Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax (Official Video)

“Relax” – Single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood from the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome
B-side: “One September Monday” / “Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey”
Released: October 24, 1983
Recorded: 1983
Label: ZTT Island
Songwriters: Peter Gill, Holly Johnson, Brian Nash, Mark O’Toole
Producer: Trevor Horn
Charted No.10 in US, No.1 in UK, No.1 in West Germany, No.1 in Italy, No.1 in France

The hit version, produced by Trevor Horn and featuring the band along with other musicians, entered the UK Top 75 singles chart in November 1983 but did not crack the Top 40 until early January 1984. Three weeks later it reached number one, on the chart dated 28 January 1984, replacing Paul McCartney’s “Pipes of Peace”.

The basic idea of “relax, don’t do it” came to Johnson one day in winter 1982 when he was late for rehearsals “walking very quickly along the central reservation of Princes Avenue in Toxteth.” At that point, the band only consisted of Johnson, O’Toole and Gill.
The lyrics are relatively ambiguous, although the line “when you want to come” is clearly a reference to orgasm. The song is essentially a guide to delaying ejaculation.

To throw censors off the scent, when “Relax” first came out, the band claimed publicly that it was written about “motivation.” Later, they confessed it was actually about “shagging.”
In America, any sexual innuendo contained in this song got little attention, but it caused plenty of controversy in the UK. It entered the UK singles chart at #77 on November 12, 1983, and was at #35 when Frankie Goes To Hollywood performed it on Top Of The Pops January 5, 1984. The song jumped to #6, and on January 11, BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read announced on air that he refused to air “Relax” because of the single’s controversial artwork and lyrics. He didn’t know it at the time, but the BBC was planning to ban the single, and did so soon afterward.

This was big news, and many in the UK sought out the song to hear why it was banned. Record stores had trouble keeping it in stock; a spokesman at the Aberdeen, Scotland record store One Up explained at the time: “Banning the record seems to have created an air of mystery about it. We have had people coming in asking to hear the record to find out what all the fuss is about.” Some commercial radio stations in the UK put it in hot rotation, boasting they were playing “the song that BBC banned.”

In February 1985 the record was awarded Best British Single of 1984 at the Brit Awards, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood won Best British Newcomer. A version of the song features on Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome, released in October 1984.

Three music videos were made for this song. The first depicted the band in a Roman Empire bondage fantasy featuring simulated sodomy, Paul Rutherford’s bare bottom and a group of bondage fetishists chained to scaffolding. It was banned by both MTV and the BBC.

The second video, shown primarily in the UK, featured the band (pretending to) perform the song while standing in front of green laserlight.

The third video, shown primarily in the US, featured the band in a live performance setting (performing along to the studio track) while being kissed and hugged by adoring concertgoers.