Sex sells: 11 scandalous songs in Germany

"My best publicity comes from the Vatican," composer Serge Gainsbourg once said. His song "Je t'aime," which he performed together with Jane Birkin in 1969, stirred an uproar not only in Rome. Their erotic number was even outlawed in many countries and German broadcasters refused to play the song at times. At the time, songs about sex were often indexed.

The musical "Hair" enjoys cult status and fans continue to flock to theaters when it is shown. When it was presented on stage in Munich in 1968, it caused a scandal. It was claimed that in the musical, "three people were rolling around on the stage," alluding to a ménage à trois. In response, producer Werner Schmid added a blanket to the problematic scene.

Christians and Jews were equally critical of the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar," gathering for a protest before its premiere on Broadway in 1971. Whereas some Jews saw it as anti-Semitic, some Christians felt insulted by its presentation of Jesus.

German singer Udo Lindenberg's song "Bodo Ballermann" irked a lot of people in 1976, as it contained the German verb "bumsen," which is a crude reference to sex. Public German television even changed the text, and some broadcasters refused to play the song.

In 1981, the German song "Skandal um Rosi," the only big hit by the group Spyder Murphy Gang, attracted a lot of attention. Since the word "Nutten" (whores) came up in the text, broadcasters in Bavaria boycotted the song. Also, a telephone number mentioned in the text resulted in a lot of trouble - because it really existed. It was quickly removed from the listing, and has not been issued since.

Until the 1980s, music containing topics such as sex, drugs, suicide and violence was often censored. In the early 90s, far-right political songs were often censored as well. Austrian singer Falco, who was very successful with "Amadeus," even in the US, got himself into deep trouble with "Jeanny" in 1985, as it contained a sex murder. Both the music and the video were censored.

Peter Tosh came under fire for calling for the legalization of marijuana in his song "Legalize It." Besides, the Rastafarian admitted to smoking pot himself. That's why he was not allowed to perform in Munich in 1983 and his album ended up on the index.

The German punk group Ärzte broke all records when it comes to censorship. They were not allowed to make some of their songs accessible to minors, among them the song "Geschwisterliebe" (Love between siblings) from 1987, as the text alluded to sex between a brother and a sister.

Hardly any other German band is as controversial as Rammstein, which is Germany's best-known band outside the country. In 2009, their album "Liebe ist für alle da" (Love is there for everybody) was censored in Germany. It was claimed that the band was glamorizing sadomasochistic practices and encouraging people to have unprotected sex.

On February 21, 2012, four masked women stepped in front of the altar of a Moscow cathedral. In an improvised concert, the Russian punk band Pussy Riot screamed out its anger against President Putin. Despite international protests, the four women were sentenced for being rowdies. German politicians also called for their release, and in December 2013 the last remaining activist was released.

In 2013, rapper Bushido was heavily criticized for homophobic passages, and even calls for violence against gays, women and politicians in his song "Stress ohne Grund" (Stress without a reason). The video accompanying the song was blocked on the internet and the song itself ended up on the index. Bushido sued on the grounds of artistic freedom and won the case.