The newspapers can be very ghoulish, but it's what sells copies. We discuss the current single, 'Disco Heaven', a retro-sounding yet endearing paean to the '70s, when disco music was still marginalised by sexuality. It's a musical period that Holly still has deep affection for, if the 'Disco Heaven' video is anything to go by. These people were great, creative musicians. At the same time, if we look at what is popular nowadays Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk for example there's a high level of creativity going on there too.
More than anyone, Johnson must be aware of the timing and undoubted irony of releasing 'Disco Heaven' in Having brought the dynamics of disco to a white, straight audience, Frankie were also the first pop act to get their releases remixed, repackaged and re-sold.
Now, as the Top 40 becomes increasingly saturated with disco-derivative ditties, Johnson must feel like he's been vindicated. It introduced heteros to dancing and disco music. I'd like to think that we had much the same kind of effect as New Order. So, while 'Disco Heaven' evokes the '70s, the second single from Soulstream will send a shiver down the spine of anyone who was a teenager during the '80s.
So many people have told me that they fell in love to it. Stuart says: "I don't remember much being banned here; perhaps they just didn't play them, instead of making a big deal out of it. Sometimes ignoring something is a more powerful tool. They had this Auntie Beeb thing of looking after people: 'We have your best interests at heart. Same thing with those 'Parental Advisory' stickers in the States: if a heavy metal album didn't have one, kids wouldn't buy it.
It became a badge of honour. Censorship never really works, and with hindsight looks ridiculous. He adds: "If 'Relax' came out now, it would barely make a ripple.
Same with the Sex Pistols. It was so easy 30 years ago to create outrage. Having said that, Frankie were a good band: they could play, great tunes, great videos, the T-shirts. Dave isn't so enamoured with them, saying: "We'd put on Lark in the Park back then, and the amount of teenagers wearing Frankie T-shirts amazed me.
It was a huge phenomenon. But they were idiotic to talk to, awful. Look, 'Relax' had to be a hit. There was no actual playing by the band, but the whole feeling came from the band. Morley intentionally courted scandal with the promotion of "Relax". ZTT initiated the ad campaign for "Relax" with two quarter-page ads in the British music press. The first ad featured images of Rutherford in a sailor cap and a leather vest, and Johnson with a shaved head and rubber gloves.
Nineteen inches that must be taken always. First charting at number 67, by its seventh week on the chart it had progressed only to number 35, even falling back slightly during that time. The following week it soared to number 6. In support of their disc jockey, BBC Radio banned the single from its shows a reported two days later although certain prominent night-time BBC shows — including those of Kid Jensen and John Peel — continued to play the record, as they saw fit, throughout By this time, the BBC Radio ban had extended to Top of the Pops as well, which displayed a still picture of the group during its climactic Number One announcement, before airing a performance by a non-Number One artist.
This went on for the five weeks that "Relax" was at number one. It then began a slow decline on the charts, falling back as far as number 31 in May before returning to number two in July whilst Frankie's follow-up single "Two Tribes" held the UK number-one spot. In the end, "Relax" remained on the Top 75 for 48 consecutive weeks and returned in February for four more, giving a total of The ban became an embarrassment for the BBC, especially given that UK commercial radio and television stations were still playing the song.
Later in the ban was lifted and "Relax" featured on both theChristmas Day edition of Top of the Pops and Radio 1's rundown of the best-selling singles of the year. Throughout the "Relax" controversy, the band continued to publicly deny that the song's lyrics were sexual. Nevertheless, by , it was clear that the public were aware of the sexual nature of the lyrics, but the scandal had fuelled sales anyway.
In , with the release of the Welcome to the Pleasuredome album which included "Relax" , the band dropped any public pretense about the lyrics:. The track was reissued in September , the first of a string of Frankie Goes to Hollywood singles to be reissued in this year. It debuted at a high number six on the UK singles chart and peaked at number five the next week.
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