Canada bans original version of Dire Straits 'Money for Nothing' from radio

[Newsjock]

Source: The Globe and Mail

Canada’s broadcast standards council has reached back to 1985’s Top 40 to ban an anti-gay epithet in an old Dire Straits hit from the radio.

The song Money for Nothing was a smash when an animated music video seemed new and cool. But its lyrics, in which a loutish store worker ridicules a pop star as a “faggot,” don’t meet the test for 2011’s public airwaves, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled.

St. John’s OZ FM aired the song last year, sparking a complaint that has essentially resulted in a ban on the word from radio airplay in any song – a victory, according to a major gay-rights group, against a slur often hurled by violent gay bashers.

The ruling also brought criticism from those who argued the censors ignored the context of the song, and complaints to the council from many who feel a 25-year-old hit should be left alone.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/complaint-about-anti-gay-slur-prompted-ban-on-dire-straits-song/article1869585/