Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Members: Holly Johnson (vocals, 1981-87), Sonya Mazunda (backing vocals, 1982), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals, dancer, 1982-87), Ambrose Reynolds (bass, 1981), John Crooney (bass, 1981-82), Mark O’Toole (bass, vocals, 1982-87), Steve Lovell (guitar, 1981), Brian Nash [aka Nasher] (guitar, 1982-87), Jed O’Toole (guitar, 1982-?), Phil Hurst (drums, 1981), Peter Gill (drums, 1982-87)

Background

Frankie Goes to Hollywood got its name from a mock newspaper with the headline “Frankie Goes Hollywood” above a paparazzi photo of Frank Sinatra, designed by Belgian painter Guy Peellaert, who did the gatefold art for David Bowie‘s 1974 album Diamond Dogs.

The band had its roots in a Liverpool new wave combo called Sons of Egypt, comprised of singer Holly Johnson, drummer Peter Gill, bassist Jed O’Toole and his guitarist cousin, Brian Nash.

Johnson hailed from Big in Japan, a scant-recorded yet seminal Merseyside punk act that launched several key figures in Liverpool’s musical renaissance: Jayne Casey (Pink Military), Budgie (The Slits, Siouxsie & the Banshees), Ian Broudie (Original Mirrors, Care), and future producer/Zoo Records founder Bill Drummond. Johnson served as their bassist and co-vocalist from late 1977 until June 1978 when they swapped him out with ex-Deaf School bassist Steve Allen.

Born William Johnson on Feb. 9, 1960, he took the name Holly from transgendered actress Holly Woodlawn, immortalized in the first verse of Lou Reed‘s 1972 hit “Walk On the Wild Side.” Between his band stints, Johnson issued two 1979/80 singles (as Holly) on the Eric’s label: “Yankee Rose” (b/w “Treasure Island” / “Desperate Dan”) and “Hobo Joe” (b/w “Stars of the Bars”).

Sons of Egypt gigged for a brief time between 1979 and 1980, then split. Months later, Johnson re-teamed with Gill and bassist Mark O’Toole, brother of Jed, who briefly returned on guitar. After a 1982 opening slot at the Warehouse in Leeds before headliners Hambi & the Dance, awestruck spectator Paul Rutherford edged his way into the newly named Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Rutherford hailed from Liverpool punks The Spitfire Boys, which issued the 1977 single “British Refugee” (b/w “Mein Kampf”).

FGTH gigged locally with a raunchy act that featured leather gear and suggestive on-stage routines. They pitched their video demos to Arista and Phonogram, but to no avail. In October 1982, they recorded four songs — “Krisco Kisses,” “Two Tribes,” “Disneyland,” and “The World Is My Oyster” — for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel. Jed O’Toole cleared out for a returning Brian Nash.

In February 1983, producers from the Channel 4 music program The Tube invited FGTH to make a video for their new song, “Relax,” at the Liverpool State Ballroom. After it aired, Peel rebroadcast their October session. They returned for another session, performing “Welcome to the Pleasuredome,” “The Only Star in Heaven,” and “Relax.” Upon hearing these sessions and watching their video, Buggle-turned-producer Trevor Horn signed FGTH to his newly formed ZTT label.

Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Frankie Goes to Hollywood released their debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, on October 29, 1984, on ZTT. It spread their three UK No. 1 singles across a double-LP sequence and added new studio versions of “Relax,” “Two Tribes,” “War,” and “The Power of Love,” plus the long title piece and a run of covers.

Long keyboard patterns, sampled voices, percussion bursts, horn stabs, and abrupt spoken fragments keep the double set in constant theatrical motion. Guitarist Brian Nash cuts through the programmed mass with short, bright figures, while bassist Mark O’Toole and drummer Peter Gill give the sequenced surface a hard backbeat. Gill, Holly Johnson, Nash, and Mark O’Toole wrote the album apart from the Andy Richards co-credit on “The World Is My Oyster” and the covers of “War,” “Ferry (Go),” “Born to Run,” and “San Jose (The Way).”

A short invocation leads into the title track, which stretches on shuddering bass motion, layered keyboard glare, shouted calls, and guitar flashes. “Relax” compresses the album’s physical charge into a tight bass strut, clipped percussion, and a vocal line that turns command into provocation. “War (…and Hide)” and “Two Tribes” hammer the political side with relentless rhythmic force, sampled warnings, and hard spoken interruptions, while side three snaps the pace through quick reworks of “Ferry (Go),” “Born to Run,” and “San Jose (The Way).” Near the close, “The Power of Love” clears the rhythmic clutter and rises on drawn keyboard chords, string support, and Johnson’s most sustained vocal reach.

