From early in the life of the BBC, the Corporation’s senior management operated a system of unofficial censorship, whereby before records could be played on the air, they had to be approved for broadcast by the Dance Music Policy Committee (or other similar incarnations over the years), and their decision endorsed by the Head of Light Entertainment. Records were banned from broadcast for a variety of reasons – risqué innuendo, religious references, mention of commercial brands, over-sentimentality, bad taste, and (a particular obsession of the BBC’s Director of Music in the 1940s, Sir Arthur Bliss) the fact that a tune was borrowed from classical works. As a result, a large number of records, of widely disparate style and content, found themselves with “Not to be broadcast” stickers on them. Among the bizarre decisions was the restricting the playing of Bing Crosby’s “Deep In The Heart Of Texas” during working hours on the basis that the infectious rhythm would encourage workers to bang their tools on machinery in time with the music. This collection brings together 75 recordings which fell foul of the BBC’s red pencil up to the year 1957.
Writer Spencer Leigh has spent a considerable amount of time at the BBC’s Written Archives Centre in Caversham, researching the files of the Dance Policy Committee and related bodies to find the internal correspondence about records that were labelled “Not to be broadcast”. The results of his research, along with related input from a number of music collectors and aficionados, have been brought together in this collection, which gives a fascinating insight into the thinking of our national broadcaster and how it interpreted the social values of the time in deciding what we should hear. As can be seen from the track listing, it encompasses a remarkable range of material, which variously transgresses the Committee’s often obtuse interpretation of the guidelines. The booklet makes this a real collector’s item, providing summaries of the reasons of the decisions, sometimes quoting from the relevant internal BBC memos. This is the first time the subject has been dealt with in such depth, and will have a unique appeal.