
He also praised 'Sweet Home Alabama' (“I’m proud to have my name in a song like theirs”) and fortunately reconciled with Ronnie Van Zant prior to the latter’s death in that tragic plane crash.
The entire incident is also referenced on the track 'Ronnie and Neil' in next-generation southern rockers the Drive-By Truckers’ splendid concept album, Southern Rock Opera.
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10. Elvis’s intervention
In December 1970, Elvis Presley flew to Washington on a whim, driven by a desire to contribute to law enforcement. On the flight, he penned a six-page letter to President Richard Nixon, requesting a meeting and the title of 'Federal Agent-at-Large' for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
But why? Elvis believed his status allowed him to reach the youth and combat "un-American" influences like drug culture and student radicalism. Nixon, though confused, granted the meeting. The surreal summit resulted in a famous photograph and Elvis receiving a badge, despite his own escalating reliance on prescription medication.
11. Dixie Chicks get political
On the eve of the Iraq War in March 2003, Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks), told a London audience: "Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas."
The backlash from conservative country fans was swift and devastating. Radio stations blacklisted their music, fans burned their CDs, and the band received death threats. The incident became a definitive case study in celebrity "cancel culture" and the shifting boundaries of political dissent.
12. Van Morrison goes anti-lockdown
During the global pandemic, Van Morrison pivoted from his "Celtic Soul" roots to become one of the UK’s most vocal opponents of government restrictions. Branding lockdown measures as "fascist," the singer-songwriter released a series of anti-restriction tracks, such as "No More Lockdown" and "Born to Be Free," which directly challenged the legality and necessity of state-mandated curbs.
Morrison’s stance gained further traction when he teamed up with Eric Clapton for the protest single "Stand and Deliver," amplifying their shared frustration over the silencing of live music. While critics attacked the duo for fueling skepticism and irresponsibility, Morrison maintained that he was fighting for the fundamental survival of the performing arts.
This period remains a polarizing chapter in his legacy, leaving many listeners to reconcile the transcendental beauty of his early work with his later, combative political activism.
13. Keith Emerson burns the American flag
At the height of the 1960s counterculture movement, keyboardist Keith Emerson – then with The Nice –ignited a massive international controversy during a performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall in June 1968. During a rearranged, high-velocity version of Leonard Bernstein’s 'America', Emerson ceremoniously burned a large American flag on stage.
The act was intended as a political protest against the Vietnam War and American racial tensions, but the fallout was immediate and severe. The venue issued a lifetime ban against the group, and the U.S. State Department took a dim view of the "desecration," leading to significant difficulties in obtaining future touring visas.
Bernstein himself was reportedly furious, attempting to block the group’s recording of the track. While Emerson later characterized the stunt as a spontaneous piece of "musical theatre" rather than a calculated act of anti-Americanism, it remains one of rock’s most provocative examples of stagecraft colliding with geopolitics, nearly derailing his career before the formation of ELP.
14. Elvis Costello defies SNL
In December 1977, Elvis Costello was booked for Saturday Night Live as a last-minute replacement for the Sex Pistols, newly embroiled in their own controversy. His record label and the show's producers explicitly forbade him from performing "Radio Radio", a biting critique of commercial broadcasting. Costello initially complied, beginning his set with "Less Than Zero."
However, mere seconds into the song, he signaled his band to stop, turned to the camera, and famously declared, "I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there’s no reason to do this song." He then launched into the forbidden anthem. The stunt infuriated producer Lorne Michaels, who reportedly watched from the wings with his middle finger raised. Costello was banned from the show for twelve years, cementing his reputation as a fearless punk icon.
15. Kanye West Interrupts Taylor Swift (2009)
During the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, a 19-year-old Taylor Swift was delivering her acceptance speech for Best Female Video when Kanye West suddenly stormed the stage. Snatching the microphone from her hand, he notoriously announced, "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!"
The auditorium erupted in boos, and the image of a stunned Swift became an overnight sensation. The backlash was unprecedented; even President Obama was caught on a "hot mic" calling West a "jackass." This moment redefined celebrity entitlement and ignited a decade-long, complex feud that permanently altered the careers of both stars and the landscape of award show history.
Pics Getty Images
