What song got Elvis Costello banned from "Saturday Night Live" for 12 years?

The song that got Elvis Costello banned from Saturday Night Live for about 12 years was “Radio Radio.”

During Costello's appearance on December 17, 1977, he and the Attractions were expected to perform “Less Than Zero.” After beginning that song, Costello stopped the band after only a few bars and abruptly switched to “Radio Radio,” a sharp criticism of commercial broadcasting and the music industry. The unscheduled change angered producer Lorne Michaels and violated the show's planned musical arrangement.

The incident became one of Saturday Night Live's most famous live-broadcast surprises. Costello later explained that the stunt was influenced partly by Jimi Hendrix's willingness to interrupt an expected performance and partly by his desire to make a stronger statement with the song. Accounts differ over exactly who ordered the original song and whether censorship concerns were the main reason for the conflict.

Costello was not invited back to perform on the program until 1989, roughly twelve years later. He revisited the moment during the 1999 Saturday Night Live 25th anniversary special, performing “Radio Radio” with the Beastie Boys.