Here in America we've seen some of our First Amendment rights start to slip away the past few years, but overall we live in a pretty free society and take for granted the access we have to media of all types, including music.

Historians have dug up a list of music banned in the USSR back in the not too distant past. It's quite a list, as reported in the Scotsman:

- the Sex Pistols, Madness, AC/DC, the Village People, Donna Summer and Julio Iglesias were part of the eclectic mix of censored acts.

- "Talking Heads joined the list for "myth of the Soviet military threat" and Pink Floyd were blacklisted for "distortion of Soviet foreign policy".

- "Heavy metal acts such as Black Sabbath, Nazareth, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest were blacklisted for supposed offences including religious obscurantism, violence, racism and anti-communism."

- "the Clash were banned for 'punk and violence,' as were, among others, the B-52s, the Stranglers and Blondie."

- "Tina Turner was banned for "sex", Donna Summer for 'eroticism'"

Dr Andrei Rogatchevski, a lecturer in Russian studies at Glasgow University, said: "The authorities didn't like references to sex because they disliked any emotions they could not control."

That sounds like certain extremely influential groups right here in America.