BBC sorry for Rage Against the Machine swear-fest

The BBC has apologised after Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha swore repeatedly during a live performance of his unlikely Christmas number one contender Killing in the Name.  

De la Rocha ignored a plea by BBC producers not to sing the final refrain of the song on BBC Radio 5 Live's breakfast show on Thursday. Instead, the singer ploughed on - attempting to repeat the phrase "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!" 16 times - as per the original song.

Radio 5 Live's breakfast hosts Nicky Campbell and Shelagh Fogarty had invited Rage Against the Machine on their morning show following a Facebook campaign to stop The X-Factor winner Joe McElderry taking the coveted Christmas number one spot. The group, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE FOR CHRISTMAS NO.1, now has 871,789 members who support the movement to buy the American rockers' 1992 single this week to foil Simon Cowell's newest protégé.
 
Rage Against the Machine, who performed live from Los Angeles, had been asked not to sing the final refrain, "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!" but, unsurprisingly given the phrase's sentiment, de la Rocha sang it anyway. It was not until the fourth repetition that the breakfast show production team faded out the microphone and returned to the studio, while Fogarty could be heard shouting in the background: "Get rid of it!"

She told listeners: "We asked them not to do it and they did it anyway." Fogarty then attempted to exact revenge by urging listeners to "buy Joe's records".

The 5 Live Breakfast editor, Richard Jackson, defended the decision to broadcast a live performance by Rage Against the Machine. As The First Post reported yesterday, BBC's Radio 1 and 6 Music have been playing the single minus the song's sweary climax.

Writing on the Radio 5 Live blog, Jackson said: "When Rage Against the Machine swore on Breakfast this morning, some people felt we should have seen it coming." He added: "Our producer had several conversations with the band and their management about the requirement not to swear. We told them it was a breakfast show. We took them at their word when they said there would be no bad language."

It is the second time the BBC's airwaves have been turned blue this week. On Tuesday singer George Michael swore on Chris Evans's BBC Radio 2 drivetime show when he was asked if he would ever appear on Top Gear. Michael said: "Yes... other than the fact I'd be afraid of coming last on that fucking scoreboard." ·