Welcome To The Pleasuredome

I'm shocked at how good this album is, it covers a lot of territory and is a satisfying journey. I had no idea; the only song I'd heard before was "Relax" which, by the way, mashes up really well with Rammstein's "Du Hast". If you're the kind of person who likes every song on the album to be similar then skip this, you won't like it. Also, you're lame. Go back to the safe playlist bubbles of Spotify or whatever.

FGTH were MASSIVE. Relax and Two Tribes sound like a huge outburst of rage against the system. Great Britain in 1984 - Thatcher’s sweeping social reforms, massive unemployment, miners’ strike, troubled in Northern Ireland, deepening North/South divide and genuine fear of nuclear obliteration - an absolutely awful time to be anything other than obscenely wealthy. And here were a band from Liverpool, making loud, raucous, frenetic music, as maximalist as the excesses of the Tory government but this belonged to them - we’ll sing about sex, we’ll sing about war, we’re blatantly queer and we’re going to be huge. And they were. Radio 1 banned Relax from the airwaves - it made no difference - the song hit number one, followed by Two Tribes (with Relax now occupying number two in the charts - practically unheard of) and Power of Love. Three hit singles. And for a short while, these Lads from Liverpool ran the country - not the fascist regime in Westminster. Anything was possible. Perhaps that explosion of energy explains the shortcomings of this album. The hits and a few other tracks aside, synth pop cover versions do not an album make and perhaps the interference of Trevor Horn meant the creative spark was diminished somewhat when the band tried to make more music. Not a classic album, then, but an important one. Never forget what this band meant. Frankie Says Relax, yeah?

My wife says she feel like I was cheating on her with Spotify while listening to this.

All of the 80's collective cheesiness rolled into one album. I hate this corny shit.

I was undecided for so long whether to go 4 or 5 with this album, but you know what? It's a classic. So many legendary tunes. Flows well. Powerful album

This was very different to what i expected. It starts out like quite a decent dance record. Inexplicably throws in a few covers which add very little. Then the latter part of the record goes nowhere until the massive hit "power of love" comes on. Not sure how much of a coherent album it is but its fucking mental and mostly enjoyable if only in parts. 3/5

I would say my tolerance for corny '80s synth-oriented music is pretty high, but this still exceeded that threshold by a ridiculous amount

OMG, I bought this LP when it came out. I wore this album out, there is nothing like it.

You know, I really liked this a lot. More than I thought I would. There’s a very cinematic feel to it, maybe kind of a broadway show feel. You’ve got kinda synthy stuff like Relax, you’ve got bossanova on the San Jose cover, there’s a Born To Run cover, there’s a skit or two. I’ve listened to it like 3 times in a day because it flows together so well even though it might not be the BEST.

This is why people hate 80s music.

shite sandwich of an album started off like it was going to be a secret banger of an album, but then for that tasty tasty shite filling. no idea what the point of the cover versions in the middle were all about and how it fit into this heavily dance orientated album.

Woof this is all over the place. Horrid title track, great songs that would probably sound better covered, very dated, and interesting album experience touches. Too confusing for anything but a 3.

