Dire Straits Censored 25 Years Later

Radio stations in Canada have been warned to censor the 1985  hit "Money for Nothing," by Dire Straits  after a complaint that the lyrics of the Grammy Award-winning song were derogatory to gay men.

A St. John's, Newfoundland, station should have edited the song to remove the word "faggot" because it violates Canada's human rights standards, according to ruling this week by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.

A unnamed listener to OZ FM in the Atlantic Coast province complained to the industry watchdog last year after hearing the song.

The council said it realized Dire Straits uses the word sarcastically, and its use might have been acceptable in 1985 when the best-selling album, "Brothers in Arms" was released, but said it was now inappropriate.

"The decision doesn't really relate to the Dire Straits song at the end of the day, the decision relates to the word in question," Ron Cohen, the council's chairman, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

OZ FM argued unsuccessfully that the song has been played countless times since it was released more than 25 years ago, has won various industry awards, including Grammys in 1986, and remains popular with listeners around the world.

Although the Dire Straits ruling only sanctions the St John's station, it means other Canadian radio stations could get in trouble it they air the song without censoring it.

The Broadcast Standards Council is a non-governmental industry group that administers ethical standards established by its members, Canada's private broadcasters

Dire Straits was led by frontman Mark Knopfler, they dissolved as a band in the 1990s after a string of hit albums and lots of play on MTV.

To this day, still pretty good music.  Order it here in MP3 format.