Remember When: Dick Clark Censored the Beastie Boys on ‘American Bandstand’ for a Crotch Grab and the Trio Were Accused of Phone Theft

Hosted by Dick Clark on ABC from 1956 through 1989, American Bandstand was a visual gateway to rock, pop, rap, and artists in every genre in between with performances by Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, the Doors, Madonna, and Run–D.M.C., among countless others before—and after—video music television took hold of viewers by the ’80s.

Throughout the decades, American Bandstand also marked some of the most memorable, and mostly sanitized performances, by some of the biggest names in music. In 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis performed on American Bandstand three times but refused to go with the typical lip-syncing and performed his hit “Great Balls of Fire” live. Pre-David Gilmour Pink Floyd made their way onto Bandstand in ’67 and chatted about eating burgers in America, and the Jacksons made their first and only appearance on the show three years later.

In 1980, John Lydon wormed through the audience, inviting some members of the crowd around Public Image Ltd.’s performance making the lip-syncing obvious during the band’s appearance, while a starlight-eyed Madonna gave her first appearance on American Bandstand in 1984 with her 1983 hit “Holiday” before casually declaring that she wanted “To rule the world.”

Aretha Franklin, Buddy Holly, and the Crickets, Johnny Cash, the Everly Brothers, Bee Gees, Cher, Pat Benatar, ABBA, Bon Jovi, and hundreds of other artists appeared on the show throughout its run on television.

[RELATED: 5 Artists Who Were Censored and Banned on Television]

Ill Communication

Of the many firsts on the show, American Bandstand censored its first act on May 4, 1987, when the Beastie Boys were invited to the show to promote their breakthrough debut No. 1 Licensed to Ill and their hit “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party).”

At first, the Beasties Boys were pumped up to perform until they found out they had to lip-sync the song.

“We had to [perform] to a tape,” said Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. “We couldn’t play it live, so we threw our mics on the ground and wrecked them.”

Ad-Rock’s Crotch Grab

For the most part, the Beastie Boys played along to the recording of the song, pretending to sing within the circular performance space, while running, jumping, and even moshing with one another. Throughout their performance, they continued to drop their microphones while the song played on, making it obvious that they weren’t singing.

At one point, the late Beastie Boy Adam Nathaniel Yauch (1964-2012) held the mic so far from his mouth, and Michael “Mike D” Diamond was falling over his bandmates, while they all missed their singing cues. Mid-way through, Ad-Rock also grabbed his crotch, which was edited out by the time the episode finally aired.

The Beastie Boys were presumably banned from the Clark production for not following the lip-syncing agreement and never returned to the show again.

A Missing Phone

Along with the group’s ill-fated performance, Clark allegedly accused the trio of insulting his wife by stealing a phone from his office, but the Beastie Boys denied all allegations.

“We never even saw his wife,” said Ad-Rock. “He said we stole a telephone from his office. I think I can buy a $10 phone on the street, so why would I have to steal one from his office?”

Photo: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images