I'm ten percent gayer whenever I listen to this synth-pop masterpiece. That's how good it is! All jokes aside, this is an album that should probably be taken far more seriously than its current "critical reputation" lets on. First, this is producer Trevor Horn's Sistine Chapel: the 13-minute+ cinematic extravaganza of the title track is here to prove it. Secondly, fillers are pretty rare here, which is a feat given that *Welcome To The Pleasure Dome* is a double-album: that string of covers in the middle of the record (standards once sung by Bruce Springsteen, Edwin Starr, Gerry Marsden or Dionne Warwick) are always fresh and interesting, and the vast majority of the FGTH compositions stand out as well. There's the steamy hit "Relax", of course, and getting you ten percent gayer is the very minimum said hedonistic anthem can do. There are also "Two Tribes" and that touching-yet-fully-epic ballad "The Power of Love", aptly concluding the proceedings. Yet as good as those highlights are, they should not *fully* divert attention away from the lesser-known "Wish The Lads Were Here", "Krisco Kisses", and "Black Night White Light" towards the end of this record, along with the instrumental "The Ballad Of 32". Those tracks are pretty catchy as well. As a matter of fact, I find those deep cuts catchier and more satisfying in terms of melodies and hooks than 90% of the other synth-pop acts of the time. And I'm including the overrated Duran Duran here, or even Tears For Fears (ar least as far as their non-singles are concerned). So yep, Frankie Goes To Hollywood released an all-time classic in the synth-pop genre, period. And to be clear, punks, anyone who disagrees with me on this can get on his knees and suck my d... Well, only if said oral activity gives you pleasure, *of course*. And if you're nice and gentle enough, I may even return the favor at some point... Jeeze, did I say this album made me "ten percent gayer"? Maybe it's more like 25. 😎 One last thing, the topical overtones of this double-LP also make it an essential listen, and here I promise I'm not kidding you. Tackling the themes of gay liberation, the horrors of war, and the joy and love that communities must try to reach in times of hardship--all of this during the dreadful era of Thatcherism and the AIDS epidemic--is a pretty serious thing. And managing to tackle those themes while conveying the feeling you're having a blast at the same time is a rather admirable achievement, all things considered. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 here. Number of albums left to review: 552 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 217 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 105 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 128

Relax, Two Tribes, The Power of Love - these were all tracks I was well aware of and liked, but I had never ventured further into the Frankie Goes To Hollywood oeuvre. Well, I'm very pleased that I now have! I would have originally said Frankie... was decidely 80s pop rock but there are tonnes of different elements going on here, I hear tones of jazz, funk, dance and R&B. Fantastic record!

i will never get this sixty four minutes of my life back. wtf…

Relax, don't listen to this.

This album is just a shitty cover band. What a waste of and hour.

basic 80s with a load of covers weaker than the originals

Fun. Didn't realize they did covers as well. Enjoyed the album.

Full album changed power of love for me

I really enjoyed this. It was weird, trippy, indulgent, all the things that can be annoying and make an album less enjoyable potentially, but this one hits the mark. A really unique and cool experience.

Very nice sounds.

Relax is a classic but the album really drops off in the second half

This album wasn’t good bang for the buck. Pleasuredome has a great start but runs about 6 minutes too long. Then you get the 2 hits on LP 1 with a cover of War. LP 2 starts with covers of Born to Run & San Jose!!! I was sure the album had finished and Spotify had started playing something else, but that couldn’t be right, because Spotify always plays something similar to what was playing, and a hard rock version of Born to Run was definitely not similar. Of the remaining tracks, I find the uptempo ones annoying and the ballads a bit more listenable.

Wild album. Relax was a smash hit and you couldn't get away from it. They sound like they're having a good time making this album. Extra stars for the nostalgia trip.

Un disc excessiu, pletòric, que aglutina i expandeix els '80. Hi ha de tot i no tot és perfecte, però la majoria és material molt robust. Estan els singles: 'Relax', 'The Power of Love', Two Tribes', que van marcar una época. Estan les versions, una 'Born to Run' efervescent o un 'Ferry Cross the Mersey' reverencial. Estan els growers que amb les escoltes guanyen pes, com 'Krisco Kisses' o 'War'... La producció de Trevor Horn i la imatge i actitud del grup, que va marcar aquells anys, acaben per reivindicar-lo com un dels grans discos de la década

Pretty much perfect for me

Fantastic, varied synth-pop album.

Thank you for welcoming me to the Pleasuredome

Genius.. Well mainly

I had sort of decided this wasnt for me as I am not a massive pop fan, however this is an amazing album full of great records

- strong musicianship - kinda out there but also poppy - wildly explicit lyrics, truly shocking

Wow, I didn’t expect to like this nearly as much as I did… really solid listening experience. The originally songs were fun jams and even the covers were really original takes on those tracks. Overall thoroughly enjoyed this and I might check out more of their stuff. Favorite Tracks: “Welcome To The Pleasure Dome,” “Relax,” “War,” and “The Power of Love”

Could’ve done without the Springsteen cover

Listening to The Soft Boys put me in a good mood, so I'm liking Frankie more than I ever did, especially their bass player who's bringing a John Deacon-like vibe. Love the covers, esp Born to Run which is about a million times better than the Boss's. I'm not surprised to read the band disintegrated--this album is high concept and executed so well--esp for a debut (!?)--where could they go but down? Still, wish they'd cut the last 5 tracks.

