Album: Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Artist: Frankie Goes to Hollywood
1984 Island
CD: CID 101 824 052-2

Band members:
Holly Johnson: lead vocals
Brian Nash: guitar (credited, but doesn't perform)
Peter Gill: drums (credited, but doesn't perform)
Mark O'Toole: bass (credited, but doesn't perform)
Paul Rutherford: backing vocals

with
Jonathan Jeczalik: programming, keys, software
Andrew Richards: keys
Luís Jardim: percussion
Ann Dudley: keys, string arrangement (14)
Stephen Lipson: guitar
Trevor Horn: bass, backing vocals
Chris Barrie: spoken word (3, 5)
Steve Howe: bass (4), acoustic guitar (1d)
Trevor Rabin: guitar
Patrick Allen: spoken word (4)


Produced by Horn
Engineers: Stuart Bruce, Steve Lipson
Mastering: Ian Cooper
Cover concept: Paul Morley
Illustration by Lo Cole
Cover photography: Peter Ashworth


Tracks [LP version]:
Side 1: "F (Pray Frankie Pray"
1. Side 1
    a. "Well..." [Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Andy Richards] (0:55)
    b. "The World Is My Oyster" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (1:02)
    c. "Snatch of Fury (Stay)" [Gerry Marsden] (0:36)
    d. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (12:58)

Side 2: "G (Say Frankie Say"
2. "Relax (Come Fighting)" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (3:56)
3. "War (...and Hide)" [Barrett Strong/Norman Whitfield] (6:12)
4. "Two Tribes (For the Victims of Ravishment)" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (3:23)
5. "(Tag)" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (0:35), unlisted track

Side 3: "T (Stay Frankie Stay"
6. "Ferry (Go)" [Marsden] (1:49)
7. "Born to Run" [Bruce Springsteen] (3:56)
8. "San Jose (The Way)" [Burt Bacharach/Hal David] (3:09)
9. "Wish (The Lads Were Here)" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (2:48)
10. "The Ballad of 32" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (4:47)

Side 4: "H (Play Frankie Play"
11. "Krisco Kisses" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (2:57)
12. "Black Night White Light" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (4:05)
13. "The Only Star in Heaven" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (4:16)
14. "The Power of Love" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (5:28)
15. "...Bang" [Gill/Johnson/Nash/O'Toole] (1:08)


Original CD:
A1. "The World Is My Oyster" (1:57)
A2. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (13:38)
A3. "Relax (Come Fighting)" (3:56)
A4. "War (...and Hide)" (6:12)
A5. "Two Tribes (For the Victims of Ravishment) including The Last Voice" (10:22)
A6. "Born to Run" (4:13)
A7. "Happy Hi!" (4:12)
A8. "Wish (The Lads Were Here) including The Ballad of 32" (7:35)
A9. "Krisco Kisses" (2:57)
A10. "Black Night White Light" (4:05)
A11. "The Only Star in Heaven" (4:16)
A12. "The Power of Love" (5:28)
A13. "Bang" (1:08)


Tracks [CID 101 824 052-2]:
1. "The World is My Oyster (including Well, snatch of Fury)" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (1:5y)
2. "Welcome to the Pleasure Dome" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (13:39)
3. "Relax" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (4:57)
4. "War" [Strong/Whitfield] (6:12)
5. "Two Tribes" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (3:23)
6. "(Tag)" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (0:33)
7. "Fury" [Marsden] (1:49)
8. "Born to Run" [Springsteen] (3:56)
9. "San José" [Bacharach/David] (3:08)
10. "Wish the Lads were Here" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (2:58)
11. "The Ballad of 32" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (4:47)
12. "Krisco Kisses" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (2:57)
13. "Black Night White Light" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (4:07)
14. "The Only Star in Heaven" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (4:14)
15. "The Power of Love" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (5:28)
16. "Bang" [Frankie Goes to Hollywood] (1:08)


Notes: (*****) (6) is a short version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey", the b-side to "Relax". (1c) is a brief extract of the vocals from (6). Note that there have been multiple releases of this album, not all with the same tracklisting. The original LP was released in a regular version and as a double picture disc in transparent PVC sleeve (NEAT 1). (A1) includes (1a) and (1b). (A2) includes (1c) and (1d). (A5) is a different version to (4). Some CD versions omit the vocals on (1c). A 2000 remastered CD added the b-sides "One September Monday" (4:50) and "One February Friday" (4:58). A deluxe CD edition in 2010 has the LP version on the first disc, and a second disc with rare and previously unreleased material. There was a limited edition vinyl re-issue in 2016 by Union Square Music under the Salvo label.

Welcome to the Pleasuredome was a huge commercial success and one of Horn's finest production works. The album entered the UK chart at #1 and it had three singles at #1 in the UK. The album went triple Platinum in the UK, single Platinum in Germany, Canada and New Zealand, and Gold in the US. It was the 8th best-selling album of 1984 in the UK, and 33rd best-selling of the next year. It was the 39th best-selling album of 1984 in the Netherlands, and 28th best-selling of the next year. It was the 51st best-selling album of 1984 in Canada, and 84th best-selling of the next year. It was also in 1985 the 17th best-selling album in Austria, 18th in Germany, 11th in New Zealand and 41st in the US. It had gone #1 in Europe, top ten in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, and peaked at #33 in the US.

