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Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Artist · chart history

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Band Liverpool United Kingdom Active 1982–2023

Frankie Goes to Hollywood formed in 1982 in Liverpool, United Kingdom and was active until 2023. Frankie Goes to Hollywood has 114 chart appearances on 62 radio countdowns from 20 stations on RockLists, spanning 1984–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Relax”, which appears on 59 lists and was voted number one once. In total the artist has topped 2 countdowns. The station that charted Frankie Goes to Hollywood most often is CD101 (Columbus, OH), with 21 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1984.

114appearances
62countdowns
6songs charted
20stations
2#1 finishes
1984–2026years

Frankie Goes to Hollywood came roaring out of Liverpool with the loudest, lewdest, most gloriously overproduced pop records of their day. Holly Johnson sang, Paul Rutherford sang backing vocals, Mark O'Toole played bass, Brian Nash played guitar and Peter Gill drummed, and they made no secret of what they were about: Johnson and Rutherford were out gay men at a time when almost no pop singer was, and sex and gay rights ran right through the music and the shows.

ZTT Records signed them in 1983, and Trevor Horn, producing, turned their songs into widescreen hi-NRG monsters, synth-pop with the muscle of a rock band and the gloss of a disco. "Relax" throbbed, "Two Tribes" pounded, and "The Power of Love" slowed things down to a hymn. Their provocative themes got them briefly banned by the BBC, which only poured petrol on the fire. All 3 singles went to number one in Britain. "Two Tribes" won Johnson, Gill and O'Toole the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 1984.

Their debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, came out in 1984 carrying advance orders of more than a million. In 1985 they took home the Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act and were up for Best New Artist at the Grammys.

It burned out fast. The second album, Liverpool, arrived in 1986 and didn't sell like the first, and the band came apart in bitterness in 1987. Johnson fought ZTT in court to get out of his contract, won, and went solo, and for years he refused to reunite and tried to stop the others from using the name. The rest regrouped without him and Nash in 2004 for a Prince's Trust charity concert, with Ryan Molloy singing, and toured in 2005. Not until the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest did Johnson and Nash stand on a stage with them again. On the countdowns, "Relax" and "Two Tribes" still pound away like it's the summer of the Pleasuredome.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

Songs by Frankie Goes to Hollywood on radio countdowns

#SongStrengthListsBest#1sPeak year
1 Relax#497 of all time
4,140		 59 #1 1 1984
2 Two Tribes
1,330		 36 #1 1 1984
3 The Power of Love
377		 6 #48 – –
4 Welcome To The Pleasuredome
299		 9 #1014 – –
5 War
94		 2 #932 – –
6 Life on Mars
72		 1 #142 – –

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

Every countdown appearance

Year#SongCountdown
2026 228 Relax WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s
2023 242 Relax The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s
2023 694 Two Tribes The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s
2022 126 Relax X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time
2021 266 Relax 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s
2021 819 Two Tribes 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s
2019 631 Relax KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time
2006 275 Relax KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006)
2006 187 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006)
2006 142 Life on Mars Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006)
2006 327 The Power of Love Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006)
2006 441 Two Tribes Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006)
2005 188 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005)
2005 1030 Relax CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005 1371 Welcome To The Pleasuredome CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005 1681 Two Tribes CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005 18 Relax Virgin Radio Top 100 Brit Songs of All-Time (May 2005)
2005 124 Relax Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005 180 The Power of Love Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005 258 Two Tribes Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2004 1030 Relax CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 1372 Welcome To The Pleasuredome CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 1682 Two Tribes CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 74 Relax Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 148 Two Tribes Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 203 The Power of Love Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2003 170 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003)
2003 1030 Relax CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003 1372 Welcome To The Pleasuredome CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003 1682 Two Tribes CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003 82 Relax Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)
2003 554 Two Tribes Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)
2003 932 War Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)
2003 1014 Welcome To The Pleasuredome Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)
2002 156 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002)
2002 1045 Relax CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002 1386 Welcome To The Pleasuredome CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002 1697 Two Tribes CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002 271 Relax Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
2002 614 Two Tribes Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
2002 1206 War Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
2002 1391 Welcome To The Pleasuredome Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
2002 52 Artist ranking Virgin Radio Top 100 Brit Artists of All-Time (December 2002)
2001 218 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001)
2001 475 Two Tribes WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001)
2001 1045 Relax CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 1387 Welcome To The Pleasuredome CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 1705 Two Tribes CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 31 Relax Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 143 Two Tribes Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 295 The Power of Love Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 285 Relax WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001)
2000 215 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000)
2000 478 Two Tribes WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000)
2000 1039 Relax CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
2000 1386 Welcome To The Pleasuredome CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
2000 1705 Two Tribes CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
1999 500 Relax 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999)
1999 224 Relax Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 71 Relax WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 172 Relax WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999)
1999 267 Relax The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 40 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999)
1999 490 Two Tribes WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999)
1999 1039 Relax CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 1386 Welcome To The Pleasuredome CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 1705 Two Tribes CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 126 Relax CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)
1999 184 The Power of Love CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)
1999 560 Two Tribes CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)
1999 48 Relax Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999)
1998 101 Relax KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998)
1998 250 Two Tribes KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998)
1996 43 Relax KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996)
1996 139 Two Tribes KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996)
1996 94 Relax Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996)
1996 466 Two Tribes Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996)
1996 43 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996)
1996 329 Two Tribes WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996)
1995 50 Relax KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995)
1995 410 Two Tribes KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995)
1995 110 Relax Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995)
1994 39 Relax KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994)
1994 300 Two Tribes KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994)
1994 239 Relax Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994)
1994 25 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994)
1994 355 Two Tribes WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994)
1992 38 Relax KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992)
1992 174 Two Tribes KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992)
1992 27 Relax Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992)
1991 170 Relax Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991)
1991 70 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991)
1991 459 Two Tribes WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991)
1991 48 The Power of Love CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition)
1991 155 Relax CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition)
1991 711 Two Tribes CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition)
1990 92 Relax Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990)
1989 46 Relax KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989)
1989 372 Two Tribes KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989)
1989 77 Relax WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989)
1989 462 Two Tribes WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989)
1989 32 Relax 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989)
1988 18 Relax KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988)
1988 137 Two Tribes KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988)
1988 42 Relax Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988)
1988 100 Relax WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988)
1984 1 Relax KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984
1984 6 Two Tribes KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984
1984 8 Relax 91X Top 91 Songs of 1984
1984 16 Two Tribes 91X Top 91 Songs of 1984
1984 1 Two Tribes WOXY Top 10 Songs of 1984
1984 5 Relax WOXY Top 10 Songs of 1984
1984 25 Two Tribes John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1984
– 84 Relax WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s

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