15 Bands That Got Banned

It takes a special kind of person to get banned from, say, a pub or a nightclub. We've all have a bad night here and there. But it takes a bit more effort and usually a higher profile to get blocked from entering an entire country. Drugs often play a role. But they're not the only grounds on which notable names in music have found themselves persona non grata in a foreign land.

Amy Winehouse
Country in Question: The United States
Guilty of: To be banned once might be misfortune. Twice is just carelessness. Perish the thought that such a charge could be laid at the door of the ever-reliable Winehouse, but the thirsty singer was refused a US visa when she was to perform at the 2008 Grammys because of a drug bust in Norway. Not known as one who learns from mistakes, she was barred again in April 2009, when an assault charge hanging over her in the UK meant she couldn't get a visa to perform at Coachella. What's the odds she'll make it third time lucky?

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Jerry Lee Lewis
Country in Question: The United Kingdom
Guilty of: When the piano-stomping rocker arrived in England for a tour in May 1958, a journalist learned that the 23-year-old's new bride, Myra Gale Brown, was Lewis's first cousin once removed and only 13 at the time of their wedding. The ensuing public outrage caused his tour to be cancelled after only three shows, and he was also blacklisted from many radio stations back home. The scandal damaged the Killer's career and he struggled to find gigs. However, the marriage lasted until 1970 and produced two children. Neither of whom he married...

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Jay-Z
Country in Question: China
Guilty of: Vulgar lyrics, deem the furrowed brows of the Politburo in Beijing, having given the rapper's lyrics the once-over before his planned Shanghai show in 2006. The Ministry of Culture pronounced his rhymes too offensive for the tender ears of the People's Republic's youth. Any band planning to play the country has to provide lyrics so that officials can make sure nothing too inflammatory gets played. That's a little more compromising than a Parental Advisory sticker.

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Miley Cyrus
Country in Question: China
Guilty of: In 2009, Cyrus, caught making a slanted eyes pose, caused an Internet storm and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the People's Republic of China to forbid the 'Hannah Montana' star from entering the country. All broadcasts of her TV show, films and the sale of her merchandise were also halted, whilst Cyrus issued a fervent apology, saying, "I have learned a valuable lesson from this and know that sometimes my actions can be unintentionally hurtful."

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The Beatles
Country in Question: The Philippines
Guilty of: In July 1966, The Beatles may have been "bigger than Jesus," according to John Lennon, but they were still expected to show grovelling reverence to Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos, the shoe-hoarding wife of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The group politely declined an invitation to the presidential palace, and once the "snub" made the news, they found themselves chased by angry mobs to the airport, beaten by police and forced to pay back their show earnings in order to be allowed to leave without arrest. They weren't invited back.

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M.I.A.
Country in Question: The United States
Guilty of: Controversial lyrics. M.I.A's Mercury Prize-nominated 2005 debut, 'Arular,' bigged up the PLO in the song 'Sunshowers,' and since then, the London-born Sri Lankan singer found US immigration a little frosty, to say the least -- tricky, considering she'd just bought a pad in Brooklyn. Unable to record the follow up to 'Arular' in the States as planned, M.I.A., a.k.a Mathangi 'Maya' Arulpragasam, a former refugee and daughter of a Tamil Tiger rebel, upped sticks and recorded 'Kala' in Jamaica, Liberia and India instead.

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Oasis
Country in Question: China
Guilty of: The Chinese government is, it appears, a little sensitive about Tibet, which China occupied after a brief struggle in 1950. It certainly doesn't like pop stars throwing their muscle behind Tibetan independence. Oasis found this out in 2009 when gigs planned for Shanghai and Beijing were pulled after officials discovered Noel Gallagher had played a Free Tibet concert in the US in 1997. Of course, that's the official reason: Perhaps the Chinese authorities believe Comrade Damon Albarn really is the red sun in the heart of every worker.

