The Rolling Stones have blasted US TV bosses for censoring their Superbowl show.
The ageing rockers said it was "absolutely ridiculous and completely unnecessary" for producers to cut lyrics out of their performance on Sunday (05.02.06).
Earlier this week it was revealed the show had to be censored because producers thought it was too risque.
TV heads - still smarting from the outcry when Janet Jackson exposed her boob at the Superbowl football game two years ago - feared the band's explicit lyrics might anger the audience.
They reportedly used a five-second time delay between the half-time show and the TV broadcast to cut the words, "Am I just one of your c**ks?" from "Rough Justice" and "You, you make a dead man c**e," from "Start Me Up."
They are also said to have turned off the microphone as Mick Jagger belted out some of the group's raunchier lyrics.
National Football League (NFL) spokesman Brian McCarthy said: "The Rolling Stones were aware of our plan which was to simply lower the volume on Mick Jagger's microphone at two appropriate moments.
"We had agreed to that plan earlier in the week. The Stones were aware of it and were fine with it."