Welcome to the Pleasuredome Relax, don’t do it, when you want to suck a Chewit. I love Trevor Horn, and this showcases his skills brilliantly, I don’t think there’s anyone else who can make that hi-nrg-disco-rock-new wave pop sound as good as he does - Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Relax and Two Tribes are excellent in that regard. And I love his art meets commerce sensibility, I feel like he’s a bit like a musical Roy Liechtenstein or Keith Haring, a pop-art pop producer. However songwise this is certainly a bit of a mixed bag. I really love the ambitious eclecticism and all the bases it touches, but I’m not totally convinced it quite works as a whole double length album. It does feel a bit scattershot and unfocused as it gets to the 3rd and 4th sides of the original vinyl. A single, more concise album, probably just the first 2 sides plus a couple of other tracks would be a great album I like how The World is My Oyster and Welcome to the excellent Pleasuredome act as a bit of an overture, you hear glimpses of songs from the album running through it, as well as some great bass and synth driven grooves, and Welcome to the Pleasuredome leads brilliantly into the fantastic, mischievous hi-nrg disco pop of Relax - it may be ubiquitous but it is absolutely brilliant. I do like the cover of War, hinting at the rhythmic hook of the original, and although it’s a bit dated now the Reagan impersonator speaking about Che Guavara and George Jackson and War would have been very zeitgeisty for the time it was released. And Two Tribes is of course another absolutely superb song, fantastic guitar and bass, its timelessly and brilliantly 80s. I like the melancholy and tender little cover of Ferry Cross the Mersey, an interesting but successful song choice I think. I presume the juxtaposition of Bruce’s widescreen American open road freedom yearning bombast of Born to Run sung by a Liverpudlian pop group is part of the reason they covered it, and while that is quite amusing and despite the energetic performance and Holly Johnson’s hyper-committed vocals I’m not sure it’s ultimately that worthwhile. That goes similarly for the cover of Do You Know the Way to San Jose, I guess the connection/contrast with Born to Run is partly behind it, and while it’s a fine enough version, it also feels a little unnecessary, those two covers signalling a little bit of wooliness as it heads towards the end of the album There are a few good songs to come though, Wish (The Lads Were Here) is a nice bit of pop, and similar to the cover of Ferry Cross the Mersey, the slightly melancholic instrumental of The Ballad of 32 is nice. And Black Night White Light is a great disco-soul groove. I’ve never liked The Power of Love, I’ve always found the melody a bit hard work and the whole thing has a slightly flat, dirge-like quality. And although I presume the OTT power powerballad-ness of it is deliberate I’m just not keen. Holly Johnson has hints of Freddie Mercury, he must surely have been an influence, but he has a bit more of a knowing punkish sneer and playful sensibility, so that he stops himself falling too far into melodramatic theatricality. Length, inconsistency and being front loaded with 3 absolutely fantastic songs in Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Relax and Two Tribes aside I really enjoyed it and will definitely come back to it. It may not totally work, but it’s got a huge amount of scattershot, eclectic charm, and Trevor Horn’s production is fantastic throughout. A single album of the first 8 tracks plus Ferry Cross the Mersey and Black Night White Light and I think it would be a 5, but as it is I’ll go for a solid 4. 😎😎😎😎 Playlist submission: Two Tribes

By the end of Born To Run: "Fucking hell, this album is incredible. Why have I never bothered listening to it before." By the end of The Only Star In Heaven: "Fucking hell, I've never known an album to drop off in quality so much. This is like Robert De Niro's career." By the end of Power of Love: "fucking hell, now I'm a weeping mess, picturing Andrew Sott and Paul Mescal tangled up together but each deeply alone in some dark, eternal sorrow." The highs are Everest peaks. Trevor Horn is a proper genius: the master of clear, fun, ecstatic power pop. Too much filler though. Condense this to 40 mins and it'd probably be the best album of the 80s.

