GEORGE MICHAEL: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE--OR SEX?

Does George Michael really want our sex?

Or just our love?

That’s what some pop fans around the country must be wondering after hearing the latest version of Michael’s hotly debated hit, “I Want Your Sex,” which has been banned by some radio stations, embraced by others and caused such a ruckus at MTV that the pop star had to add a disclaimer at the top of his video touting the song’s emphasis on monogamy. (See Sound & Vision, Page 100.)

Now a few radio programmers--nervous about fans’ reaction to the song’s erotic chorus--have decided to get rid of the sex angle entirely. WZGC-FM (Z-93), a leading Top 40 station in Atlanta, has carved up the Michael hit, creating a new version called “I Want Your Love,” which the station has been playing in heavy rotation.

What’s more, the station apparently sent copies of its special edit to Columbia Records (Michael’s record company), which in turn has been--unofficially--offering copies of the expurgated edit to other stations around the country.

“I understand we’re getting one from Columbia--they told me it’s on the way,” said John Gehron, general manager of Chicago’s WYTZ-FM, which is playing the original version of the hit. “We really haven’t had any complaints, but if we were going to play the song on (sister station) WLS, I’d be more comfortable playing the edited one. ‘I Want Your Sex’ is pretty raw for a lot of adults to hear. It’s even hard to have the deejay introduce a song with that title.”

Who’d be the most unhappy hearing this expurgated version? Let’s start with George Michael.

“In no way shape or form would George endorse any edit like that--he’s absolutely opposed to it,” said Rob Kahane, one of Michael’s managers. “We don’t want the song altered at all. Anyone that does is (messing) with George’s music.”

Does that include Columbia Records, who programmers say has offered them--unofficially--the same expurgated version? “I can tell you right now, if Columbia is sending out an edited version, it’s a well-kept secret from us,” Kahane said. “I’d be shocked. If they were doing that, I’d have their heads. They can’t do that--and they’re too smart to do that.”

(A spokesman for CBS refused comment.)

Though the edit is sure to spark complaints from other rock artists unhappy about having radio programmers arbitrarily changing their lyrics, Gehron defended the move, citing the Federal Communications Commission’s crackdown on offensive radio material.

“We have a responsibility to our listeners and to our license to make sure that what we’re airing is appropriate for our audience, especially with all these new FCC guidelines,” he said. “We’ve definitely been spending more time in the area of lyrics and content because we don’t want to be caught by surprise by a word or phrase popping up in a song without us knowing about it.”

The reaction to the song here has been a different story. According to Jeff Wyatt, program director at KPWR-FM (Power 106), the uproar has been largely fueled by the media. “The media has given (Michael) his whole career in the past month. His management people are jumping up and down with glee. You couldn’t ask for better publicity. Even my mother’s going to know who he is now!”

Wyatt said his station has received “strong” requests--and few complaints. “We haven’t seen this new ‘Love’ edit, but if we played it now, we’d probably upset more people than we ever could with the original. Everybody’s just gotten all worked up because it has sex in the title--I don’t think people are actually listening to the lyrics. There are lots of songs that are worse than this one. I’ve heard songs with so many moans and groans in them that they don’t have to say anything about sex--they’re obviously having sex in the song anyway.”

Jeff Pollack, a leading radio consultant whose firm advises dozens of Top 40 stations around the country, echoed those sentiments. “We do have stations that are nervous and just playing the song at night,” he said. “No one’s switched over to the edited version yet, though some programmers have told us they’d play it when they get it. Most of our stations are treating this as a novelty record. It’s gotten a lot of notoriety, but let’s face it, it’s not a classic single. I think a lot of people question how long a life span it’ll have.”