Put The Needle On The Record - Week #17

Put The Needle On The Record Week #17 Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome To The Pleasuredome

For this weeks feature we go back to October 1984 and the Frankie Goes To Hollywood album "Welcome To The Pleasuredome".

I was a mad Frankie Goes To Hollywood fan and this album was eagerly awaited back in 1984, I bought my vinyl copy on the day of release at the small HMV in Market Street, in Manchester. There was a lot of hype about the album and to some it was seen as a disappointment, I think the problem was people had high expectations after the singles "Relax" and "Two Tribes", nothing was ever going to compete with those tracks, I know I played the 12 inch single releases of "Two Tribes" to death and still rate the Annihilation 12 inch one of the greatest 12 inch singles ever released.

Over the years I have come to appreciate this album a lot, brilliantly produced by Trevor Horn, it always takes me back to the days when I lived in a bedsit!

4 singles were released off the album, "Relax", their debut single, which got banned from the Radio 1 playlist by DJ Mike Reid....fool! (which despite the controversy it topped the UK singles chart), "Two Tribes", a masterpiece, especially the 12 inch remixes that came out, (it spent 9 weeks at Number 1 in the UK Singles chart), "The Power Of Love" (which also topped the UK Singles Chart) and "Welcome To The Pleasuredome (which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart).

Other highlights on the album include their cover versions of "Born To Run", "Ferry Cross The Mersey" and "Do You Know The Way To San Jose".

It won't come as a surprise that the album topped the UK Album Chart.

Track Listing

The World Is My Oyster (including Well & Snatch Of Fury)
Welcome To The Pleasuredome
Relax
War
Two Tribes
For The Victims Of Ravishment
Ferry Cross The Mersey
Born To Run
San Jose (The Way)
Wish (The Lads Were Here)
The Ballad Of 32
Krisco Kisses
Black Night White Light
The Only Star In Heaven
The Power Of Love
Bang

So if you have the album in your collection and have n't played it in a while, dig it out and give it a spin!