This is a really fun album with some pretty epic parts to it. The covers are entertaining, albeit not all too creative, takes on the originals. Favorite track: Welcome to the Pleasuredome

From the bawdy opening number to the cordial closer. Welcome to the Pleasuredome is a journey masquerading as a double album that leaves you breathless as it rockets through its track listing.

Surprisingly good. Loved the cinematic feel, changes in pace and level of drama.

Oh damn. Like this a lot more than I was expecting to. I had Frankie Goes to Hollywood mentally filed next to Soft Cell as being a more or less uninteresting pop act with a smash hit single or two. Really enjoyed the first sequence of three tracks - really did feel like entering a pleasuredome! I also dug many of the covers, especially "San Jose (The Way)"... Not quite a five as the second half has some lulls, but I'd definitely go 4.5 if that were an option. Fave track - "Relax" - that shiz is utterly iconic. The title track was great too, and "San Jose"...

Relax un clásico. War pues otro clásico.

Now this was unexpected! After the opener there was a 13 minute song and I got very nervous but the rest of them leveled out and I actually found a ton that I liked on here. Obviously Relax is a classic but I really enjoyed Two Tribes, Born to Run, and San Jose (which I think is a bit from who's line is it anyway). The album cover looks way better on Apple Music, this looks like Picasso went to the Queen Mary's and had his life changed.

Peak 80s

Shiny and campy and unserious like a disco-ball wearing a piano key necktie. The covers aren't bad, but the originals are such gargantuan hits, it would be difficult to match up.

Relax, don't do it When you wanna suck, chew it Relax, don't do it When you wanna CUM

Didn’t realize they did relax. Had some other covers. Very 80s sounding with the new wave and all that.

FGTH lays the groundwork for an interesting take on the classic synth-pop sound of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but they don’t do enough with the elements that make it stand out to create an overall satisfying album. However, from the lengthy, nearly prog-synth tracks, to the bizarre spoken word interludes, the band’s debut is certainly charming and a commendable experiment, even if several of its tracks fall flat

I can see why people dislike this, it's far too bloated and has a lot of obvious filler (which as the consecutive covers midway through the album), however when it's good, it's really good. I feel like FGTH used all the material they had for this album, some of these songs definitely should have been b-sides.

Album: Welcome to the Pleasuredome Artist: Frankie Goes to Hollywood Year: 1984 Best Track: Welcome to the Pleasuredome Thoughts: This one started pretty strong - sounded like it was building to a synth-powered disco concept album. Deflated a bit later. Catchy though.

Back to the '80s baby! Of course, the only song I know from this group is "Relax," and thankfully that is on here. Somehow I never picked up on how sexual that song is until hearing it in the context of the album. There are also some covers, like "War" and "Born to Run," and I enjoyed those. Overall, I like their style and enjoyed a handful of songs, but this didn't strike me as anything special. Favorite tracks: Relax, Born to Run, War. Album art: Pretty cool art cover, though the picture framed on this site is different from the one I see on Apple music. I like the colors and art style of this one though. 3/5

Quite a bit stranger than I expected, but just so unpleasant to my ears.

This was a strange one

Sometimes it sounds like Devo if they only made bad decisions. They're trying to be quirky but they end up being irritating in a way that I've rarely felt before. More than one hour of this? F my life.

Sure, Relax is pretty good, classic 80s song about sucking dick that has a lot of nostalgic value. I enjoyed that. But the title track is a painfully long 13:40 and it's chock full of barely passable covers. I've been really into some of the stuff I got from this era but Frankie didn't really do it for me.

worse than i expected. i've been having a hard-on for the 80s recently - all things 80s music so i was looking forward to listening to this. but it was the definition of lower mid music - some ok songs, most are dull and skippable. i cannot understand how this is an essential album in the slightest.the only interesting song is relax.

To me, this album suffers from being too gimmicky. Plus being over an hour long seems self-indulgent especially since it contains so many covers. It's definitely fun but the over-the-top elements overshadowed everything else.

I have to admit sometimes I question my participation in this experiment. I consume and enjoy music, a lot of songs are heavily tied to specific memories and emotions, but I am pretty sure I’m tone deaf, I can’t stay on beat and I can’t hear the difference between a concertina and an accordion. A lot of this album just felt like proto-Disco Biscuits where someone with a music degree and a deeper appreciation could tell you how they build this transcends time or whatever, but it just sounds like noise to me. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear the Springsteen cover in the middle of the sex moans and toe stub cries.

