Click on the link here for Audio Player – Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Live At Wembley Arena – Jan 13, 1987
It doesn’t get too much more 80s than this. When Frankie Goes To Hollywood released their debut single Relax in 1984, it was considered to be nothing short of the Second Coming as far as Pop Music was concerned. It also helped that the single was promptly banned by the BBC who considered it obscene, which only added to the mystique and the overwhelming popularity at the time. I remember when a colleague saw their first concert – his reaction was “I saw the future of music tonight!”, and it was for a time what the future was sounding a lot like. FGTH spawned a lot of similar-sounding bands, because the 80s were all about bigger being better; hair – sound -presentation. And Frankie Goes To Hollywood were one of the most dynamic bands to come along in the 80s.
But it didn’t last. Personality clashes were the big undoing. And during this concert, a major rift had developed between lead singer Holly Johnson and bass player Mark O’Toole and reportedly, a fight broke out backstage. So all was not sweetness and light. Holly left the band shortly after this concert and things continued, albeit not the same, until they packed it in around 1989.
But in that four year period they gathered a lot of attention and sold a massive number of albums.
In case they’ve slipped your mind or fell somewhere under your radar, here is a reminder of just how Big-oriented the 80s were, and how popular Frankie Goes To Hollywood was during that time, recorded at Wembley Arena on January 13, 1987.
As an homage to the 80s you really do need to crank this one up. Slathering a jar of Tenex on your head and ingesting a fistful of Ecstasy are non-essential accessories however.
