In 1976, Rod Stewart was at the height of his fame when he released what seemed, on the surface, to be a sweet, romantic ballad: “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright).” However, the broadcasters and censors of the time found the song not “sweet” but deeply scandalous.
The Public “Sexual” Scandal
The controversy stemmed from two provocative elements. Firstly, the lyrics explicitly described seducing a woman, containing lines like: “You’d be a fool to stop this tide/Spread your wings and let me come inside.” This was considered too forward for many conservative listeners of the era.
Secondly, and perhaps most infamously, was the song’s ending. Stewart brought his then-girlfriend—the glamorous actress Britt Ekland—into the studio to record a whispered coda. Her sensual French words and accompanying moans at the track’s conclusion were instantly considered too explicit for the moral standards of the time.
The Censorship and The Backfire
The BBC and many major radio stations in both the UK and US immediately labelled the song “dangerous.” They charged that the track promoted promiscuity and could “corrupt” young people. Radio stations quickly responded by either refusing to air the track at all, or by outright cutting out the scandalous ending featuring Britt Ekland’s voice. In the U.S., RKO radio networks even mandated an edit to remove the key line, “Spread your wings and let me come inside.”
However, the censorship backfired spectacularly. By attempting to ban or sanitize the track, they inadvertently amplified its suggestive nature and created a massive demand for the full, uncut version. The forbidden nature of the song instantly transformed it from a mere hit into a cultural statement. The BBC ban turned the song into a global sensation of rebellion.
“Tonight’s the Night” quickly soared up the charts, spending a phenomenal eight consecutive weeks at Number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming a massive commercial success that overshadowed the moral outcry. The controversy proved that public taste, especially among younger audiences, was ready to embrace the boundary-pushing rock of the late 70s, making the song a landmark moment in challenging broadcast morality.
