Product Description
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax(#ad)
Banned by BBC for it's profane lyrics, mocked by critics as gayish', "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood is by far one of THE most controversial best-selling songs ever.
Released on 24th October 1983, the whole world was shocked by the amount of profanity that was way ahead of it's time as enacted by Frankie Goes To Hollywood band members during their live performances.
Holly Johnson the lead singer of FGTH once walked on stage with a large square cut out of the bum of his leather shorts during the 1982 Liverpool open air festival.
Not many knew all these on-stage antiques were a deliberate move by FGTH's record label ZTT, to promote the sales of "Relax".
The trick did work as "Relax" sold 2 million copies in the U.K alone by the end of 1984.
Many consider FGTH to be extremely lucky to escape a lawsuit as the title of the band's name was a rip off from a very old Hollywood movie called Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
At a time when homosexuals were shot dead, hung from tree houses,FGTH were one of the very few bands to flaunt their homosexuality in public, especially band members Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford's open homosexuality in music videos and live concerts urged the English to accept their dark sexual desires.
When Frankie Goes To Hollywood released the initial version of "Relax", television networks too their revenge on FGTH, when both BBC and MTV banned the "Relax" music video from their networks.
Even the VCR Rental shops boycotted the first version of "Relax" music video, the video features FGTH band members dancing and singing along side a drag queen while nude gay men cheer for them watched by bouncers dressed as Roman soldiers.
Holly Johnson wrestles,tames a tiger at the end of the video..when a highly impressed Roman emperor bares his toga.Shaken by the ban from BBC and MTV,Frankie Goes To Hollywood created an alternate music video in less than a week from the blanket ban by many television networks.
The second video directed by Creme and Godley released early 1984, acting more like a place-holder with FGTH band members singing and dancing in the middle of a Laser beam show.
The video received immediate airplay from the MTV Networks much to the delight of millions of FGTH fans, this angered BBC Network which implemented a total ban on not only "Relax" music video but the audio as well.
It's been more than 35 years since Frankie Goes To Hollywood released two versions of "Relax" video that never saw the light from BBC,the controversial ban only propelled the sales of "Relax" as it rose to the top of U.K charts and stayed there for 4 straight weeks.
Just when things started to slow down for FGTH, their second single "Two Tribes" from the same album Welcome To The Pleasuredome, reached the pinnacle of the U.K charts, dragging "Relax" with it to the 2nd spot in the charts.
Not since the great Beatles did a band or any artist had two of their songs in the 1st and 2nd spot of the U.K music charts.
With a late release in U.S mid 1984,along with a tailor made music video for the American public,Frankie Goes To Hollywood failed to capture the imagination of American hearts as "Relax" could only reach 67th place in the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
After a clever marketing strategy by Island Records, the U.S partner of ZTT Records, the song reached the 10th spot of the coveted Billboard Hot 100 charts, when it was released as an album,Welcome To The Pleasuredome.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax - Lyrics
Release Date - 24th October 1983
Album - Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Guess what's happening now?
Hey hey, whoa, oh
Hey hey
Well now
Relax don't do it
When you want to go to it
Relax don't do it
When you want to come
Relax don't do it
When you want to suck it to it
Relax don't do it
When you want to come
When you want to come
Relax don't do it
When you want to to go to it
Relax don't do it
When you want to come
Relax don't do it
When you want to suck to it
Relax don't do it
When you want to come
Come oh oh oh
But shoot it in the right direction
Make making it your intention-ooh yeah
Live those dreams
Scheme those schemes
Got to hit me
Hit me
Hit me with your laser beams
Ow ow ow ow, laser beams
Relax, don't do it
Relax
When you want to come
Relax don't do it
When you want to go to it
Relax don't do it
When you want to come
Relax don't do it
When you want to suck to it
Relax don't do it (love)
When you want to come
When you want to come
When you want to come
Come-huh
Relax don't do it
When you want to go to it
Relax don't do it
Relax don't do it
When you want to suck to it
Relax don't do it
