Radio 1 denies banning 'older' artists from playlist after claims Madonna was struck off

The station said tracks were chosen on their musical merit and relevance to a young audience on a 'case-by-case basis'

Daisy Wyatt
Tuesday 17 February 2015 17:10 GMT
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Madonna is not in Twitter's good books after describing her album leak as 'artistic rape and terrorism'
Madonna is not in Twitter's good books after describing her album leak as 'artistic rape and terrorism'

Radio 1 has spoken out after reports it had banned Madonna from its playlist due to claims she was too old.

The station has defended its playlist choice after a story in the Mail on Sunday said Madonna had been banned after her new single “Living for Love” had only been played once since its debut in December.

In a statement on its Facebook page, Radio 1 said it “did not ban anyone” and added that it currently has two Paul McCartney tracks on its playlist.

“Radio 1 does not ban anyone – please don’t believe the papers,” it said.

“The tracks played by Radio 1 are chosen on musical merit and their relevance to our young audience on a case-by-case basis, and whilst around 40% of the country’s 15 to 29-year-olds tune into Radio 1 each week, an artist’s age is never a factor.

“In fact, Paul McCartney currently has two tracks – ‘FourFiveSeconds’ and ‘Only One’ – on the Radio 1 playlist.”

The BBC radio station has previously come under fire for not playing artists over a certain age

Breakfast presenter Nick Grimshaw claimed that Robbie Williams was “not relevant” to his target audience of 15-19 year olds.

Lily Allen, 29, and La Roux singer Elly Jackson, 26, have also been excluded from the list before.

Grimshaw took over from Chris Moyles in 2012 in a bid to attract younger listeners to Radio 1.

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