Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Frankie Goes to Hollywood studio album
Publication (s)	October 29, 1984
admission	July 1983-1984
Label (s)	Island Records (USA), ZTT Records (GB)
Format (s)	Record , compact cassette , CD
Genre (s)	New wave , hi-NRG , synth-pop
Title (number)	18th
running time	64:04
production	Trevor Horn
Studio (s)	Manor Studio , Oxford SARM Studios, London
chronology - Welcome to the Pleasuredome Liverpool (1986)
Single releases October 18, 1983 Relax May 28, 1984 Two tribes November 19, 1984 The Power of Love March 18, 1985 Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Welcome to the Pleasure Dome (ger .: Welcome to the pleasure dome ) is the debut album by the British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood . It was first released in the UK on October 29, 1984.

History of origin

The plans at the record label ZTT Records actually did not include the production of a music album. The concept of ZTT consisted of a trilogy of singles on the topics of sex ( Relax ), war ( Two Tribes ) and love ( The Power of Love ). ZTT co-founder Paul Morley then wanted to sell the band to a major label :

"My plan, which was incredibly naive and improbably cunning at the same time, was to put ' Power of Love ' out and then sell Frankie to a company like CBS for five million."

- Paul Morley in an interview with Simon Reynolds

The concept was more successful than expected, however, and ZTT co-founders Trevor Horn and Jill Sinclair wanted the band to sell well in America, assuming they would be received by the audience like the Village People . The debut, conceived as a double album, should consist almost exclusively of the title track on the first page (“F”); the already successful singles make up the majority of the second page ("G"), the third page ("T") consists mainly of cover versions and the fourth page ("H") of other original compositions of the band.

The album was recorded from July 1983 to 1984 with Trevor Horn as producer and Stephen Lipson and Stuart Bruce as sound engineers in Oxford and London . The cost of production was just under £ 400,000. The share of musicians in the recordings is controversial. Trevor Horn admitted in interviews that the released recordings for Relax do not feature Peter Gill , Brian Nash or Mark O'Toole.

Publication and chart success

The album reached almost 1.5 million pre-orders and entered the UK album charts at number 1 immediately after its release, stayed there for a total of 63 weeks and was one of the ten best-selling albums of the decade three months after its release in late 1984. In May 1985, the British Phono Association certified the third platinum record for more than 900,000 records sold.

In Germany the album reached number 4 in the charts , lasted 38 weeks and was also awarded a platinum record by the German Phono Association. In Austria the album reached number 3 and lasted 18 weeks and in Switzerland number 5 with a length of stay of 17 weeks.

The tour to promote the album began in November 1984 in Canada, followed by appearances in the United States and an appearance on the American television program Saturday Night Live on November 14th. In the United States, the album reached number 33 on the Billboard 200 in May 1985 and remained on the charts for 31 weeks.

Especially Relax , but also Two Tribes and Welcome to the Pleasuredome developed into successful singles as well as the ballad The Power of Love . Some of the cover versions on the album included the song Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen , which, according to Paul Morley, prevented the kind of commercial highs the band experienced in Europe in the USA:

“One of my favorite things I ever did conceptually was to kill them off comepletely in America by getting them to cover ' Born to Run '. I saw them play in San Francisco and they started ' Born to Run ', and people were horrified. "

“One of my favorite conceptual actions was slaughtering her in America by getting her to cover Born to Run . I saw them play Born to Run in San Francisco and the people were horrified. "

- Paul Morley in an interview with Simon Reynolds.

reception

The British magazine "Record Mirror", which at the time regularly published weekly Hi-NRG charts, voted Frankie Goes to Hollywood the "best band of 1984". The band's influence on high energy dance music, which is rooted in the subculture of male British homosexuals, is also mentioned by Wicke / Ziegenrücker.

The German trade journal " Musikexpress " rated the album as a "lust and greed affirming festival"; the album gives "a picture of eroticism, romance and primitivity over four pages".

The Frankfurter Rundschau described the album as "an ironic game with one's own phallic cult, mixed with anti-war slogans in the disco pounding".

Music journalist Dave Thompson reviewed Welcome to the Pleasuredome in his book "Alternative Rock" with the words: "For just a few magic moments, the world really was their oyster". For just a few magical moments, the world was really theirs Feet ), referring to a line of text from the album. He scored 8 out of 10 points.

Joel McIver, who also writes for Record Mirror, reviewed the album for Robert Dimery's 1001 albums You Must Hear Before You Die and comes to a similar conclusion: “And the weird glamor of Welcome made you believe for a moment, a whole new one Movement would have appeared. "

Ned Raggett of " Allmusic " characterized the album as a release that was "outrageously over-the-top, bizarre, but fun" ( outrageously exaggerated, bizarre, but funny ). He gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Track list

LP: ZTT / ZTTIQ 1 (Great Britain)

All pieces were written by Peter Gill , Holly Johnson , Brian Nash, and Mark O'Toole , unless otherwise noted.

