Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome (30th anniversary)

Today (October 29th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Welcome to the Pleasuredome, the debut album from Frankie Goes to Hollywood. This 1984 release spent forty-one weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 33.

For my full review of this double-record, click here.

Happy Birthday, Holly Johnson

Happy fifty-second birthday today (February 9th) to artist, writer and musician Holly Johnson.

Born in Liverpool, England, Johnson started out as a bassist and vocalist in the punk-rock/new-wave band Big In Japan in 1977. That gig lasted for two albums and two years.

From 1980 to 1987, he served as lead singer and lyricist for the band Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Since the mid-90's, he has worked as a painter with his artwork exhibited in places such as the Royal Academy and Tate Liverpool gallery. He has also been a contributor to the monthly magazine Modern Painters.

Johnson can be found interacting with friends and fans on his Twitter and Facebook pages. He also posts occasional new music on ReverbNation.

To read my reviews of his work with Frankie Goes to Hollywood, see the links below:

- for their 1984 debut smash Welcome to the Pleasuredome, click here

- for their 1986 second and final album Liverpool, click here

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Liverpool

Happy fifty-second birthday today to singer and dancer Paul Rutherford of the group Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

After their smash debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome (click here to read my review of that record), Frankie Goes to Hollywood was pressed to follow it up. It was almost two years to the day until they released their second and subsequently final album as a group. 1986’s Liverpool did well in the band’s native UK (it reached number 5 on the charts) and around in Europe (number 5 in the Netherlands, number 8 in Norway, number 7 in Switzerland). In the US, however, the album stalled at number 88 on the Billboard Hot 200.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome

The British dance-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood did something rather ambitious for their 1984 debut album - they issued a double vinyl release. Usually something like that was seen only by seasoned artists a few records into their career at least, or for a live concert record. But for a debut, that was a very risky.

Lucky for the boys, the record was a commercial success. It scored in the top ten in most countries around the world (except for the US where it only peaked at number 33). It even placed number 1 on the album charts in their home UK and in New Zealand. Sales were fueled by two big singles that they had put out in the year prior to the album - “Relax” and “Two Tribes” were both dance club favorites.