There's very little pleasure in this dome. Nothing exciting, one overplayed and overrated hit that is admittedly a staple of the decade but not for me, some half baked covers and worst of all: an excessive run time. Why is the title track alone 13 minutes? Good God. It's meets all the criteria to be a 1 star album but it somehow isn't. It is decent enough to get a 2 from me but with little enthusiasm. Never again.

Relax!!!!! (I feel like it needs lots of exclamation marks) was such a big hit at the time. Album feels like it was chucked together quickly, a few hits and lots of low value covers and synth funk Trevor Horn found under a cushion on his couch

Are we really going to pretend that Frankie Goes To Hollywood is more than a one-hit wonder? I mean, COME ON! This is crap. One karaoke worthy song does not an incredible must-hear album make.

a weird theatrical 80s new-wave experience with noticeably wonky mixing, a few legendary songs, and a lot of filler. felt like this was recorded in a karaoke parlor. 2.5/5

i do not care for the kids bop style cover of born to run overall this is fine, title track kinda rocks and relax is a hit, but mostly i was bored

What a ridiculous mess of an album. While more interesting than the typical 80s one hit wonder, this still doesn't belong on any sort of essential listening list. Someone really needs to curate the contributors of this list better, they're including some really absurd, pointless crap. This is an evolutionary dead end. There are no bands out there talking about the influence Frankie Goes to Hollywood had on them. The entry for this album made mention of the producer and his clean production style, but that's barely a historical footnote. You can do better.

Frankie, this should be fun. I only know the hits, but those are fun, and the album cover is silly and colorful and cheerful so I'm optimistic. ...And that goodwill is entirely squandered by the end of the title track. Good lord. Relax is fine but hard to judge objectively because it was such a song of the moment, so mostly when I hear it I relive the moment. Two Tribes is also fine, I think because they keep it short. The rest of the album is pretty much an uneven mess. The instrumental is pleasant enough I guess. I like The Power of Love. Many of the rest are just annoying. The music is serviceable enough dance music, if a bit repetitive, but the lyrics, well -- probably the fact that I was just fed Public Enemy isn't helping here. Shooting stars never stop? What? Isn't the whole point of a shooting star that it is fleeting? Honestly listening to the whole album made the song Relax worse. I thought Frankie was just campy and fun. But in context the music come off as a bit more pretentious and overwrought than fun. I'm also reinterpreting the album cover as a bit much.

The portion of this album I enjoyed the most were the back to back covers of “Born to Run” and “San Jose” - but that isn’t a positive for Frankie Goes to Hollywood. I shouldn’t be thinking “Huh, I’d much rather be listening to Bruce Springsteen or Burt Bacharach than this pompous synth pop.” in the middle of your record!

I was surprised to see this pop up on the list - I of course remember the 2 big singles in the mid-80s and then nothing else about them so I'm essentially going in blind. It's a well-produced (slick) very 80s-representative album produced by Trevor Horn (who had his hand in a lot of big music of the era) and as such it plays more like a nice resume point for him rather than featuring the music or band itself. Even their two big hits in retrospect have excellent hooks but are not developed much further than that; they thankfully each wrap up in under 4 minutes. For a lot of these tracks, they *sound* good but if anything they show the shortcomings as songwriters the band had, peppered with some weird/unexpected covers ("Born To Run" "San Jose" "War" - ??). In fact the first true song on the album is about 14 minutes of decent enough music but it's not really a song, per se - it sounds more like a poorly constructed overture. Summing up - nothing at all unpleasant to listen to with some very cool instrumental passages but with a slew of those odd covers and decent-enough sounding poppy dance tunes I don't really see why it's on the "1001 list" - to me it's not much more than background music. 4/10 2 stars

Pretty dated average 80s fair. Relax harms my soul but Born to Run still slaps but.

This album is what would be the equivalent of an 80's electropop band doing covers and singing a couple originals at a Bar Mitzvah. The concept they were going for was alright, but the execution left something to be desired.

Lots of good ideas that are horribly executed. Comes out as an overly long and honestly kind of mediocre album.