Page 1 ("F" - "Pray Frankie Pray")

1. "Well ..." (Gill / Johnson / Nash / O'Toole / Andy Richards) - 0:55
2. "The World Is My Oyster" - 1:02
3. " Snatch of Fury (Stay) " ( Gerry Marsden ) - 0:36
4. " Welcome to the Pleasuredome " - 12:58

Page 2 ("G" - "Say Frankie Say")

1. " Relax (Come Fighting)" (Gill / Johnson / O'Toole) - 3:56
2. " War (... and Hide)" ( Barrett Strong / Norman Whitfield ) - 6:12
3. " Two Tribes (For the Victims of Ravishment)" (Gill / Johnson / O'Toole) - 3:23
4. "(Tag)" - 0:35 [unlisted title on LP and some CD editions]

Page 3 ("T" - "Stay Frankie Stay")

1. " Ferry (Go) " (Marsden) - 1:49
2. " Born to Run " ( Bruce Springsteen ) - 3:56
3. " San Jose (The Way)" ( Bacharach / David ) - 3:09
4. "Wish (The Lads Were Here)" (Gill / Johnson / O'Toole) - 2:48
5. "The Ballad of 32" - 4:47

Page 4 ("H" - "Play Frankie Play")

1. "Krisco Kisses" - 2:57
2. "Black Night White Light" - 4:05
3. "The Only Star in Heaven" - 4:16
4. " The Power of Love " - 5:28
5. "Bang" - 1:08

• "(Tag)" is an unlisted excerpt from Two Tribes and included the mock voice of Prince Charles (by Chris Barrie ) talking about orgasms .
• "Ferry (Go)" is a short version of Ferry Cross the Mersey , by Gerry & The Pacemakers, which first appeared as the B-side of the single Relax . A very short excerpt can be heard on page 1 of Snatch of Fury (Stay) .
• The LP was also released as a Picture Disc, catalog no. NEAT 1, and on cassette, catalog no. ZCIQ1.

CD: ZTT / CID 101 (Great Britain)

The original CD version had the following changed track list. The subsequent CD re-releases followed in the track list and cover of the vinyl release.

1. "The World Is My Oyster" - 1:57 (includes "Well ...")
2. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" - 13:38 (includes "Snatch of Fury (Stay)")
3. "Relax (Come Fighting)" - 3:56
4. "War (... and Hide)" - 6:12
5. "Two Tribes (For the Victims of Ravishment) including The Last Voice " - 10:22
6. "Born to Run" - 4:13
7. "Happy Hi!" - 4:12 (B-side of the single Welcome to the Pleasuredome )
8. "Wish (The Lads Were Here) including The Ballad of 32" - 7:35
9. "Krisco Kisses" - 2:57
10. "Black Night White Light" - 4:05
11. "The Only Star in Heaven" - 4:16
12. "The Power of Love" - ​​5:28
13. "Bang" - 1:08

• On some CD re-releases the vocals from "Snatch of Fury (Stay)" are missing.
• A re-release from 2000 included the bonus B-side titles "One September Monday" (4:50) and "One February Friday" (4:58).

Deluxe edition for the 25th anniversary

In 2010 a deluxe edition was released for the 25th anniversary with a second CD with unreleased material.

1. "Relax (Greatest Bits)" - 16:59
2. "One September Monday" - 04:49
3. "The Power of Love (12 inch version)" - 09:30
4. "Disneyland" - 03:07
5. "Two Tribes (Between Rulers And Ruling)" - 04:10
6. "War (Between Hidden And Hiding)" - 04:00
7. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Cut Rough)" - 05:40
8. "One February Friday" - 05:00
9. "The Ballad of 32 (Mix 2)" - 11:03
10. "Who Then Devised the Torment?" - 00:16
11. "Relax (Greek Disco Mix)" - 06:18
12. "Watusi Love Juicy" - 04:03
13. "The Last Voice" - 1:14 am

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} allmusic.com: Welcome to the Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards. Retrieved October 28, 2012 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Simon Reynolds: Rip It Up And Start Again . Hannibal Verlag, Höfen 2007, ISBN 978-3-85445-270-6 , Chapter 26 Raiding the Twentieth Century: ZTT and Frankiemania . , P. 516
3. ↑ ^{a b} Simon Reynolds: Totally Wired - Postpunk Interviews and Overviews . Soft Skull Press, New York 2009, ISBN 978-1-59376-286-5 . , P. 334
4. ↑ Simon Reynolds: Totally Wired - Postpunk Interviews and Overviews . Soft Skull Press, New York 2009, ISBN 978-1-59376-286-5 . , P. 345
5. ↑ ^{a b} Dave Thompson: Alternative Rock . Miller Freeman, San Francisco 2000, ISBN 0-87930-607-6 . , P. 375
6. ↑ Chart Archives - Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome. In: chartarchive.org. Retrieved October 27, 2012 . 
7. ↑ Certified Awards Search. Retrieved on October 27, 2012 (English, keyword: Frankie Goes to Hollywood). 
8. ^ ^{A b c d} Christian Graf and Burghard Rausch: Rockmusiklexikon . Europe / Vol. 1, ABC – Kursaal Flyers. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag , Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-596-12387-9 , pp. 511 (750 pp.).
9. ^ Federal Association of the Music Industry: Gold-Platinum Database. Retrieved October 27, 2012 (keyword: Frankie Goes to Hollywood). 
10. ↑ Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome –austriancharts.at. Retrieved October 27, 2012 . 
11. ↑ Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome - hitparade.ch. Retrieved October 27, 2012 . 
12. ↑ Welcome to the Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2012 . 
13. ↑ Peter Wicke, Wieland & Kai Ziegenrücker: Handbook of popular music . Extended new edition edition. Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG, Mainz 2007, ISBN 978-3-7957-0571-8 . , P. 317f.
14. ↑ Dave Thompson: Alternative Rock . Miller Freeman, San Francisco 2000, ISBN 0-87930-607-6 . , P. 376
15. ↑ Joel McIver: 1001 Albums - Music You Should Hear Before Life Is Over . Ed .: Robert Dimery. updated 5th new edition. Edition Olms, Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-283-01112-3 , p. 516 (English: 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die .).
16. ↑ ZTT Records | Frankie Goes To Hollywood - ... Pleasuredome (Element Series edition). (No longer available online.) Ztt.com, archived from the original on March 4, 2012 ; Retrieved January 8, 2012 .