Decided to clear a load of old 78 records out of the attic. Some were mine but most were my old dad's and from other passed-on elderly family members. Among those taken to the tip was one with the lyrics, "The sun has got his hat on". I vaguely remembered that a DJ was sacked by the BBC for playing this song. I don't have facilities to play 78's now, but I found the track with the 'offensive word' on You Tube. When I was a kid, and into my teens, I often heard my old dad play this record (Sunday morning were music day), but never noticed what is now deemed offensive.
After listening to the lyrics, it did seem trivial to me and I wondered if the DJ (David Lowe) was conveniently railroaded by the BBC. If Lowe obtained the record from the BBC archives, the questions are:
(a) what was it doing still stored in the archives?, and
(b) did it have any label sticking to it which warned that it should not be played over the air?
Is there still any material in the BBC archives that is now not PC, and just waiting for the next unwary presenter to fall into a trap?
After listening to the lyrics, it did seem trivial to me and I wondered if the DJ (David Lowe) was conveniently railroaded by the BBC. If Lowe obtained the record from the BBC archives, the questions are:
(a) what was it doing still stored in the archives?, and
(b) did it have any label sticking to it which warned that it should not be played over the air?
Is there still any material in the BBC archives that is now not PC, and just waiting for the next unwary presenter to fall into a trap?