Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English pop group formed in Liverpool in 1980, fronted by Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford, alongside Peter Gill, Mark O'Toole and guitarist Brian Nash. They became one of the most talked-about British acts of the 1980s, blending flamboyant electronic pop production with provocative imagery and lyrics that pushed against the era's social conservatism, most famously with the sexually charged «Relax».

The band's sound was defined largely by producer Trevor Horn, whose ZTT Records signed them after hearing «Relax» on the radio; his maximalist, studio-driven production turned the group's demos into dense, dramatic pop records. «Relax» was banned by the BBC yet still topped the UK charts, and the follow-up «Two Tribes», addressing Cold War anxieties, became one of the best-selling singles of the decade. «The Power of Love» later showed a softer, balladic side of the group.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood's rapid rise, marketing-savvy image (including the ubiquitous «Frankie Say» slogan T-shirts), and outspoken stance on sexuality made them a defining, controversial phenomenon of British pop culture in the mid-1980s, even as their run of major hits was relatively brief.