# Frankie Goes to Hollywood English pop band from Liverpool, formed 1980. A genuine cultural phenomenon for a brief, intense stretch in the mid-80s — three consecutive UK No. 1 singles, one of the most controversial (and best-selling) singles of the decade in "Relax," and a level of hype and provocation, courtesy of producer Trevor Horn and ZTT Records, that arguably outran the band's actual staying power. Split acrimoniously within a few years of their breakthrough. ## Formation and lineup Formed in Liverpool in 1980, fronted by Holly Johnson, who'd previously been in the post-punk band Big in Japan and came into the project with the most experience of the group. Full lineup: Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Mark O'Toole (bass), Brian Nash (guitar), Peter Gill (drums). ## Signing to ZTT and the Relax phenomenon Signed to ZTT Records in 1983, the label run by producer Trevor Horn, journalist Paul Morley, and Jill Sinclair — a partnership that became as much a part of the band's story as the music itself, given ZTT's aggressive, self-consciously provocative marketing approach (slogans, manifestos, controlled mystique). Debut single "Relax" (1983), with sexually explicit lyrics, was banned by the BBC — a ban that, predictably, only fueled its popularity, and it went on to become one of the best-selling singles in UK chart history. ## Commercial peak Debut album *Welcome to the Pleasuredome* (1984), produced by Horn, had advance sales exceeding a million copies before release. The band's first three singles — "Relax," "Two Tribes," and "The Power of Love" — all reached UK No. 1, an extremely rare feat. "Two Tribes" in particular spent nine weeks at the top of the charts and sold over a million copies; Johnson, Gill, and O'Toole won the 1984 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for it. ## Decline and split Second album *Liverpool* (1986) sold considerably less than the debut, and tensions within the band — reportedly exacerbated by the ZTT/Horn machine's outsized creative control — led to an acrimonious split in 1987. Holly Johnson pursued a solo career; various reunion attempts and lineup disputes over rights to the band name followed in the decades after. ## Discography (studio albums) - *Welcome to the Pleasuredome* (1984) - *Liverpool* (1986) ## Notes to self - Worth reading into the ZTT/Trevor Horn/Paul Morley side of the story specifically — the marketing and production apparatus around this band is as interesting as the songs, maybe more so. - "Relax" and "Two Tribes" are the two I actually know — *Welcome to the Pleasuredome* as a full album is a blind spot.