International stars on stage in China

The Scorpions are celebrating 50 years in the business with the documentary "Forever and a Day," co-produced by DW, and a three-year anniversary world tour. They'll top off an exciting year with their first-ever show in China on May 1 at the Chang Jiang Music Festival. Here are more top acts that have faced China's censors - and either made it on stage or been demonstratively banned.

After a period of isolation toward Western pop culture, Wham! became the first foreign pop group to perform in China in 1985. Some 15,000 people turned up in Beijing to see George Michael and his crew, who toned down their volume for the subdued Chinese crowd. While neither the audience nor the musicians knew how to respond to each other, the rare concert was a milestone for pop in China.

In 1987, the folk rock band BAP from Cologne became the first German group to perform in China. Founding member Wolfgang Niedecken said BAP represented "the rebellious feeling of the rock generation" but that apparently didn't bother the censors. While the audience found the show a bit too loud, the band would have liked a bit more applause.

One-time princess of pop Britney Spears was one of the early Western stars to take to the stage in Shanghai and Beijing. Permission for the performances was granted on one condition: She had to put on a few more clothes than she usually did on stage. Though her sexy outfits were a concern for the authorities, her song lyrics were not considered politically threatening.

Authorities do background checks on musicians and pre-approve their set lists before permitting a foreign band to perform. Songs deemed immoral or contrary to the party line are cut. For their 2006 visit, the Rolling Stones had to slash five numbers, including "Let's Spend the Night Together." In 2014, their most political song, "Street Fighting Man" about unrest in Europe in the 60s was allowed.

When the music industry in the West took a dive after the turn of the millennium because of illegal downloads, China became increasingly interesting for acts looking to rake in some money. California-based rock-rappers Linkin Park hoped to open up a new market with their 2007 show in Shanghai to a sold-out crowd of 25,000.

Eccentric Icelandic singer and artist Björk put a damper on China's new openness to Western acts. She started chanting "Tibet! Tibet! Tibet!" at the end of her song "Declare Independence" during her 2008 performance in Shanghai. Chinese authorities were not amused and vowed to clamp down on foreign performers after that.

Tibet's campaign for freedom, which had long found international traction, remained a touchy issue with Chinese authorities. A number of top foreign musicians were denied entry due to their involvement in the cause. One of them was English rock band Oasis in 2009. Lead guitarist Noel Gallagher had allegedly played a Free Tibet Benefit Concert in New York back in 1997.

Despite recent crack-downs, R&B diva Beyoncé gave an uncritical performance in Shanghai in late 2009 and rapper Usher came in 2010. In his Beijing show - his first in China - Usher joined forces with Chinese singer Leehom Wang. They performed the rapper's "OMG" in English and also did a rendition of Wang's "My One and Only" which gave Usher a chance to try out his Mandarin.

When rock legend Bob Dylan took to the stage in China the same week dissident artist Ai Weiwei was arrested in April 2011, it wasn't the local authorities he took flak from, but the Western press. They criticized him for pandering to the censors even though he'd established himself as a symbol of social revolution in the 1960s. Dylan claimed that if censorship had occurred, he wasn't aware of it.

Like Björk, Elton John also planned a small surprise at his 2012 show that irked Chinese authorities. He met dissident artist Ai Weiwei before the concert, which he dedicated to him. In response, the government implemented a requirement that foreign musicians must have a college degree to perform in China - conveniently excluding both Björk and John.

Legendary German electronic music ensemble Kraftwerk were also denied permission to perform in Beijing in 2013. It was suspected that the red light had to do with their planned participation in a Free Tibet benefit concert in Washington, DC, in 1998 which had been cancelled due to bad weather, though that was never confirmed by the Chinese authorities.

Heavy metal legends Metallica aren't exactly known for conforming. And though they were permitted to play in 2013, their song "Master of Puppets" was scratched from the set. That didn't keep the band from performing an acoustic version of it, with Kirk Hammett (right) on guitar.

The Scorpions' China concert date is Labor Day in Germany, which has long been associated with workers' rights protests and political demonstrations. The first hard rock band to play in the Soviet Union (pictured in 1989), the group is best known for "Wind of Change," which became the unofficial anthem of the fall of the communist East Bloc. The China concert is bound to be packed with symbolism.