"The Right Thing" by Simply Red

1987 / #27

Rate Your Music score: 3.16 out of 5!

Banned in Singapore! And this song didn't even have a single mention of chewing gum or not flushing toilets.

The government of Singapore deemed "The Right Thing" by the English group Simply Red so suggestive that it banned the entire album, prohibiting it from being sold at all. The song aired on MTV and many American radio stations without any trouble, but it was too much for a regime that was praised by George H.W. Bush and David Perdue. The Simply Red ban came several years before the island country outlawed the sale, import, and possession of chewing gum. That was also before schools in Newport, Kentucky, praised the regime in a project given to students.

But in 1992, a newspaper article said Simply Red performed the banned song at a concert in Singapore despite the prohibition. In order to be allowed to hold a concert, the band had to first submit to the government a list of songs that they were going to play. They left "The Right Thing" off that list. The article also said Color Me Badd gave a concert in Singapore that included their banned song "I Wanna Sex You Up."

A police spokesman vowed that "action will be taken" against both acts.

The initial Simply Red ban came years after Singapore outlawed jukeboxes, pinball machines, and long hair on men. In 1972, the government of Singapore instituted what it called Operation Snip Snip, in which men were required to cut their hair. Cliff Richard of all people was denied entry into the country because his hair was too long. Operation Snip Snip was tightened in 1974, as government agents conducted surprise inspections of workplaces to nab long-haired men.

They wasted all their tears. Wasted all those years.