If 1984 was the most ‘eighties’ year of that decade, then Frankie Goes to Hollywood (FGTH or Frankie) were the most ‘eighties’ of bands. The year and band collided dramatically, resulting in an explosion of 12inch vinyl, remixes, cassette singles and 15 weeks at number one in the UK chart. Resistance was futile – they would get you in the end. No teenager was without a Frankie 12inch come December 1984 and it’s hard to convey the fun, danger and excitement of FGTH in the cold light of 2017. Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford with Peter Gill, Mark O’Toole and Brian Nash (“The Lads”) created something visceral, real and far removed from the sanitised pop that dominates the charts today. ‘Relax’ and ‘Two Tribes’ have secured their place in pop history. Instantly recognisable, and instantly capable of transporting any listener a few years either side of forty back to the heady days of 1984,Top of the Pops and Our Price record shops. Their debut full length album ‘Welcome to the Pleasuredome’ was released in late October 1984, just over a whole year since the original release of Relax. This in part can be put down to the extraordinary lifespan of both Relax and Two Tribes in the UK charts, and record label ZTT’s decision to release multiple formats and remixes of each single. Originally released as a double vinyl LP, on cassette and CD, the album hit number one in the album charts. It did of course contain all the big hits, as well as some well-known cover songs such as ‘Born to Run’ and’ Do You Know the Way to San Jose?’ Many of the single B-sides were also on the album (albeit in remixed form). These include ‘War’ (Two Tribes 12?), ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’ (Relax 12?) and ‘The World is My Oyster’, the B-side to ‘The Power of Love’ which was released only a week after the album came out. There was the addition of short instrumental/oddities (e.g. ‘Snatch of Fury (Stay)’) and other single worthy tracks like ‘Black Night White Light’. Welcome to the Pleasuredome was another Frankie event. It was lavishly packaged, contained all the records people wanted to hear and in ‘The Power of Love’ and ‘Welcome to the Pleasuredome’, two more enormous future hits. Its legacy is undeniable.

Now, a very special Art Of The Album deluxe edition of that incredible album will be released on 27th October 2017. Featuring new sleevenotes within both the CD & 180g double LP formats recalling the story of the band’s conception and the album’s creation. Comprehensively researched and written by renowned music journalist Paul Flynn, these new sleevenotes cover in-depth the story of the album & the period in which it was written & recorded, the key players in its creation, the craft and instrumentation, the impact upon release and its legacy some 34 years later. The booklet is accompanied by memorabilia from the archive of Ian Peel who is an extensive archivist of the ZTT catalogue and Frankie aficionado.