On This Day: The Doors Were Banned From The Ed Sullivan Show

The story of The Doors' bust-up with Ed Sullivan and other infamous small-screen tribulations.

In perhaps the most famous incident of defiance on the small screen, it was on this day in 1967 that, following in the footsteps of Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, and Bo Diddley, The Doors received a lifetime ban from The Ed Sullivan Show. Back then, things were decidedly tamer and drug references were a big no-no, so before the band performed, producers asked them to change the line “girl, we couldn’t get much higher” from their erotically charged single, “Light My Fire”, to something far duller. The band agreed during rehearsals - yet when it came to the live show, Morrison instead chose to sing the original line, leading to the cancellation of the multi-episode deal they were negotiating and Sullivan’s proclamation: “You will never do this show again.” Morrison, always one to lash out against authority and tradition, shot back: “Hey, man. We just did the Sullivan show.” The incident was later reenacted in Oliver Stone's film The Doors (1991), in a scene that paints a typically Hollywood-coloured version of events. Val Kilmer, in a career-defining turn as Morrison - a role that later drove him to therapy to detach from the frontman - struts up to the camera, stares down the lens, and, to the horror of the control room and a screaming producer, accentuates the word “higher.” In reality, Morrison’s rebellion was more low-key. On the two occasions he sings the line, his eyes remain closed, and rather than making a show of his dissent, Jim is lost in his performance - most likely high on the same drugs he’s singing about. Oddly, for a film riddled with inaccuracies, Stone chose to omit Morrison’s quick-witted retort to Sullivan.

Whether it’s The Who getting banned from Holiday Inn hotels for life after drummer Keith Moon drove a Lincoln Continental into a swimming pool or Oasis being deemed too “unsuitable” to tour in China, every archetypal rock band has its notorious brush with authority. Metallica's moment came at the 1996 MTV Music Awards, when they pulled a stunt that went far beyond the remits of polite society. The metal juganauts were set to play “King Nothing”, a single from their divisive sixth album Load, when a request from MTV officials to refrain from saying any naughty words irked the band so much that, rather than pulling a Morrison-esque move and ignoring it, they opted to do something far more provocative. Instead of playing their own material, it was decided that “Last Caress” by The Misfits would be their opening song. The first line of “Last Caress” states, “I’ve got something to say, I killed a baby today”, before going on to describe rape, more infanticide, and the excitement of an imminent “sweet lovely death.” This was followed by a cover of “So What” by Anti-Nowhere League, the lyrics of which contain cocks, cunts, STDs, bestiality, descriptions of shooting smack, and a line about shagging the Queen. Unsurprisingly, MTV bigwigs were less than pleased. Metallica were banned from future events, and the performance was wiped from re-airings.

One of live TV’s biggest car crashes hit in 1986 when the decade's most criminally underrated band, The Replacements, appeared on SNL. Out of their minds on green-room booze, the infamously debauched Midwest rockers stumbled through an entirely out-of-time rendition of “Bastards of Young”, slurring their words and tripping over each other throughout. It was so loud that the sound department had to lower the volume after the band had secretly cranked it up. Frontman Paul Westerberg capped off the disastrous display by yelling “C’mon fucker” at lead guitarist Bob Stinson before giving an exaggerated wink to the camera. Despite arriving on stage in each other's clothes and looking no less plastered, the second segment of their set was played without too much of a fuss. By then, though, the damage was already done. A catalogue of backstage caranage that included getting Harry Dean Stanton drunk on vodka (something that SNL boss Lorne Michaels had forbidden) and Stinson shitting in a bucket, led to a lifetime ban from the show. The kicker was that Michaels had rejected The Cure due to their reputation as drunkards, only to book The Replacements instead. After SNL, The Mats continued to fuck up every opportunity offered to them in booze-fuelled self-destruction until their untimely split in 1991.

Ten years earlier, another incident occurred live from 30 Rock when a 23-year-old Elvis Costello and his band, the Attractions, filled in for the Sex Pistols on SNL. The Pistols were forced to cancel thanks to visa issues arising from previous drug convictions. If you watch the footage closely, you can spot the Attraction’s drummer donning a t-shirt that reads “THANKS MALC” - a nod to the Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. Costello and co were meant to play their debut single, “Less Than Zero”, and they did, for all of 5 seconds. At that point, Costello yelled “Stop!” and waved his arms around to silence his band before turning to the camera and announcing, “I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there’s no reason to do this song here." Knowing they could get cut off any minute, the band then flew into a breakneck version of “Radio Radio”, a song that takes a sarcastic jab at commercial radio's control over what people listen to, and one that Lorne Michaels had warned Costello not to play. In retaliation, a pissed-off Michaels apparently stood at the side of the stage for the rest of the performance with his middle finger raised at Costello.

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