March 24, 2003 14:44

THE HEAT IS NOT ON!

'Bandages' to suffer as major music networks take the Middle East war into account while formulating playlists...

Rising stars HOT HOT HEAT have seen their track 'BANDAGES' removed from playlist at BBC RADIO 1, as the nation's programmers get jittery over the output on their stations.

The track had been on the B list on the station, guaranteeing 15 plays a week and a potential audience of millions. It has been removed because of a "prevalence of the word 'bandages' in the song", a spokesperson said.

Being playlisted on Radio 1 practically rubber-stamps a healthy chart position. 'Diamonds And Guns' by The Transplants has also been removed from the B list.

"We're attempting to be sensitive to the expectations of listeners," the Radio 1 spokesperson said.

All major music networks are being increasingly careful of the music and videos they play as the war escalates. MTV Europe has issued strict guidelines to its staff, going to far as to single out specific videos that can't be played because of either content of the songs, the videos, or the title.

They ban 'Bombs Over Baghdad' by Outkast , anti-war standard '19' by Paul Hardcastle, Aerosmith's 'I Don't Want To Miss a Thing' and [a][/a]' 'So Why So Sad' amongst a long list of others.

See this week's NME (March 29) for a report on the impact of the war on the cultural life of young Britain.