MTV forced Faithless to change lyrics to biggest song ‘Insomnia’

All across the nation, people will be listening to the dance anthems of Faithless following the sad news of singer Maxi Jazz’s death.

Jazz – real name Maxwell Fraser – was the voice of the group, and following his death, the band credited him with giving ‘proper meaning’ to their music.

One of their biggest hits, ‘Insomnia’, was released back in 1995, and reflecting on the track 25 years on, Jazz explained that he was forced to tweak the lyrics by MTV.

“That first line – ‘Deep in the bosom of the gentle night’ – is not me channelling Dylan Thomas,” he told The Guardian.

“That was forced on us by MTV because they felt the original first line – ‘I only smoke weed when I need to’ – was too graphic.

“There were eyebrows raised about the lines ‘Making mad love to my girl on the heath / Tearing off tights with my teeth’ but they managed to stay in.”

It’s worth noting that while the radio edit may open with the modified line, there is a longer 8min+ version which begins with the original weed-smoking lyrics at around the 5m 30secs mark – so make sure you give that a listen if you haven’t heard it.

Explaining the inspiration behind the words, Jazz said: “The lyrics are from personal experience. I didn’t suffer from insomnia, but I’d just had an abscess on my tooth. It was so painful it would keep me awake.

“The lines about having no electricity and reaching for the pen in the darkness were also from real life. I had an electricity meter and when the money ran out you’d get six or seven pounds of credit and then – ‘Boom!’ – the lights would go out. So I used to write by candlelight.”

The track went on to become a club banger, standing the test of time to this day. However, the band had not considered how perfectly the lyrics would resonate on dance floors.

“None of us realised how the line ‘I can’t get no sleep’ would resonate with generations of clubland audiences,” Jazz recalled.

“Suddenly the song was being played to crowds who had arguably taken 50 quid’s worth of high-powered drugs and weren’t thinking of getting much sleep for days.

“If we’d tried to write about that deliberately, it would have turned out cheesy and corny, but afterwards you think: ‘Of course!'”

In a Facebook post, the group paid tribute to Jazz, whose cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

The band said: “We are heartbroken to say Maxi Jazz died last night. He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways.

“He gave proper meaning and message to our music.

“He was a lovely human being with time for everyone and a wisdom that was both profound and accessible. It was an honour and, of course, a true pleasure to work with him.”

“He was a brilliant lyricist, a DJ, a Buddhist, a magnificent stage presence, car lover, endless talker, beautiful person, moral compass and genius.”