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Welcome to the Pleasuredome

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Welcome to the Pleasuredome is the debut studio album by English synth-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released on 29 October 1984 by ZTT Records.[6] Originally issued as a vinyl double album, it was assured of a UK chart entry at number one due to reported advance sales of over one million.[6] It actually sold around a quarter of a million copies in its first week.[7] The album was also a top-10 seller internationally in countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.

Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Illustration by Lo Cole[1]
Studio album by
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Released29 October 1984 (1984-10-29)
RecordedJuly 1983–1984
Studio
GenrePop[2][3]
Length64:06
LabelZTT
ProducerTrevor Horn
Frankie Goes to Hollywood chronology
Welcome to the Pleasuredome
(1984) 		Bang!
(1985)
Alternative cover
The original CD cover, which was taken from one of the vinyl record's dust jackets.
Cover photography by Peter Ashworth[4]
Singles from Welcome to the Pleasuredome
  1. "Relax"
    Released: 24 October 1983
  2. "Two Tribes"
    Released: 4 June 1984[5]
  3. "The Power of Love"
    Released: 19 November 1984
  4. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome"
    Released: 18 March 1985

The album was commercially successful and contained new versions of the songs from the group's singles from the same year ("Relax" and "Two Tribes", plus B-side "War"), as well as several cover versions. Trevor Horn's production dominated the record so thoroughly that the band's own instrumental performances were often replaced by session musicians or Horn himself.[8] Frankie's second album, Liverpool, actively featured the full band.

The ballad "The Power of Love" subsequently provided the group with their third consecutive UK number-one single.

To celebrate the album's 30th anniversary, in October 2014, ZTT through Union Square Music released a limited edition (2,000 copies only) box set titled Inside the Pleasuredome, available exclusively from the website pledgemusic.com. The box set contains rarities on 10" vinyl, as well as a book, a DVD, a cassette (featuring 13 mixes of "Relax" and its B-side "One September Monday") as well as a new 2014 remastered version of Welcome to the Pleasuredome on 180g vinyl.

Sleeve art

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The cover art was conceived by ZTT owner Paul Morley and illustrated by graphic artist Lo Cole. The front cover featured an illustration of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood band members; on the back of the album was an illustration of a large animal orgy; and the inner gatefold artwork was an image of a procession of animals entering the head of a very large phallus. The sleeve art proved controversial, and the printing company refused to print the album covers. Cole was forced to alter the orgy image by adding green fig leaves to cover the offending animal genitalia.[1]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
Los Angeles Times    [10]
Mojo     [11]
Pitchfork8.7/10[12]
Record Collector     [13]
Record Mirror     [14]
Rolling Stone     [15]
Smash Hits7/10[16]
Sounds     [17]
The Village VoiceC[18]

Reviewing Welcome to the Pleasuredome for Sounds, Carole Linfield praised Frankie Goes to Hollywood for merging "the hip with the witless" on an album of "overkill, overjoy and overcompensation", summarising it as "pretentious rubbish for which we're rewarded with almost illicit ecstasy ... Frankie makes gullibility fashionable."[17] "By next week I'll be tired of it," commented Richard Cook in NME, "but today this 'play' is funny, sharp, gorgeous."[3] Jim Reid of Record Mirror felt that while the album "would have made a brilliant single LP", it is still "superbly produced and head and shoulders above the rest", observing "intelligence, real sexual glamour and a sense of fun" distinguishing the band from other contemporary pop acts.[14]

In the United States, Rolling Stone critic David Fricke found that the album's songs are "too often ... merely alluring fragments", while concluding that it "revels in its own subversiveness with such audacious glee that it is impossible not to be captivated, if not entirely convinced".[15] The Village Voice's Robert Christgau was less impressed, calling the group "a truly great hype" but ultimately only "a marginally competent arena-rock band who don't know how to distinguish between effeminacy and pretension".[18]

Retrospectively, AllMusic reviewer Ned Raggett said that Welcome to the Pleasuredome, divorced from "the hype, controversy, and attendant craziness surrounding Frankie", "holds up as an outrageously over-the-top, bizarre, but fun release", as well as "more a testament to Trevor Horn's production skills than anything else."[9] For Pitchfork, Sasha Geffen wrote that the album's impact "rang out into the years that followed, emblematizing the '80s and loosening the way for bands like Erasure, who would carry a similar torch into the rave years."[12]

Track listing

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All songs written and composed by Peter Gill, Holly Johnson, Brian Nash and Mark O'Toole except where noted.[19][20]