A1. “The World Is My Oyster (Including Well, Snatch of Fury)” (1:57) — Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Andy Richards
A2. “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” (13:40) — Gill, Johnson, Nash, O’Toole

B1. “Relax (Come Fighting)” (3:56) — Gill, Johnson, Nash, O’Toole
B2. “War (…and Hide)” (6:12) — Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield
B3. “Two Tribes (For the Victims of Ravishment)” (3:23) — Gill, Johnson, O’Toole
B4. “Tag” [unlisted track] (0:35)

C1. “Ferry (Go)” (1:49) — Gerry Marsden
C2. “Born to Run” (3:56) — Bruce Springsteen
C3. “San Jose (The Way)” (3:09) — Burt Bacharach, Hal David
C4. “Wish (The Lads Were Here)” (2:48) — Gill, Johnson, Nash, O’Toole
C5. “The Ballad of 32” (4:47) — Gill, Johnson, Nash, O’Toole

D1. “Krisco Kisses” (2:57) — Gill, Johnson, Nash, O’Toole
D2. “Black Night White Light” (4:05) — Gill, Johnson, Nash, O’Toole
D3. “The Only Star in Heaven” (4:16) — Gill, Johnson, Nash, O’Toole
D4. “The Power of Love” (5:28) — Gill, Johnson, Nash, O’Toole
D5. “…Bang” (1:08) — Gill, Johnson, Nash, O’Toole

Frankie Goes to Hollywood recorded Welcome to the Pleasuredome at Sarm West in London and The Manor in Oxfordshire during 1983 and 1984 with producer Trevor Horn and engineers Stuart Bruce and Steve Lipson. J. J. Jeczalik and Andy Richards supplied keyboards and programming, Anne Dudley added keyboards and the string arrangement on “The Power of Love,” Luís Jardim handled percussion, Stephen Lipson added guitar, and Steve Howe played acoustic guitar on the title track.

ZTT co-founder Paul Morley conceived the sleeve and Lo Cole supplied the illustration. The vinyl front shows the group in an overgrown tableau; the reverse enlarges the animal scene, and the gatefold sends a procession of animals into a colossal phallic image. The printer refused the unaltered art, so Cole added green fig leaves. Some CD and promotional editions used Peter Ashworth’s staged jungle photograph of the band.

ZTT issued “Relax” (b/w “One September Monday”) as a 7-inch on October 24, 1983; original 12-inch editions paired it with “Ferry ’Cross the Mersey.” The single rose to No. 1 in the UK and held that spot for five weeks.

Bernard Rose directed the first video at Wilton’s Music Hall as a leather-bar fantasia built around the band, leathermen, a drag figure, and a Roman-emperor admirer. BBC and MTV resistance led to a second clip, which Godley & Creme reduced to a performance setup cut with laser effects. FGTH perform “Relax” as a club band in the 1984 Brian De Palma thriller Body Double, which premiered three days after the album’s release.

On June 4, 1984, “Two Tribes” appeared as a the second single (b/w “One February Friday”); major companion formats also carried “War.” It entered the UK chart at No. 1 and stayed there for nine weeks, with “Relax” climbing back to No. 2 behind it. Godley & Creme directed the video as a wrestling match between Ronald Reagan and Konstantin Chernenko before the band and a hall of national delegates; the contest spills into wider destruction, and MTV trimmed some of the rougher violence.

After Pleasuredome hit shelves, “The Power of Love” became the third single on November 19 (b/w “The World Is My Oyster”); 12-inch copies added the spoken Christmas piece “Holier Than Thou.” It became the group’s third straight UK No. 1 single. Godley & Creme filmed the video outside Jerusalem as a Nativity tableau, and early showings filled the frame with the pageant before later broadcasts added borders with the band.

On March 18, 1985, ZTT lifted “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” (b/w “Get It On” and “Happy Hi!”). It reached No. 2 in the UK. Bernard Rose directed the video as a surreal chase: the band steals a car, Johnson tracks them from a helicopter, and the sequence spills into a carnival lined with false promises and staged temptations.

Welcome to the Pleasuredome entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1, reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200, and later earned 3× Platinum in the UK and Gold in the United States. 

Liverpool

Frankie Goes to Hollywood released their second album, Liverpool, on October 20, 1986, on ZTT.

Liverpool runs on dense guitar pressure, live-drum force, keyboard mass, string lift, and brass punctuation. Guitarist Brian Nash and producer-keyboardist Stephen Lipson cut bright lead lines and short riff bursts through the arrangements, while bassist Mark O’Toole and drummer Peter Gill lock the set to a heavy backbeat. Frankie Goes to Hollywood group-wrote all eight tracks.

