Banned by the BBC in '72 - Give Ireland Back to the Irish

[sl8]

From https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_Ireland_Back_to_the_Irish

Give Ireland Back to the Irish

"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings that was released as their debut single in February 1972. It was written by Paul McCartney and his wife Linda in response to the events of Bloody Sunday, on 30 January that year, when British troops in Northern Ireland shot dead thirteen Irish republican protestors. Keen to voice their outrage at the killings, Wings recorded the track two days later at Abbey Road Studios in London. It was the band's first song to include Irish guitarist Henry McCullough.

"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" was banned from broadcast in the UK by the BBC and other organisations, and was overlooked by radio programmers in the United States. The single peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but topped the national chart in Ireland. Having never released an overtly political song before, McCartney was condemned by the British media for his seemingly pro-IRA stance on Northern Ireland.[1] As with Wings' recent album, Wild Life, the song was also maligned by many music critics.[2][3] These writers found McCartney's lyrics overly simplistic and viewed the single as an attempt by him to gain credibility for his new band on the back of a pressing political issue.

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[chuckstevens]

1. John Lennon's Luck of the Irish is much better!

[LisaM]

2. I don't think that's a very good song, either.

The Irish don't tend to wish they are English or dead!

Lennon and McCartney would have done better to work together and written one good song.

[lunamagica]

4. I disagree

[mitch96]

3. Aye, he got his point across, eh? nt