It's a combination of three ingredients that produce such success: melodies, lyrics and vocals from Holly Johnson; a rhythm section and riffs from Peter 'Ped' Gill and Mark O'Toole; and the production magic of Horn and his team. The band had came out of Liverpool's punk scene in the late 1970s. Johnson had had minor success in Big in Japan and was immersed in the gay scene's Hi-NRG scene. He joined up with the slighty younger Ped Gill (drums), Jed O'Toole (bass), and O'Toole's cousin Brian Nash (guitar) to form the Sons of Egypt. They played locally before disbanding. Johnson, Gill and Mark O'Toole then formed Frankie Goes to Hollywood, with Jed now on guitar and Sonia Mazumder on vocals. They played their first show in 1980 supporting Hambi & The Dance in Leeds. During the performance, an enthusiastic Paul Rutherford, a member of Hambi & The Dance, joined the band on stage and replaced Mazumder that night.

The band toured locally with a pair of female dancers, The Leatherpets, but struggled to get signed. Around 1982, Nash returned, replacing J O'Toole. In February 1983, the group played "Relax" on the influential Channel 4 show The Tube. Other material the band had around this time included "Krisco Kisses", "Two Tribes", "Disneyland", "The World is My Oyster", "The Only Star in Heaven" and "Welcome to the Pleasure Dome". They successfully fused Johnson's Hi-NRG style and provocative lyrics with innovative and driving bass and drums.

It was at this time that Trevor Horn was making 90125 with Yes. According to Horn in an Oct 2019 interview:
I first heard them when I was sitting with Yes having dinner, and Relax came on The Tube. Chris Squire said, ‘This band might be good for your label’. I looked at him and said, ‘Nah’. A little while later, I was driving home and Kid Jensen played the version they’d done for a BBC session, and he talked to them afterwards. And when I heard that, I thought, ‘This is a fucking hit. Not like this, but it’s a hit tune’.
Alan White tells a slightly different version of the story, saying he saw the band on The Tube, recorded it and showed it to Horn. Horn signed the band to his new label, ZTT, in May 1983.

Horn then set about producing the album. This entailed a complete deconstruction of the music. (He lost the opportunity to produce ABC's second album because the time it took up.) He didn't use any recordings with the band, retaining only the vocals. He tried recording the album with the Blockheads, Ian Dury's backing band, but abandoned this too, instead using his studio team. Horn has told the story of trying to find a guitarist before discovering his engineer, Lipson, could play very well. Lipson ended up recording most of the guitar on the album. Horn and team re-arranged much of the material, notably stretching the title track into an epic piece with hints of '70s Yes to it, assisted by having Howe come in to do some guitar. Peter Banks once also claimed to have performed on the 12" version of the title track, although Banks sometimes made up similar stories as jokes, so I don't know whether to believe this.

In the Oct 2019 interview, Horn describes there as being "some excess" on the album and laments the inclusion of (8).

"Relax" was released in Oct 1983. It sold quite well, rising to #6 in the UK. BBC radio DJ Mike Read noticed in Jan the explicitly sexual lyrics and cover, and the BBC went on to ban the song on 13 Jan. The video was also explicit for the time and was banned by both the BBC and MTV. The publicity pushed the song to #1, where it stayed for 5 weeks. It went on to be the second best-selling single of 1984. "Two Tribes" was released in 1984, accompanied by a video shot by Godley & Creme. It went straight in at #1 and stayed for 9 weeks. "Relax" climbed back up the charts, so the band had #1 and #2 during Jul 1984. The album was released Oct 1984. "The Power of Love" came out towards the end of the year, also making #1, although it was pushed off the top slot by "Do They Know It's Christmas" (also involving Horn and Johnson). An abridged and remixed "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" was a fourth single, released Mar 1985, and made #2 in the UK.

CHART POSITIONS by COUNTRY
 "Relax"
 "Two Tribes"
 "The Power of Love"
 "Welcome to the Pleasuredome"
Australia
 5 (#16 for 1984)
 4 (#20 for 1984)
 4
 46
Austria
 4
8
 20
Belgium
 2 (Flanders)
 1
 6
Canada
 11 (Gold)
 6
 20
 41
Denmark
 5


Europe
 1


Finland
 1


France
 1
 22
 20
 65
Germany
 1
 1 (#5 for 1984) 4
 9
Greece
 1
 1

Hong Kong
 9


Iceland
 2


Ireland
 3
 1
 2
 2
Israel
 1


Italy
 1
 15
 6 (Gold)
Japan
 40 (1993 reissue)
 3

The Netherlands
 5
 1
 10
 14
New Zealand
 10 (#16 for 1985) 1 (#12 for 1984) 2
 9
Norway
 2
 4

Poland
 18


Portugal
 18


Spain
 1


Sweden
 4
 9
 14
Switzerland
 1 (#6 for 1984) 4
 2
 20
Thailand
 1


UK
 1 (Platinum; #3 for 1984) 1 (#2 for 1984) 1 (Gold) 2
US
 10 (20 in Dance/Club; Gold)
 43
48 (31 in Dance/Club)

(HP, 19 Oct 2019)
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