Frankie Goes To Hollywood is an iconic 80’s Pop band consisting of 5 members: Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Mark O'Toole (bass), Brian Nash (guitar) and Peter Gill (drums). The band only had a short stint in the music industry, even though they left a pretty big legacy. Forming in 1980 in Liverpool, England it was only in 1983 when ZTT Records gave them a record deal, which lasted until the bands split in 1987. During this time they released 2 studio albums, sold over 3.3 million albums worldwide and are only one of 3 bands to have their first 3 singles all reach number one in the UK; the other 2 being The Beatles and Gerry and the Peacemakers (all from Liverpool).
Between 1983 and 1987, FGTH only made 2 studio albums: ‘Welcome to the Pleasuredome’ and ‘Liverpool’, Their second album didn’t do too well but their first album went straight to number 1 in the UK studio albums charts. Like MJ’s ‘Bad’ and GM’s ‘Faith’ I am going to talk about the title song of the album ‘welcome to the pleasuredome’ which surprisingly stopped FGTH’s streak in the UK of UK number ones as the album only managed to reach number 2 (so close yet so far). It did recharge in 1993 reaching as high as 18th and again in 2000 reaching 45 which shows that even years after their breakup the band and their music were still incredibly popular.
Welcome To The Pleasuredome Music Video (1985):
The Music Video for WTTP has a narrative that shows the troubled life of teenagers in the UK back in the 1980’s and the reckless situations they got up to. The opening shows a mysterious god like figure being disturbed from an unknown situation that has just occurred. After watching the rest it could be interpreted that the “god like” figure is happy after learning the tragic demise of the youth as he begins in a graveyard and appears ecstatic as he lifts his arms in the air by a peaceful lake to represent his time of peace beginning. Then it cuts to the 3 lads stealing a car and driving off onto the dark cramped motorway. This could represent that many others are in the same situations as the 3 young lads that we see but even when they are spotted by the helicopter (Johnson and Rutherford) they still continue as one of the mottos of the youth that still consists today is “going all in” (being caught but not stopping). The driver of the car also shows stereotypes of a person from their hometown of Liverpool, as his brown moustache and curly hair are on full display to show that the youth leader (FGTH) is leading the youth during troubling times.
However when the 3 lads arrive at a some sort of carnival they are all intrigued and instantly walk towards the light, which could mean that at that point in the MV they could’ve died. When they do arrive in the tent, they are immediately fascinated and want to be involved with a circus like world, which could also be interpreted as a joining a life of crime. This could explain why it is only the 3 lads who walk into the tent and not the woman as gang violence is more likely carried out by men. This is why the curiosity carried out by the 3 lads gets the best of them as all 3 of them are intrigued by something that young lads that age are interested in: Women, breaking the rules and committing devious crimes. The orange lighting in the background represents optimism and energy which is very clearly what the 3 lads were experiencing in that section of the MV. What is unusual to this scene is that the helicopter pilots (Johnson and Rutherford) also both enter the tent but in the end they are the only ones that come out alive. This could be a representation of the bands music to lads in gangs as there were most definitely instances were gang members who liked FGTH’s music, but no matter what happens to the lads, Frankie’s music will survive long after the young lads evil antics are over.
This magazine cover of No.1 was released on September 21st 1985 and shows the entire Group of FGTH posing in a joking manner. The context behind this is that this is the year that they released Their single for ‘welcome to the Pleasuredome’ and picked up 2 Brit Awards for Best British Single (for ‘Relax’) and Best British Newcomer.
The Magazine cover shows the group posing outside a fancy old schooled mansion with a tagline in the right hand corner saying “this is your life”. Whether this is the band showing off their new lavish life to their fans or the magazine expressing the bands rise to the top we are unsure about. 3 of the band members are expressing their excitement with their new lavish lifestyle by throwing one of their legs into the air; their legs are also joint together which could represent the bonding experiences the band have had for the last 2 years of their music career. This all strongly appeals to their audience who would mostly likely be teenagers as their clothes are all unusual but trendy for the time and the way the camera is positioned gives the illusion that they are on a pedestal that teenagers back then desperately wanted to be a part of.
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