Side 1: "F – Pray Frankie Pray"
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The World Is My Oyster (Including Well, Snatch of Fury)"Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Andy Richards1:57
2."Welcome to the Pleasuredome" 13:40
Side 2: "G – Say Frankie Say"
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
3."Relax (Come Fighting)" 3:56
4."War (...and Hide)"Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield6:12
5."Two Tribes (For the Victims of Ravishment)" 3:23
6."(Tag)" (unlisted track) 0:35
Side 3: "T – Stay Frankie Stay"
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Ferry (Go)"Gerry Marsden1:49
8."Born to Run"Bruce Springsteen3:56
9."San Jose (The Way)"Burt Bacharach, Hal David3:09
10."Wish (The Lads Were Here)" 2:48
11."The Ballad of 32" 4:47
Side 4: "H – Play Frankie Play"
No.TitleLength
12."Krisco Kisses"2:57
13."Black Night White Light"4:05
14."The Only Star in Heaven"4:16
15."The Power of Love"5:28
16."...Bang"1:08
Total length:64:00

Personnel

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Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Additional personnel

Production

  • Produced by Trevor Horn
  • Engineers – Stuart Bruce, Steve Lipson
  • Mastering – Ian Cooper

Technical

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[46] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[47] Platinum 100,000^
Germany (BVMI)[48] Platinum 500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[49] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[50] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[51] Gold 25,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[53] 3× Platinum 1,100,000[52]
United States (RIAA)[54] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Foakes, Kevin. "Frankie Goes To Hollywood 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome' LP". Art Of ZTT. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  2. ^ Bell, Max (3–9 November 1984). "Frankie say pleasure can pay". The Times. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b Cook, Richard (3 November 1984). "Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends". NME. p. 33. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b Liverpool Echo: Peter Ashworth interview: Frankie Goes to Hollywood
  5. ^ "Record Mirror". 16 June 1984.
  6. ^ a b Thrills, Adrian (13 October 1984). "Frankie Say: Beat It!". NME. London. p. 2.
  7. ^ Jones, Alan (10 April 1993). "Chart Focus". Music Week. p. 11.
  8. ^ Griffiths, Daniel (11 May 2024). ""Getting her to the studio was tough! But once we got her there, she was wonderful. We really sprung Slave... on her": The story of Grace Jones' Slave to the Rhythm – tempo changes, stacked Roland synth patches and Trevor Horn". MusicRadar. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome – Frankie Goes to Hollywood". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  10. ^ Hilburn, Robert; Hunt, Dennis; Cromelin, Richard; Feather, Leonard; Atkinson, Terry; Johnson, Connie; Pond, Steve; Damsker, Matt; Grein, Paul; Waller, Don; Willman, Chris; Gurza, Agustin; Matsumoto, Jon; Baker, Chris; Shapiro, Marc; Reeves, Jim (16 December 1984). "Guiding the Uninitiated Through the Top 40". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ Harrison, Ian (January 2018). "Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Mojo. No. 290. p. 106.
  12. ^ a b Geffen, Sasha (23 June 2024). "Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Welcome to the Pleasuredome Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  13. ^ Staunton, Terry (May 2010). "Welcome To The Pleasuredome | Frankie Goes To Hollywood". Record Collector. No. 375. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  14. ^ a b Reid, Jim (3 November 1984). "Greetings, pop pickers". Record Mirror. p. 21.
  15. ^ a b Fricke, David (17 January 1985). "Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Welcome To The Pleasuredome". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 January 2002. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  16. ^ Ellen, Mark (8–21 November 1984). "Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Smash Hits. Vol. 6, no. 22. p. 23.
  17. ^ a b Linfield, Carole (3 November 1984). "Dome Is Where the Art Is". Sounds. p. 32.
  18. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (25 December 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs (track lengths)". Discogs. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  20. ^ "Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs (writing)". Discogs. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  21. ^ Liverpool Echo: Peter Ashworth interview: Frankie Goes to Hollywood
  22. ^ Kent 1993, p. 118
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9568". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  25. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  26. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 2, no. 2. 14 January 1985. p. 9. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  27. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  29. ^ "Charts.nz – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  30. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  31. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  33. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  34. ^ "Frankie Goes to Hollywood Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  35. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1984". RPM. Vol. 41, no. 17. 5 January 1985. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  36. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  37. ^ "Top 100 Albums (January 3–December 29, 1984)" (PDF). Music Week. 26 January 1985. p. 42. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  38. ^ Kent 1993, p. 437
  39. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1985". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  40. ^ "RPM's Top 100 Albums of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43, no. 16. 28 December 1985. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  41. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  42. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1985" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  43. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1985". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  44. ^ "Top 100 Albums (January 5–December 28, 1985)" (PDF). Music Week. 18 January 1986. p. 11. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  45. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1985". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  46. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  47. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Music Canada. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  48. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Frankie Goes to Hollywood; 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  49. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 29 November 2019. Enter Welcome to the Pleasuredome in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1984 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  50. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Recorded Music NZ. 20 January 1985. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  51. ^ "Sonet - Frankie Went to Norway" (PDF). Billboard. 6 December 1986. p. S-6. Retrieved 29 November 2019 – via American Radio History.
  52. ^ "Frankie sets new record on advance sales" (PDF). Music Week. 1 November 1984. p. 1. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  53. ^ "British album certifications – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". British Phonographic Industry. 28 May 1985.
  54. ^ "American album certifications – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Recording Industry Association of America. 4 March 1985. Retrieved 4 July 2019.

Bibliography

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