Pool Of Sound - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - 'FGTH'

The nucleus of the group emerged from the late 1970s Liverpool punk scene. Lead singer Holly Johnson had played bass with 'Big In Japan' and had also released two solo singles and so with Holly as vocalist, joined by Jed O'Toole on bass, his cousin Brian Nash on guitar and drummer Peter Gill they took the band name 'Sons Of Egypt'. This line-up secured a number of small local gigs before disbanding but was reprised when Johnson, Mark O'Toole and Gill formed 'FGTH'.
During a particularly fluid period of personnel changes, Jed O'Toole rejoined them on guitar, and a female vocalist, Sonia Mazumder, was also a band member for the first 'Frankie' gig at the Leeds nightclub 'The Warehouse', supporting 'Hambi & The Dance'. Here, Paul Rutherford, a member of the headline act who had also sung in seminal Liverpool punk band 'The Spitfire Boys', got so caught up in Frankie's performance on the night that he effectively replaced Mazumder. This new now all-male musical line-up subsequently toured locally with a leather-clad female duo known as 'The Leatherpets'.
In October 1982, the group recorded a BBC Radio 1 John Peel session comprising the originals 'Krisco Kisses', 'Two Tribes', 'Disneyland', and 'The World Is My Oyster'. Around this time Jed O'Toole left the group, to be replaced by the returning Brian Nash.

In February 1983 the group was invited to record a video for 'Relax' by Channel 4 music show 'The Tube' at the Liverpool State Ballroom. This was where viewers caught a shocking glimpse of 'Frankie' in fetish wear, joined by the pair of writhing PVC-clad females 'The Leatherpettes'. Following this the Peel session was repeated on radio, and a new session recorded for the BBC comprising, 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome', 'The Only Star In Heaven' and 'Relax'. These performances, along with a repeat of the 'Tube' video, convinced Trevor Horn to sign the group for his new ZTT Records label in May 1983.
Late in 1983 their 1st single, produced by Trevor Horn, 'Relax' c/w 'Ferry Cross the Mersey', was released. A driving dance number, 'Relax' featured sexually suggestive lyrics that would soon lead to great controversy. The original video was banned by British TV so a new version was quickly shot. Similarly Radio 1 banned the single and the rest of the BBC radio and television networks quickly banned the record as well when BBC DJ Mike Read expressed his feelings about the track live on air. T-shirts that read 'Relax' and 'Frankie Says...', appeared across the country fanning the group's popularity. The BBC lifted its ban on 'Relax' at the end of 1984 to allow the band to perform it on the Christmas edition of 'Top of the Pops'.

No band has dominated a 12-month period quite like 'FGTH' as they ruled the charts in 1984. August 1984 saw Relax climb back up the charts to No 2, making this the first time anyone had occupied the top two slots since 'Hello Goodbye' and the 'Magical Mystery Tour' EP in January 1968. FGTH were the most scandalous affront to decency since the 'Sex Pistols' and the biggest band, Liverpudlian or otherwise, since 'The Beatles'. Their achievements were colossal and yet they rarely get cited by other bands or the music press.
With 'Relax' and its bacchanalian Bernard Rose-directed video; 'Two Tribes' enhanced by Godley & Creme's depiction of Armageddon; a 3rd No 1 'The Power Of Love' as well as the debut double album 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome' with its aural and design overkill; they bombarded that year with sound, visuals and hype.
The group became only the second act in the history of the UK charts to reach No.1 with their first three singles - 'Relax', 'Two Tribes' and 'The Power of Love'. In 1985, 'Frankie Goes to Hollywood' won the Brit Award for Best British Newcomer, and the band also received a Grammy Award and MTV Video Music Award nominations for Best New Artist.

Welcome to the Pleasuredome

By February 1985, their fourth single 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome' had stalled at No 2. There was an expensive, anticlimactic second album, 'Liverpool', in 1986, followed by the band's own equivalent of the 'Pistols' final gig, at Wembley Arena in January 1987, when a bust-up backstage between Johnson and O'Toole signalled the end. Paul Rutherford has said, "The brightest star shines half as long. We ran out of steam and we split up. It's sad. But the memories are amazing."

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