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Elvis Presley
Country in Question: outside North America
Guilty of: Elvis wasn't exactly banned from playing outside the US by any authorities, but he was prevented by his manager "Colonel" Tom Parker from playing anywhere abroad. Many believe this was because Parker was secretly Dutch-born and did not have legal US citizenship. He feared being exposed if he applied for a passport to go abroad with Elvis, so despite his charge selling around 40 percent of his records outside the US, The King only ever played outside the States in 1957 on a three-day tour to Canada, where US citizens did not need a passport for entry.

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Beenie Man
Country in Question: New Zealand
Guilty of: No stranger to controversy, the Jamaican reggae star had already had several run-ins with human rights groups over his anti-gay lyrics before his scheduled appearance at the Big Day Out festival in Auckland in 2009. Gay rights groups were outraged at his inclusion on the bill. Despite promoters' pleas that the star had renounced his homophobic views -- he once had a lyric that called on gays in Jamaica to be executed -- they were forced to ban him from the show.

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Björk
Country in Question: China
Guilty of: No stranger to controversy in foreign lands (remember that attack on a reporter in Thailand?), the eccentric Icelandic chanteuse was told in 2008 that she was no longer welcome in China after dedicating her performance of the song 'Declare Independence' in Shanghai to the campaign for freedom in Tibet. That didn't go down too well with the Chinese authorities and the Ministry of Culture issued a statement promising to deny entry to any artist "engaged in activities which threaten our national sovereignty."

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The Kinks
Country in Question: The United States
Guilty of: No one knows for certain why the godfathers of Britpop weren't able to perform in the US for several years in the late 1960s, but suffice it to say that the American Federation of Musicians denied the Kinks a license to perform for several years. Various accounts claim that it was down to the damage the band had repeatedly caused to equipment and venues, the group's appearance at a nonunion approved event in 1966 or even Ray Davies punching a union representative. Or maybe they just didn't like 'Waterloo Sunset' very much...

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Bez
Country in Question: The United States
Guilty of: Despite being scheduled to appear at the Coachella festival in 2007, Happy Mondays had to perform without their much-loved dancer and percussionist, as a previous drug conviction meant he was refused a visa. He was also refused entry in 2003, upon which occasion he tactfully commented: "I turn up and I like to smoke a spliff -- a totally peaceful pastime. And they refuse me access to their country." Call us cynical, but we're not sure if such words would have helped to break any ice at the immigration desk.

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Snoop Dogg
Country in Question: The United Kingdom
Guilty of: "Kick this evil bastard out" went the typically restrained front page headline in the tabloid Daily Star in February 1994. They pointed to Snoop's gangsta-style lyrics and alleged involvement in the murder of a drug dealer (he was acquitted). No such ban was forthcoming, but the playa-hataz finally got their wish in 2006, when his entourage smashed up a duty free shop at Heathrow Airport. The British Home Office subsequently denied Snoop entry for the foreseeable future. It is not known whether he responded with his characteristic "Fo' shizzle, my nizzle."

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The Clash
Country in Question: East Germany
Guilty of: Punk's foremost ideologues tried more than once to play gigs in communist East Germany during the 1970s and 1980s, but despite their open sympathies with revolutionary left-wing causes, their applications to obtain entry visas were refused. Years later, Strummer revealed that once the Berlin Wall came down and secret police files were uncovered, he found the Stasi secret police had studied their music and lyrics and deemed them too "inflammator.". And they also thought 'Sandinista' was a bit patchy.

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Ry Cooder
Country in Question: Cuba
Guilty of: The California slide guitar legend fell foul of his own government when he travelled to Cuba in 1997 to work with local musicians on the album that became the smash hit 'Buena Vista Social Club'. He was fined $100,000 by the US government, which forbids any citizen from travelling to the communist country. The Clinton administration made an exception for him so he could go back in 2000, only for George W. Bush to reimpose the ban. But then we always suspected Dubya had rubbish taste in music ...