Fairytale Of New York Banned By Radio 1 Again

"Relax" was notoriously banned by the BBC. A couple of DJs like John Peel, ignored the ban and played the track on late night shows.

 

Interesting copies of tweets from foul mouthed bigots who can't spell. Can we keep this sort of thing off the bulletin board. If you want to read it on Twitter, go ahead.

 

If you want to hear the new edited version tune to radio 1, if you'd rather the original tune to radio 2.
Hope that helps

 

If you don't take account of context in relation to when language is used, then you might as well just pack up and move to the USA or Russia.

 

It's cockney rhyming slang

Berkshire Hunt

 

Don't do cockney so thank you!

 

It's a weird one because it made the jump into the national consciousness and is used almost exclusively as an affectionate way to tell someone close to you they're being a bit daft ("Of course they're individual grains of rice, what did you think Rice Krispies were made of you Berk?"), but its etymology is really quite dark. Words can, of course, change meaning. 'Gay' doesn't mean happy and carefree anymore, it means you're attracted to people of your own gender. There was a malicious attempt, and it's still ongoing to some extent, to change the meaning again, to something derogatory, but that's flagging and will fail.

Berk has almost certainly shed its vulgar origins. You didn't know the original definition and, for a good deal of my life, neither did I. I've used the word hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times in my life, but never with malice. It's a great word to use when someone you like isn't being quite as intelligent as they should be, and I've heard it said to me more than I've said it myself. The obvious joke here is that they were saying it to me with the original definition.

The fun thing about it is that it was people who knew exactly what it meant who brought it into the public consciousness. They were being subversive and mischievous and getting away with it, and that's really cool. IMHO

 

It seems a bit tenuous does this, given that Berkshire is pronounced Barkshire.

Why don't we call people barks?

 

I've checked - it's the Berkeley Hunt, not Berkshire.

Makes more sense.

 

Well I never knew that with regards Berk, I just thought it was a lesser word meaning idiot, I didn’t know it’s original origins and that it was rhyming slang, I feel a proper berk now

 

It is, you're right, apologies. It's Friday, brain is full, things I used to know have fallen out.

 

We're all barks mate on here mate.

Or barking mad (there'll be a story behind that term too no doubt).

I learnt summat I never knew about berks. But yep I'll have forgotten it by the end of the year.

Silly hunt that I am.

 

Still pronounced Bark though! Strange...

 

Yeah you're right - I apologise to Jay cos it seems the yanks and the cockneys do seem to have a bent towards calling them both "berk".

But then again... yanks and cockneys......we can't have them in charge of how things are pronounced can we?

 

Mike Reid led the charge to ban it. Imagine my surprise when he later nominated it as his record of the year. Being banned back in the day was a badge of honour. I can't imagine Mike Reid or any other BBC DJ of the time would ever take a back hander at the dictate of the record company. So obviously Mike Reid (assuming no massive bribe from the record company) started out being very disgusted by Relax. But on further listening, he decided that this ode to sex in all its glory (of any colour, orientation etc) was one of the best records of the year. Well done mate. Your volte face ranks up there with our own fan who has (very rightly) denounced his previous racism (BTW.....only one of you has any credibility....it aint the hypocrite DJ either)