I got outta high school in '84, i think i lived the perfect time for music, especially here in austin where we get lots of live show. Music like this transcends time and it always brings me back to a much cooler time. Watching shows like John Hughes movies, hangin out and the Gas and Sip and trying to act cool. I think Wooderson said it best with - You just gotta keep livin' man, L-I-V-I-N... fav movie quote: That's the last time, Bender. That the last time you ever make me look bad
Wow I cannot believe this song was 24 Years ago? Sounds as fresh today as it did back then. Relax! "Just" Do it! Go Ahead Enjoy! Go Do It! Thanks Frankie!
They banned it from radio broadcasts, not TV, I sat and watched this on TOTP, it was in No.1 slot for ages. Class track and always went down a storm when we did disco's :)
It reminds me the movie "Bony a klid" aka "Dirty money". It´s been say that the group gave rights to this song to authors of the movie for just 1 CZK. Really good song.
Probably one out of three better eighties song. At that time sounded like the most modern sound ever heard, I was totally shocked... Even when it's a 'typical' eighty song, I do believe that it's proudly getting older, though. I disgree with bigdsears, the perfect time for music was sixties, that was the real transformation, or at least I would have been so high that probably I would think that the music was from Heaven... :-)
you r all babyies i saw them live in manchester 84/ 85 and loved em and im not gay paul blew mw me a kiss when i shouted for him... lol well i was only 17/18 lol. i will always be there fan. xx
Has anyone got a video of the first performance of this on top of the pops on 5th January 1984? I remember watching that performance just before it was banned by the BBC, although I was only a few years old at the time.
im the girl of the 80`s. i went to one of the concerts in 1984 my mum wasnt impressed about this song, so i would play the 12"ch single as loud as i could just to p her off.lol and it`s my fav 80`s song still. oh and yes i did wear the t- shirt.
IIRC December 25th 1984. TOTP2 say it was 'April 1984' when Relax was stalled at number 11. but the ban was outlifted after 12 months when "Relax" wasnt played for the first five weeks when it was number one and replaced by the live audience/dancing after the top ten was shown.
That's great news. I'd love it if you could put it on RU-vid. I've got a vague memory that it was the very first song to be shown on that edition of TOTP, although that's a memory from 24 years ago which could be completely wrong!
@tina6581 I remember my sister telling me about it and we were walking through somewhere in the West End of London when the music came out of an arcade or something similar. I understand the words were changed to be more provocative. There was a similar case around 1973 with a song called My Ding a Ling which had one of its verses banned. At the time I could not understand it being too young to get any puns that may or may not have been intended.
@darksideofdarkness Mainly Trevor Horn's production responsible for that. If you hear early versions of this song, it sounds slightly pedestrian, nothing special. But Horn's production on that whole album was amazing. Relax, Two Tribes, and Welcome to the Pleasuredome are outstanding tracks, and The Power of Love is a belter too.
@KaitainCPS Oh do you mean the same Trevor Horn who worked and played with Yes? I didn't know that, Thanks! I heard that key of such thick sound was the result of layers and layers of synths, making use of the dozen of channels, something impossible to thnk in the previous decade (where only could find with 8 or -wow!-16 channels at most). Thanks for the info!
@alanheath and in less than a week, the song had risen to number 6 in the UK singles chart. On 11 January 1984, Radio 1 disc jockey Mike Read expressed on air, his distaste for both the record's suggestive sleeve (designed by Anne Yvonne Gilbert) and its lyrics
@tina6581 As far as i remember (and i could be wrong) but i think he was one of the first "out" pop stars, but at the same time it never bothered anyone since they made top music. I think it goes to show that talent is more important than sexuality. What is ironic is that whilst people talk about him being gay, no one fails to mention other pop stars of using their sexuality to sell music...infact straight ones are worst
@EddyRainbow I left off the end of my message PERSONAL OPINION ONLY. Lennon Mcartney were the greatest songwriting team of all time I agree. Lennon's solo stuff stank to high heaven.
We Americans were lucky. It's so ironic. A lot of America is still the most homophobic country in the free world nowadays, yet not a single person paid attention either to the lyrics of this song or the whole meaning behind the "Frankie Says Relax" T-Shirts.
i was 16 when i heard this in a night club at pontins.that very night i had my first sexual experiance with a bird and when it came TO IT i didnt relax i blasted off like saturn 5
@zapkvr No way is Paul Macartney the greatest bassist of all time, with John Lennon there was a partnership in musical history like no other regarding songwriting. In my opinion i would say John Enthwistle from the Who is one of the best bassists
@EddyRainbow Band on the run is the best "solo" work by any of the Beatles. Speed of sound was almost as good. George's All things must pass is pure genius. Even Richard's album "Ringo" was great. Lennon's work SUCKED by comparison. It was pure self indulgent bullshit most of the time.