Only knew their hit Relax. Lots going on in their music 🎶. Also liked Tribes, Born to Run and Fury which I think are all remakes of someone else’s work. Did not like Tag.

1.5

This is absolutely fantastic. Anthems of songs, great themes, vocals are on point and instrumentals are out of this world

When my grandad passed away it was around the same time as my birthday and my Auntie got me this as a present that year because he loved the album. So for that it has special memories and I can’t not give it a 5/5. I don’t find the album itself perfect, I think it peaks from relax to two tribes. I think the title track goes on too long. Then the only star in heaven and the power of love bring the album up when they fill it with covers. But It’s too sentimental to me 5/5

Wow! This blew me away. Sure it's dates but so is the Rat Pack if we're honest and we don't hold that against those cats. I did not expect so much depth and angst from the Relax band. I listened to this three times in one day and loved every moment of it.

5 stjerner

WOW this one is a banger. Saved in my library.

Like everyone else, I knew of Relax. But I couldn't have told you who it was by even if I tried. But now I'll never forget. That was such a banger of a fuckin album. The Bruce cover is immaculate, Relax is great, San Jose is a real fun. But the crem de crem - All 13+ minutes of welcome to the pleasuredome. I think i listened to it 3 times yesterday? So so so good - really revved me up. Killer stuff

Y'a vraiment des bangers là dedans, mais même en l'écoutant 2 fois, je me vois pas lui donner un 5. My bad, Frank EDIT DU FUTUR: OK FRANK, ÇA KICK VRAIMENT À LA TROISIÈME ÉCOUTE

An album that pays tribute to a lot of great music of the past but is also able to present a cohesive theme of its own.

Wow this one was a surprise. Didn't think it would be any good but turned out I was very wrong.

Pretty interesting, I have to admit. I absolutely knew the song Relax. Very diverse record overall, it uses elements from many genres.

There is just something I will always love about this LP. Is what it is.

I bought this double album when it came out and it was a killer. Horn's production was astonishing, although it was abysmal of him to rerecord most of the tracks with his studio musicians, as the band was not up to his expectations. Nevertheless, I love every single track of it. Back then, I didn't recognize all the direct and indirect gay insinuations (well, besides Relax, where there was not much not to be understood).

This album is a lot of fun, so I'm giving it five stars and adding it to my Tidal library.

Outstanding!

Very nice album!

Falls off a little in the second half, but the first half is strong enough to carry it to five stars (meaning good enough to download for regular listening, not perfect).

I can't believe I've never heard a bit of this album before. It is BIG and powerful and broad. So amazing. It contains so much and gives me new ideas and visions. 5.5

"Relax" and "The Power of Love" is on the same album? I was singing the refrain from "War" some time in the past and I didn't know it was from Frankie. Really good album.

I had forgotten that there were quite so many covers on here. The fact that they were so subversive and revolutionary and groundbreaking makes me forgive them. The covers are okay but not what this album is about. To be in the UK at this time when Frankie Goes to Hollywood we’re the zeitgeist and rebels and brought the underground into the light. The fact that Relax was number one in the charts but all the mainstream media refused to play it just made us want it more. Two Tribes, Relax and The Power of Love WERE the early 80s - powerful, provocative and danceable to boot! And my RELAX t-shirt dress was a summer staple. For all the filler and cover missteps - I just don’t care. I’m gonna say what I exclaimed when I saw that these boys were the album of the day! Fuck, yeah!

What an odd album. This was an amazing journey. I hit play without looking at the track list and kept getting lovely surprises along the way. Forget the originals (which are fantastic) but a cover of Born to Run? San Jose? I love The Boss and Burt Bacharach!

Banger!

By turns outrageous, raunchy, angry, tender, and all of it works spectacularly. Holly Johnson has a real gift for turning every emotion up to 10.

A mighty album of mad 80s pop, art and Trevor Horn. It still sprawls around and sounds like a moment in time.

Många hits och schyssta covers. Kanske något lång.

Really enjoyed it

... Long time ago.... Still nice to Heard. A Milestone

So cheesy, so poppy, so 80's but...... ...how to resist something so undeniably big in hits and swagger?

Always loved this album.