Frankie Goes to Hollywood

’80s pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood earned a record deal with Trevor Horn’s label, ZTT Records, on the strength of an early 1983 radio session. ∙ The group’s name was inspired by a Guy Peellaert painting featuring Frank Sinatra and an imaginary newspaper headline, “Frankie Goes Hollywood.” ∙ Lead vocalist Holly Johnson had performed in the Liverpool punk band Big In Japan alongside Bill Drummond (The KLF) and Ian Broudie (Lightning Seeds). ∙ After being banned by the BBC for its sexually explicit lyrics, “Relax” topped the UK charts in 1984 and is still one of the country’s best-selling singles ever. ∙ They hit No. 1 with their first three UK singles—“Relax,” “Two Tribes,” and “The Power of Love”—making them only the second act beside Gerry & The Pacemakers to do so. ∙ Their massive popularity spawned a 1985 home computer game and a T-shirt craze featuring such slogans as “Frankie Say Relax Don’t Do It!”