On June 3rd 1987, George Michael’s song entitled, “I Want Your Sex” was banned by the BBC.
In this song, Michael makes a forthright plea to his lover, making a case for why they should have sex. Among the reasons: It’s natural, he’s been waiting a long time and he’s out of patience, everybody should do it, he loves her. Trying to get in a girl’s pants is a common theme in Rock and R&B music, but this is the first hit song that included the word “Sex” in the title, although Marvin Gaye knocked on the door with his 1982 hit “Sexual Healing.”
This was Michael’s first single as a solo artist. His clean-cut image as a member of Wham, which is probably why George Michaels chose this single to be an eye opening experience, because people will remember things more about you if there’s some sort controversy going on than with anything else.
If you never heard of the song before, today’s YouTube video clip from user named hippo camp 1 lover, is combined lyrics to read as you listen to the song.
This song causes a great deal of controversy when it was initially released, but was a rare song that became accepted as the artist explained himself. Amid concerns that the song was promoting promiscuity in the age of AIDS, the BBC restricted airplay to after 9pm, and many US radio stations refused to play it.
Michael issued a statement in response, saying, “The media has divided love and sex incredibly. The emphasis of the AIDS campaign has been on safe sex, but the campaign has missed relationships. It’s missed emotion. It’s missed monogamy. ‘I Want Your Sex’ is about attaching lust to love, not just to strangers.”
Michael made a strong statement with the video for this song, where he wrote the words “explore monogamy” on his girlfriend, who was a make-up artist named “Kathy Jeung.” It was rare for a video to include a written message to complement a song, and the technique was very powerful, especially since few people could criticize the message.
In retrospect, Michael’s support for monogamy seems logical, as his homosexuality became public in the ’90s. With AIDS spreading and many people still uneducated about the disease, it would have been very irresponsible for a gay man to advocate promiscuous sex.
Wanting something is endless, but needing something puts your perspective in the right place where your happiness can grow.
Written and Designed by JD Mitchell
jdmitchelldesigns@gmail.com
Days to Remember 