The Soviet Union circa 1985 was a pretty goddamn hostile place, with rampant xenophobia and restrictive laws making the communist society one where culture didn’t exactly thrive. It’s not surprising then that many Western bands would be banned from being listened to in the country due to associations with violence, sex, drugs and religion that were taboo subjects in Soviet society.
Although you could wager a pretty solid guess at which bands may have been banned, Uproxx actually unearthed a list titled “The approximate list of foreign musical groups and artists whose repertoires contain ideologically harmful compositions” that was distributed by communist officials in January of 1985 throughout the Soviet Union. What’s even funnier is that each artist has a reason next to their name, ranging from standard stuff like sex and violence, to some pretty ridiculous shit such as neo-fascism (I’m looking at you Julio Englasias), and interfering the foreign policy of USSR (those pesky kids from Pink Floyd).
Have a geez at the full list below:
That’s the translated version from Alexei Yurchak’s new book, Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More:
