On December 17, 1977 Elvis Costello appeared on Saturday Night Live when the Sex Pistols were unable to appear. His debut album, My Aim Is True, had just come out in America a month earlier and the band was supposed to play his single “Less Than Zero,” but only a few bars into the song, Costello put a stop to it. “I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “but there’s no reason to do this song here.” At that point he and the band launched into “Radio Radio,” a song that takes a jab at corporate-controlled broadcasting. Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels was furious. According to some reports, he raised his middle finger at Costello and kept it up until the unapproved song was over. Costello was banned from the show for nearly 12 years.
More: Open Culture
Lorne Michaels can't take it!
ReplyDelete