“Rage Hard” surges on a rallying pulse and sustained dramatic force, while “Warriors of the Wasteland” leans on abrasive texture and heavy chug. “Maximum Joy” clears more space, puts the Synclavier in front, and lets operatic voices and odd flourishes widen the close. “Lunar Bay” gains force from a fierce drum pattern, then snaps into a breakdown of synthetic brass, breaking-glass effects, and Johnson’s wails. “For Heaven’s Sake” reaches for broad uplift through its refrain, “Kill the Pain” drags through clotted weight, and “Is Anybody Out There?” closes on sparse backing, open vocal space, and a more direct register of regret. 

A1. “Warriors of the Wasteland” (4:53)
A2. “Rage Hard” (5:08)
A3. “Kill the Pain” (6:16)
A4. “Maximum Joy” (5:32)

B1. “Watching the Wildlife” (4:18)
B2. “Lunar Bay” (5:42)
B3. “For Heaven’s Sake” (4:29)
B4. “Is Anybody Out There?” (7:25)

Frankie Goes to Hollywood recorded Liverpool at Wisseloord in Amsterdam and Sarm West in London between November 1985 and June 1986 with producer Stephen Lipson and assistant engineer Heff Moraes; Trevor Horn took executive credit and handled the final mix. Richard Niles arranged the strings and brass. Guest musicians include Andy Richards, Betsy Cook, Steve Howe, Trevor Rabin, and recent Jethro Tull synth programmer Peter-John Vettese. Lipson worked immediately beforehand on A Secret Wish, the singular album by ZTT’s second major act, Propaganda.

Anton Corbijn photographed the Liverpool sleeve, and the cover image changed across the LP, cassette, and CD editions.

ZTT issued “Rage Hard” (b/w “(Don’t Lose What’s Left) Of Your Little Mind”) as a 7-inch on August 25, 1986; other contemporary configurations added covers of Bowie (“SuffRAGEtte City”) and The Doors (“Roadhouse Blues”). The single reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 1 in West Germany. The promo campaign used two closely related ZTT clips, one credited to David Bailey and one to Paul Morley, with the Morley version identified as an overdubbed variant of the Bailey film.

“Warriors of the Wasteland” followed the album’s release on November 10 (b/w “Warriors (Of the Wasteland)”). It reached No. 19 in the UK. Nick Burgess-Jones directed the promo for Equinox Army, and the shoot took place in London during November 1986.

On February 23, 1987, “Watching the Wildlife” became the third and final single (b/w “The Waves”). It reached No. 28 in the UK. The 7-inch sleeve paired the song with panda and dolphin imagery, and the video, directed by Mike Portelly, shifts the song into a 1960s-styled cabaret room where a fast chain of surprise performers mime the vocal line.

Liverpool reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and later took Gold certification in the UK. It also reached No. 5 in Germany and No. 88 on the Billboard 200.

Postlude

The Liverpool sessions were fraught with inner-tensions that reached a breaking point on the ensuing tour. Frankie Goes to Hollywood played their last original-era show on March 1, 1987, at Rotterdam Ahoy. 

Holly Johnson then moved to leave ZTT, and the 1988 High Court ruling released him and the rest of the band from a restrictive contract after a protracted legal fight with the label.

Johnson launched his solo career with the 1989 MCA release Blast, which reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned the hits “Love Train,” “Americanos,” “Atomic City,” and “Heaven’s Here.” Dan Hartman co-produced the album and its 1991 followup Dreams That Money Can’t Buy, which features Kirsty MacColl on the track “Boyfriend ’65.”

Paul Rutherford went solo with the 1988 single “Get Real,” an ABC collaboration that appears on his 1989 album Oh World with the Chic cover “I Want Your Love.”

Brian Nash stepped outside the industry for periods of electrical work before later publishing a memoir. Mark O’Toole moved to the United States and continued to write music. Peter Gill formed the production company Love Station. The three attempted a Frankie Goes to Hollywood revival with a new singer, but Johnson filed an injunction on their use of the name.

On May 7, 2023, Johnson, Rutherford, Nash, O’Toole, and Gill returned for a one-song reunion performance of “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” at Liverpool’s Eurovision concert, their first appearance together in 36 years.

• Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984)
• Liverpool (1986)

Sources:

• Discogs: Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• RYM: Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• 45cat: Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• MusicBrainz: Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• Holly Johnson: Frankie Goes Hollywood