For the exhibition ‘Indecency’, which celebrated the taboo side of sex, sexuality and love on Valentines Day, ‘Parental Advisory’ is a selection of music with erotic or explicit content. The work featured the selected being played in the gallery on a loop, 15 copies of the CD for visitors to the exhibition to take away and a book of the lyrics to peruse. Many of the tracks had been banned on BBC television radio for all or some of their history. It’s hard to imagine tracks like ‘When I’m cleaning windows’ by George Formby causing the then director of the BBC to declare it ‘disgusting’, but it’s easy to see why Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg’s explicit ‘Je t’aime… moi non plu’ still raises eyebrows today. This selection bounces between genres and includes reggae, hip-hop, rock, disco, skiffle and comedy proving that sex remains an irresistible subject matter for all artists.
1. Orgasm – Prince
2. I’m wild about that thing (The Lost Sex Tapes Position 1) – Coldcut
3. Je t’aime… Moi non plus – Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg
4. Sex (I’m A) – Lovage
5. Wet Dream – Max Romeo
6. Relax – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
7. Poke ’ er ’ ole – Add N to (X)
8. Let’s spend the night together -The Rolling Stones
9. Peaches – The Stranglers
10. Too drunk to fuck – Nouvelle Vague
11. When I’m cleaning windows – George Formby
12. I’m wild about that thing – Bessie Smith
13. Sit on my face – Monty Python