Singapore officials seized thousands of dollars worth of compact discs and cassettes, including banned songs such as The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," the New Paper tabloid reported.
"Lucy" was banned in Singapore more than 20 years ago after press reports claimed the initial letters in the title stood for the hallucinogenic drug LSD.Officials raided music stores last week and took away The Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album and "The Very Best of Elton John," both of which include "Lucy."
Also high on the hit list were the U.S. rap album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" by 2 Live Crew, and George Michael's "Faith," which includes the song "I Want Your Sex."
The Ministry of Information and the Arts confirmed that the raids had taken place.
Songs can be banned in Singapore if they contain themes considered objectionable or purvey values deemed undesirable.