Who is the most banned Beatle? Lennon, you would think, with his naked album covers and occasional sweary songs, but for most blanket bans across media groups the winner is, surprisingly, wacky baccy thumbs aloft cheery chappie Paul McCartney. In 1972 his Wings single "Give Ireland Back to The Irish" was completely banned from airplay by all UK media, as well as on Radio Luxemborg. Rush written and released as a response to the Bloody Sunday Shootings, this is as political as pop music can get. With no inference either way on the views expressed in the lyric to be taken from these statements, the track itself is a bit of a sonic soft seventies mush. Lyrically and musically it is pretty thin stuff, and unlikely to have got a crowd going. The title probably conveyed all McCartney intended by itself. Number one in Eire and Spain, number 21 in the USA and number 16 in the UK, so "banned" but not prohibited, although generally overlooked in most retrospectives. NB - despite the title of the you tube link, this single did not appear on any McCartney LP until bonus tracks were added to CD re-issues in the late nineties.
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