The 80s music scene immediately distinguished itself for the bold swings taken by artists who might not have been able to grab the spotlight in other eras. In some cases, the riskier the material, the better the results.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood certainly followed that maxim with their massive hit single “Relax”. The more folks tried to hinder it or even shut it down, the more this song, which even spurred a fashion movement of sorts, continued to rise.
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The Band Meets the Producer
Frankie Goes To Hollywood nearly folded a few times in between forming in 1980 and getting their big break. Started by Holly Johnson, who’d made stops in a few different post-punk bands, the band popped up playing their original song “Relax” on a British television show for unsigned bands in 1983.
The fact that Johnson was openly gay and that the band wore fetish outfits on that appearance hardly even registered with Trevor Horn. Former member of The Buggles and Yes, Horn had moved into the realm of pop production when he saw FGTH. And all he heard was a song with a ton of promise.
While their outward trappings scared off plenty of labels, Horn immediately offered a record deal to the band. But when he gathered them in the studio, he found that they were relatively inexperienced as musicians. That didn’t stop him from trying to transform “Relax” into a hit.
A Studio Creation
Horn essentially jettisoned the band’s instrumentalists from the sessions for “Relax”, replacing them with session players. He also stripped the song down some, replacing some of the sections that the band had installed in their original version. In so doing, some (but not all) of the risqué elements also hit the cutting-room floor.
After doing several different takes on the track, Horn and his musical cohorts came up with a synth-heavy thumper. Johnson and backup singer Paul Rutherford did their vocal parts “Relax” was released as a single in October 1983, beginning its steady, yet chaotic, ascent.
The Rise of “Relax”
The BBC famously banned the single when they figured out that the lyrics to “Relax” are filled with sexual references. Frankie Goes To Hollywood fanned the flames by releasing an initial video that played up those references as brazenly as possible. A British disc jockey famously went on air to express his disgust.
But all that folderol just made people want to hear “Relax” even more. The song even gave fans the chance to show their support via t-shirts, thanks to the “Frankie Say Relax” logo that started popping up everywhere. No amount of scrutiny or reprimand was going to slow down this song.
When the dust cleared, the song hit No. 1 in the UK, one of three straight Frankie Goes To Hollywood songs to reach that mark. In America, it made it to No. 10 in 1985. That title was apropos, because it acted as a kind of message to everyone who was up in arms about the song. These days, the controversy is mostly forgotten, but the magic of “Relax” persists.
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