About
Liverpool's most provocative export of the early 80s, Frankie Goes To Hollywood burst onto the scene in 1983 with a lineup built around flamboyant vocalists Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford, backed by the instrumental trio known as the Lads. Signed to ZTT Records and produced by the legendary Trevor Horn, they were engineered for maximum sonic impact from day one. Horn's dense, layered production gave their sound a bombastic, almost orchestral quality that sat somewhere between synth-pop and post-punk, loaded with enough bass and attitude to keep rock fans genuinely interested.
Their debut single Relax became one of the most infamous chart toppers in British pop history, banned by the BBC yet still hitting number one in 1984. Two Tribes and The Power of Love followed, making them the first act since Gerry and the Pacemakers to hit number one with their first three singles. Their debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome was an ambitious double LP that swung from euphoric dancefloor anthems to surprisingly tender ballads. Liverpool was a more polished follow-up but lacked the same raw energy.
The band split in 1987, leaving behind a compact but culturally explosive catalog. Their influence on the intersection of rock attitude and electronic production echoes through countless artists who followed, and Relax still sounds like an asteroid hitting a mirror ball.
