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Welcome to the Pleasuredome

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Recorded
  
July 1983-1984

Label
  
ZTT (UK), Island (US)

Release date
  
29 October 1984

Length
  
64:00

Artist
  
Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Producer
  
Trevor Horn

Welcome to the Pleasuredome httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenaafWel

Released
  
29 October 1984 (1984-10-29)

Studio
  
Manor Studios, Oxford and Sarm Studios, London

Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984)
  
Bang! (Japan-only LP) (1985)

Genres
  
Pop music, Rock music, Synth-pop, New wave, Hi-NRG

Awards
  
NME Award for Best Dressed Sleeve

Similar
  
Frankie Goes To Hollywood albums, Synth-pop albums

Frankie goes to hollywood welcome to the pleasuredome 1984 full album


Welcome to the Pleasuredome is the debut studio album by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released by ZTT and Island Records on 29 October 1984. Originally issued as a vinyl double album, it was assured of a UK chart entry at number one due to reported advance sales of over one million. The album was also a top ten seller internationally in countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, and New Zealand.

Contents

While commercially successful, the album also drew criticism for containing new versions of all of the songs from the group's (already much-remixed) hit singles from the same year ("Relax" and "Two Tribes", plus B-side "War"), as well as a surfeit of cover versions in lieu of much new original material. It was later revealed that Trevor Horn's production dominated the record so thoroughly that the band's own instrumental performances were often replaced by session musicians or Horn himself. Frankie's second album, Liverpool, actively featured the full band.

However, the album's evergreen ballad "The Power of Love" subsequently provided the group with their third consecutive UK number one single.

To celebrate the album's 30th anniversary, in October 2014, ZTT through Union Square Music released a limited edition (2000 copies only) boxset entitled "Inside the Pleasuredome," available exclusively from the website pledgemusic.com. Mopping up rarities on 10" vinyl, as well as a book, a DVD, a cassette (featuring 13 mixes of Relax and its b-side "One September Monday") as well as a new 2014 remastered version of the album on 180g vinyl, the boxset cost £85 to buy.

Frankie goes to hollywood welcome to the pleasuredome two tribes relax wembley arena 2004


Original LP

All songs written and composed by Peter Gill, Holly Johnson, Brian Nash and Mark O'Toole except where noted.

  • The entire first side was indexed as one track on vinyl, much like the 12" singles from this album.
  • "(Tag)" was an unlisted orchestral extract from "Two Tribes" and featured an impersonation of HRH Prince Charles (by Chris Barrie) ruminating about orgasms.
  • "War (and Hide Yourself)" features a long introduction with a percussion track and an impersonation of Ronald Reagan (also by Chris Barrie) in a long soliloquy about war and love.
  • "Ferry (Go)" was a short version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey", the Gerry and the Pacemakers track that backed Frankie's first 12-inch single, "Relax". A very brief extract of the vocals from this featured on side one as "Snatch of Fury (Stay)"
  • The LP was also issued as a double picture disc in transparent PVC sleeve, cat no: NEAT 1. Some, though not all copies of this release suffer from deterioration of the clear vinyl in the form of "Browning" which gives the records a bronze hue over time. However, the sound quality is not affected. The album was also released on cassette, cat no: ZCIQ1. Stocks of the cassette shells were subsequently used for the 1985 release of the cassette single Welcome To The Pleasuredome (CTIS 107) with a sticker carrying the correct information covering over the pre printed album shells.

    • Original CD version

    The original CD version had an altered track list, offering several tracks in different versions (most notably "Two Tribes"), and omitting the cover version of "Do You Know The Way To San Jose" and replacing it with the track "Happy Hi!".

    Original CDs are identifiable by their lack of bar code on the packaging. Thanks to a listing in the Record Collector magazine 1988 UK discography, it was thought that a UK release existed with the same tracks as the vinyl album, and was even given a value of £50 despite not actually existing. In reality, this disc was an import. There are in fact many pressings of early Compact Disc releases of the album, identifiable by their matrix numbers which every compact disc has around the central hole. Subsequent CD reissues reverted to the vinyl LP's track listing and cover art.

    1. "The World Is My Oyster" – 1:57 (incorporates "Well...")
    2. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" – 13:38 (incorporates "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 ("Two Tribes" version is actually "Annihilation")
    6. "Born to Run" – 4:13
    7. "Happy Hi!" – 4:12
    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
  • Several CD reissues omit the vocals on "Snatch of Fury (Stay)".
  • A digitally remastered version was issued in 2000 including the bonus B-side tracks "One September Monday" (4:50) and "One February Friday" (4:58).

    • 25th Anniversary deluxe edition

    In 2010, a deluxe edition of Welcome to the Pleasuredome was released, featuring a second disc containing rare and previously unreleased material. The first CD contains the LP version of the original album. The contents of the second CD are as follows:

    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" – 01:14

    2016 vinyl reissue

    The album was reissued by Union Square Music under the Salvo label on limited edition white vinyl and exclusively available from larger branches of Sainsburys. The original gatefold format has been retained, as has (it appears) the original artwork, quotes and track listing.

    Personnel

  • Holly Johnson: lead vocals
  • Paul Rutherford: backing vocals
  • Brian Nash: guitar
  • Mark O'Toole: bass
  • Peter Gill: drums

    • Additional personnel

  • J. J. Jeczalik: keyboards, programming, software
  • Andrew Richards: keyboards
  • Luís Jardim: percussion
  • Anne Dudley: keyboards, string arrangement on "The Power of Love"
  • Stephen Lipson: guitar
  • Steve Howe: acoustic guitar (on the track "Welcome to the Pleasuredome")
  • Trevor Rabin: guitar, keyboards
  • Trevor Horn: backing vocals, bass

    • Production

  • Produced by Trevor Horn
  • Engineers: Stuart Bruce, Steve Lipson
  • Mastering: Ian Cooper

    • Songs

    1Well0:55
    2The World Is My Oyster1:02
    3Snatch of Fury (Stay)0:36

    References

    Welcome to the Pleasuredome Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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