From the second their first single “Relax” was banned by the BBC for its specific sexual content material, Frankie Goes To Hollywood turned the most important music stars in Britain. And whereas the group’s fame proved to be fleeting, they left behind a run of groundbreaking songs which might be among the many most artistic, provocative, and profitable of the Eighties.
Taking their identify from a poster about Frank Sinatra’s movie profession, the Liverpudlian band seemed and seemed like no person else. For starters, their singers Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford have been two outwardly homosexual males at a time when it was the norm in pop circles to stay within the closest. This was contrasted by the band members behind them, a gang of tough-looking musicians comprised of Peter Gill, Mark O’Toole, and Brian Nash, identified affectionately as “The Lads.”
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What made Frankie Goes To Hollywood such a profitable group was an excellent mixture of perspective, aggressive, in-your-face advertising and marketing (together with a collection of “Frankie Says” T-shirts that have been in all places), and, most importantly, extremely authentic music below the knowledgeable route of report producer Trevor Horn.
FGTH turned the primary signings to Horn and his spouse Jill Sinclair’s new label ZTT Data, and Horn set about making a product that seemed like KISS meets Donna Summer time. Horn – who was then quick gaining a formidable popularity because of his work with ABC, Malcolm McLaren, and others – was seeking to actually produce the longer term sound of music. Using what on the time was the one laptop sampler in existence, he made a collection of bombastic, however lavish-sounding recordings that made up their 1984 debut album Welcome To The Pleasuredome. With Horn’s intentionally overblown manufacturing, the double album shipped 1 million copies pre-release within the UK, whereas the group’s first three singles all went to No. 1.
However just like the Intercourse Pistols practically a decade earlier than, it was throughout nearly as quickly because it had begun. The 12 months after the discharge of their second album Liverpool, the group imploded, abandoning a number of the most era-defining music of the 80s.
The Hits
(Loosen up, Two Tribes, The Energy Of Love, Welcome To The Pleasuredome, Rage Laborious)
Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s pounding, hi-energy debut single “Relax” garnered little consideration following its launch within the fall of 1983. Nonetheless, by January the subsequent 12 months it had climbed into the UK Prime 10 and been carried out on Prime Of The Pops. It was at that time that Frankie have been gifted essentially the most sudden increase of their fledgling careers. One morning the breakfast present host of the BBC’s flagship nationwide pop station Radio 1 introduced stay on air his disgust concerning the single’s sexually-charged lyrics and paintings. As a consequence, “Relax” was banned by the BBC, immediately giving it new-found notoriety and priceless promotion. The track swiftly climbed to No. 1 the place it stayed for 5 weeks and offered 1.8 million copies, making it one of many UK’s 10 biggest-selling singles of all time. It additionally turned the group’s first Prime 10 hit in the USA.
FGTH’s second single “Two Tribes” was simply as controversial and nearly as profitable. Launched at a time when nuclear holocaust remained an actual and ever-present risk, the track juxtaposed its darkish theme of the Chilly Battle with joyful lyrics about impending battle. This was all underpinned by a dramatic, menacing Trevor Horn manufacturing and a music video through which US President Ronald Reagan was depicted wrestling the Soviet Union’s Common Secretary Konstantin Chernenko. The only not solely debuted at No. 1 within the UK and offered greater than 1.5 million copies, however its 9 weeks on the prime was the longest of the last decade. Its endurance was partly right down to ZTT drip-feeding the market with new 12” remixes.
The follow-up, “The Power Of Love,” was a musical about-turn for the group, a string-laden ballad with a music video that includes the Nativity that was timed for its pre-Christmas launch. When it went to No. 1, it made FGTH solely the second act in historical past to attain three chart-toppers on the UK singles chart from their first three releases. Nonetheless, this run ended when the hedonistic fourth single “Welcome To The Pleasuredome” peaked at No. 2.
FGTH visited the UK Prime 5 one final time with “Rage Hard,” the primary single from their 1986 album Liverpool, which launched a extra rock-oriented sound.
