Relax -Frankie Goes to Hollywood

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Prohibition is good for business. When it was first released, in October 1983, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's debut single just about troubled the top 40. Enter irate Radio 1 DJ Mike Read who, objecting to its saucy artwork and lyrics, refused to play the track during the chart rundown. The BBC then banned the song from radio and TV (the original video was all decadent nightclub scenes and allusions to "water sports"). Relax duly climbed to No 1, staying there for five weeks.

Commercial radio stations,of which there many by 1983,played it.

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Picklebobble2 · 56-60, M

Never quite know what Trevor Horn's mission was with FGTH.

Deliberately to shock with either explicit lyrics or video imagery ?

I suppose you could argue he did the same for The Buggles Video killed the radio star.
A pointed poke at the emergence of MTV and how musical substance was being replaced by mini-movie expense.

Well it certainly spiced up a fairly innocuous '84 chart that's for sure.
Quite extraordinary how he didn't cop more flack for FGTH's Two tribes.
The video (for those who've never seen it depicts a 'fight' between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev with baying crowds surrounding them) -This at the height of the Cold War.

Never been a fan of the BBC being the arbiters of taste as to what the public should and shouldn't be able to see/hear.
Which is why it was surprising that a young BBC radio dj should object the way he did (unless of course his employer asked him to do just that !)

TheSirfurryanimalWales · 61-69, M

@Picklebobble2 they did do this which was one of the better eighties songs
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Picklebobble2 · 56-60, M

@TheSirfurryanimalWales Right. But wasn't this yet another cynical attempt at getting the Christmas #1 in '84 ??
Just to prove anyone could do it if you were prepared to be original ?

For me, the sadness of FGTH is that the first album Welcome to the Pleasuredome, has some cracking interpretations of already known 'classics' on it.
Springsteen's 'Born to run'.
Bacharach's - Do you know the way to San Jose.
Whitfield and Strong's War...
As well as original material !

I just couldn't figure out if it was largely a Holly Johnson vehicle or Trevor Horn's showcase for exploitation