“Relax, don’t do it, when you want to suck it to it. Relax, don’t do it, when you want to come…” While these words provided ample excuse for BBC Radio and TV to impose a ban on the joyously hypnotic 1983 debut single by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, they also served as a mid-’80s anthem during an era when homo-eroticism became an intrinsic component of the Britpop scene. Thanks to a suitably lewd S&M promo video that, predictably, was also barred from the airwaves, along with a massive marketing campaign that saw kids all over the UK wearing T-shirts with the slogan ‘Frankie Says Relax’, the band rode a short-lived wave of high-profile controversy. Yet of far longer-lasting impact was the music behind all the hype — a hi-NRG brand of dance-synth-pop that, as crafted by production supremo Trevor Horn, broke new sonic ground, while epitomising ’80s excess in all its garish, overblown glory.
Ville à Dômat 