The Covers
(Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey, Battle, Born To Run, San Jose (The Means))
In parallel with their highly-original songs, a recurring theme all through Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s temporary recording profession was their interpretations of previous classics. These lined the gamut of fashionable music from Merseybeat and straightforward listening to Motown and blue-collar American rock.
20 years after Gerry & The Pacemakers’ “Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey” became a love letter to the Merseybeat group’s residence metropolis of Liverpool, fellow Liverpudlians FGTH’s haunting and melancholic tackle the track appeared on the 12” model of their single “Relax.” In a neat coincidence, The Pacemakers have been the primary group earlier than Frankie to put their first three singles at No. 1 within the UK.
For one of many B-sides of “Two Tribes,” Frankie then revisited Edwin Starr’s Vietnam-era protest hit “War,” with their aggressive, punchy model introduced bang updated with the presence of British actor and comic Chris Barrie impersonating Ronald Reagan.
Even much less anticipated was the group’s cowl of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born To Run,” which opens sounding just like the Intercourse Pistols doing “God Save The Queen,” however then turns into a reasonably trustworthy, if considerably camped-up model of The Boss’s anthem.
They have been equally respectful to “Do You Know The Way To San Jose” with their breezy model of the Bacharach & David basic – renamed “San Jose (The Way)” – sequenced subsequent to their Springsteen cowl on the group’s debut album.
The Remixes
(Two Tribes (Annihilation), Loosen up (Intercourse Combine))
An integral a part of the DNA and success of Frankie Goes To Hollywood was a succession of remixes that not solely prolonged the enchantment of a few of their largest hits however typically turned them into just about model new tracks.
A working example is “Two Tribes” which, alongside its authentic single edit, was issued in a phased launch marketing campaign in six further 12-inch mixes. The primary of those titled “Annihilation” stretched over 9 minutes, opened with the sound of an air-raid siren and extensively featured Chris Barrie impersonating Reagan. Over a fast, hi-energy dance beat, the remix can be punctuated by an ominous narrative from actor Patrick Allen reprising strains of dialogue he had beforehand recorded for a British Authorities public info movie about learn how to survive a nuclear battle. It’s not till 5 and a half minutes in that Holly Johnson’s lead vocal lastly kicks in.
“Relax” was additionally topic to a number of mixes on the time of its launch, together with the 16-minute-long “Sex Mix,” which is such a deviation from the unique hit model that it comprises none of Johnson’s lyrics. It now seems like a Eighties interval piece, completely capturing Horn’s distinctive everything-and-the-kitchen-sink manufacturing type.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Rock Songs
(Black Evening White Gentle, Warriors Of The Wasteland, For Heaven’s Sake, Watching The Wildlife)
Though on the face of it, Frankie Goes To Hollywood have been a daily band comprising a guitarist, bass participant, drummer, and two vocalists, their credentials as a rock outfit have been solely hinted at on their first album. This included the minimize “Black Night White Light,” which towards sort featured a guitar solo and stood out as a spotlight alongside the set’s 4 large hits.
It wasn’t till the discharge of their second and in the end remaining album Liverpool that they displayed extra of their rock credentials, a musical transition largely enabled by the arrival of Stephen Lipson as producer. Lipson, who the 12 months earlier than had labored on fellow ZTT act Propaganda’s album A Secret Want, inspired the band to play their very own devices. This was in sharp distinction to Welcome To The Pleasuredome, which was dominated by session musicians. The outcome was extra of a heavier rock sound, together with “Warriors Of The Wasteland” which, from its quiet, atmospheric opening, immediately bursts into life, and FGTH rock out in a approach that they by no means did on their first album.
From the identical album, “For Heaven’s Sake” takes sharp goal at British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at a time of deep financial recession for the UK with Holly Johnson cheekily observing, ”She can purchase us all a drink.” “Watching The Wildlife” turned out to be the band’s final single earlier than they cut up. Though it was largely ignored on the time, it’s a joyous track with uplifting pop hooks and deserves renewed evaluation. Whereas Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s reign was temporary, in little greater than two years they hit pop perfection with a number of the decade’s best and most enduring songs.
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