March
1987 saw the debut album from the Beastie Boys. Licensed To Ill was
originally going to be called Don't Be A Faggot but was toned
down. It became the first rap album to top the US charts. It stayed at
Number 1 for seven weeks.
In May of the same year, Ad-Rock was
arrested in Liverpool, England, after being accused of hitting a
female fan in the face with a can of beer (faced with a barrage of
beer cans from the audience, Horovitz had batted some back). The British tabloids piled
on a few more sins, accusing the trio of insulting crippled and
mentally handicapped children, not to mention causing an outbreak of
theft of VW car ornaments which Beastie Boys fans wore as medallions.
Nonetheless, the
hit single You've Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party) propelled
the Beasties album into the UK Top 10, as the group became the first
sneering white boy brat rappers to get the tabloids bubbling with
rage.
Their
last UK controversy was at the 1998 Reading Festival when they asked
The Prodigy not to play Smack My Bitch Up as they were offended
by its casual misogyny . . .
Adam 'MCA' Yauch
Mike Diamond
Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz
