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Relax (song)
Encyclopedia
"Relax" is the debut single by British
dance
group Frankie Goes to Hollywood
, released in the UK
by ZTT Records
in 1983. The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984).
Although fairly inauspicious upon initial release, "Relax" finally reached number one on the UK singles chart on 24 January 1984, ultimately becoming one of the most controversial and most commercially successful records of the entire decade. The single eventually sold a reported 1.91 million copies in the UK alone, making it the seventh best-selling single in UK singles chart
history. Following the release of the group's second single, "Two Tribes
", "Relax" rallied from a declining UK chart position during June 1984 to climb back up the UK charts and re-attain number-two spot behind "Two Tribes" at number one, representing simultaneous chart success by a single act unprecedented since the early 1960s.
Upon release in the United States
in late 1984, "Relax" repeated its slow UK progress, reaching number 67 upon initial release, but eventually reaching number 10 in March 1985.
The song won Best British Single at the 1985 Brit Awards
.
The song was used in the films Body Double
, Police Academy
, Gotcha!
, Zoolander
and The Proposal
. It was featured in an episode of Miami Vice
, and in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
, and a 2009 television advertisement
for Virgin Atlantic, marking 25 years since the company's foundation.
saw the band play on the television show The Tube
, on which the group played an early version of "Relax". Horn described the original version of "Relax" as "More a jingle than a song", but he preferred to work with songs that were not professionally finished because he could then "fix them up" in his own style. Once the band was signed, ZTT co-founder Paul Morley
mapped out the marketing campaign fashioned as a "strategic assault on pop". Morley opted to tackle the biggest possible themes in the band's singles ("sex, war, religion"), of which "Relax" would be the first, and emphasised the shock impact of Frankie members Holly Johnson
's and Paul Rutherford
's open homosexuality
in the packaging and music videos.
Horn dominated the recording of "Relax" in his effort for perfectionism. The band were overawed and intimidated by Horn's reputation, and thus were too nervous to make suggestions. Johnson said in his autobiography, "Whatever he said we went along with". When attempts to record with the full band proved unsatisfactory, Horn hired former Ian Dury
backing band the Blockheads for the sessions. Those sessions were later deemed to be not modern sounding enough. Horn then constructed a more electronic-based version of the song with keyboards by session musician Andy Richards and with rhythm programming assistance from J. J. Jeczalik of Art of Noise. Horn developed this version of the recording in his west London
studio while the band remained in their hometown of Liverpool
. Ultimately lead vocalist Johnson was the only band member to perform on the record; the only contribution by the other members was a sample crafted from the sound of the rest of the band jumping into a swimming pool. Horn explained years later, "I was just . . . Look, 'Relax' had to be a hit." Despite the band's absence from the record, Horn said, "I could never have done these records in isolation. There was no actual playing by the band, but the whole feeling came from the band." Horn completed the recording having spent £70,000 in studio time.
lick the shit off their shoes . . . Nineteen inches that must be taken always." The second ad promised "theories of bliss, a history of Liverpool from 1963 to 1983, a guide to Amsterdam bars".
When first released in November 1983, the initial progress of "Relax" on the UK Top 75 was sluggish. First charting at number 67, by its seventh week on the chart it had progressed only to number 35, even falling back slightly during that time. But then on Thursday 5 January 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood performed "Relax" on the BBC flagship television chart show, Top Of The Pops
. The following week it soared to number 6. 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. He announced his refusal to play the record, not knowing that the BBC had just decided that the song was not to be played on the BBC anyway.
In support of their disc jockey, BBC Radio banned the single from its shows a reported two days later (although certain prominent night-time BBC shows – including those of Kid Jensen
and John Peel
– continued to play the record, as they saw fit, throughout 1984). The now-banned "Relax" rose to number 2 in the charts by 17 January, and hit the number-one spot on 24 January. By this time, the BBC Radio ban had extended to Top of the Pops as well, which displayed a still picture of the group during its climactic Number One announcement, before airing a performance by a non-Number One artist.
This went on for the five weeks that "Relax" was at number one. It then began a slow decline on the charts, falling back as far as number 31 in May 1984 before returning to number two in July whilst Frankie's follow-up single "Two Tribes
" held the UK number-one spot. In the end, "Relax" remained on the Top 75 for 48 consecutive weeks and returned in February 1985 for four more, giving a total of 52.
The ban became an embarrassment for the BBC, especially given that UK commercial radio and television stations were still playing the song. Later in 1984 the ban was lifted and "Relax" featured on both the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops and Radio 1's rundown of the best-selling singles of the year.
Throughout the "Relax" controversy, the band continued to publicly deny that the song's lyrics were sexual. Nevertheless, by 1984, it was clear that the public were aware of the sexual nature of the lyrics, but the scandal had fuelled sales anyway. In 1985, with the release of the Welcome to the Pleasuredome
album (which included "Relax"), the band dropped any public pretense about the lyrics:
The track was reissued in September 1993, the first of a string of Frankie Goes to Hollywood singles to be reissued in this year. It debuted at a high number six on the UK singles chart and peaked at number five the next week. It spent seven weeks on the Top 75 this time, thus extending its combined total to 59, making it the 3rd longest runner of all time (seven other singles have since surpassed it; now it is in joint 10th place).
Although the 7-inch
version of the single remained unchanged throughout its initial release (a mix generally known as "Relax (Move)"), promotional 7-inch records featuring a substantially different mix of "Relax" (entitled either "The Last Seven Inches" or "Warp Mix" because it is a compilation of other versions) were the subject of a limited 1984 release.
Three principal 12-inch remixes of "Relax" were eventually created by producer Trevor Horn
:
Horn attested that visits to New York
's Paradise Garage
club led to the creation of the final "Relax (U.S. Mix)", which ultimately replaced the original "Sex Mix"/"New York Mix" releases:
The original 12-inch version of "Relax", labelled "Sex Mix", ran for over 16 minutes, and is broadly as described by Horn above. The subsequent "New York Mix" was an 8-minute-plus edit of the "Sex Mix", and can only be distinguished by having 12ISZTAS1 etched on the vinyl. The final 12-inch mix, containing no elements from the foregoing versions, was designated the "U.S. Mix", and ran for approximately 7:20. This was the most commonly available 12-inch version of "Relax" during its worldwide 1984 chart success.
The UK cassette single
featured as the title track a unique amalgam of excerpts from the "Sex Mix", "U.S. Mix", "Move" and an instrumental version of "Move".
Since virtually all of the UK "Relax" 12-inch singles were labeled "Sex Mix", a method of differentiating between versions by reference to the record's matrix numbers
necessarily became de rigueur for collectors of Frankie Goes to Hollywood releases (and ultimately collectors of ZTT records in general).
"Relax (Come Fighting)" was the version of the song included on the Welcome to the Pleasuredome album. This is ostensibly a variant of the 7-inch "Move" mix, but readily distinguishable from it in many ways, of which the most obvious are the fade-in (virtually no fade-in and the vocal is always central on the album track), plus a prominent reverbed-kick-drum sound during the introduction and third sung chorus (completely missing from the album version). The "Come Fighting" version also shares with the later "1993 Classic Mix" reissue (which is almost identical to the album version) a certain post-production sheen (greater stereo separation of parts, more strategic uses of reverb, etc.) that is absent from the original 1983 7-inch single mix.
The original airing of Relax on The Tube
, before the band were signed to ZTT, featured another verse that was edited from all the released versions, "In heaven everything is fine, you've got yours and I've got mine", presumably removed as it was taken directly from the David Lynch film Eraserhead
.
, Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford
. During the interview, Holly revealed that the group's name derived from a page of the New Yorker
magazine, headlined "Frankie Goes to Hollywood" and featuring Frank Sinatra
"getting mobbed by teenybopper
s".
On all of the original 12-inch releases, the B-side featured a cover of "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey
", followed by a brief dialogue involving Rutherford attempting to sign on
, and an a cappella version of the title track's chorus, segue
ing into an instrumental version of "Relax", known as "From Soft to Hard". "From Soft to Hard" has the same structure as the 7-inch "Move" mix, but is not simply an instrumental of this mix.
The UK cassette single included "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" and interview sections not included on "One September Monday".
and set in a S&M
themed gay nightclub
, featuring the bandmembers accosted by buff leathermen
, a glamorous drag queen
, and an abundantly contoured
admirer dressed up as a Roman emperor
, was allegedly banned by MTV
and the BBC
, prompting the recording of a second video, directed by Godley and Creme in early 1984, featuring the group performing with the help of "laser beams". However, after the second video was made the song was banned completely by the BBC, meaning that neither video was ever broadcast on any BBC music programmes.
In addition, a version including footage from the Brian De Palma
film Body Double
as well as a live version, directed by David Mallet
, also made the rounds at MTV.
also released as a 3 track 12" picture disc featuring: (Sex Mix,) (Ferry 'Cross the Mersey,) (From Soft to Hard) – (12PZTAS1)
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
group Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
, released in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by ZTT Records
ZTT Records
ZTT Records is a record label founded in 1983 by NME journalist Paul Morley, record producer Trevor Horn, and businesswoman Jill Sinclair. The label's name was also printed as "Zang Tumb Tuum" and "Zang Tuum Tumb" on various releases....
in 1983. The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984).
Although fairly inauspicious upon initial release, "Relax" finally reached number one on the UK singles chart on 24 January 1984, ultimately becoming one of the most controversial and most commercially successful records of the entire decade. The single eventually sold a reported 1.91 million copies in the UK alone, making it the seventh best-selling single in UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
history. Following the release of the group's second single, "Two Tribes
Two Tribes
"Two Tribes" is the second single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records in May 1984 . The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome....
", "Relax" rallied from a declining UK chart position during June 1984 to climb back up the UK charts and re-attain number-two spot behind "Two Tribes" at number one, representing simultaneous chart success by a single act unprecedented since the early 1960s.
Upon release in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in late 1984, "Relax" repeated its slow UK progress, reaching number 67 upon initial release, but eventually reaching number 10 in March 1985.
The song won Best British Single at the 1985 Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
.
The song was used in the films Body Double
Body Double
Body Double is a 1984 American thriller film directed by Brian De Palma starring Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, and Gregg Henry. The film is an homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, Rear Window, and Dial M for Murder. The original musical score was composed by Pino Donaggio...
, Police Academy
Police Academy (film)
Police Academy is a 1984 comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, and starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall and G.W. Bailey. It grossed approximately $146 million worldwide and spawned six more films in the Police Academy series.-Plot:...
, Gotcha!
Gotcha! (1985 film)
Gotcha! is a 1985 action film, starring Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino. The movie is directed by Jeff Kanew, who also directed Anthony Edwards in Revenge of the Nerds in 1984....
, Zoolander
Zoolander
Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
and The Proposal
The Proposal (film)
The Proposal is a 2009 American romantic comedy film set in Sitka, Alaska. Directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Peter Chiarelli, the film features Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as the leading roles, with Mary Steenburgen, Betty White, and Craig T. Nelson in supporting roles...
. It was featured in an episode of Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, and in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
, and a 2009 television advertisement
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
for Virgin Atlantic, marking 25 years since the company's foundation.
Background and recording
ZTT Records signed Frankie Goes to Hollywood after producer-turned-ZTT cofounder Trevor HornTrevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....
saw the band play on the television show The Tube
The Tube (TV series)
The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...
, on which the group played an early version of "Relax". Horn described the original version of "Relax" as "More a jingle than a song", but he preferred to work with songs that were not professionally finished because he could then "fix them up" in his own style. Once the band was signed, ZTT co-founder Paul Morley
Paul Morley
Paul Morley is an English journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful periods, and has since written for a wide range of publications...
mapped out the marketing campaign fashioned as a "strategic assault on pop". Morley opted to tackle the biggest possible themes in the band's singles ("sex, war, religion"), of which "Relax" would be the first, and emphasised the shock impact of Frankie members Holly Johnson
Holly Johnson
Holly Johnson is an English artist, writer and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and former bassist for Big in Japan.- Big in Japan :...
's and Paul Rutherford
Paul Rutherford
Paul Rutherford is the former backing vocalist, dancer and occasional keyboardist with 1980s pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood , one of the group's two openly gay singers....
's open homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in the packaging and music videos.
Horn dominated the recording of "Relax" in his effort for perfectionism. The band were overawed and intimidated by Horn's reputation, and thus were too nervous to make suggestions. Johnson said in his autobiography, "Whatever he said we went along with". When attempts to record with the full band proved unsatisfactory, Horn hired former Ian Dury
Ian Dury
Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
backing band the Blockheads for the sessions. Those sessions were later deemed to be not modern sounding enough. Horn then constructed a more electronic-based version of the song with keyboards by session musician Andy Richards and with rhythm programming assistance from J. J. Jeczalik of Art of Noise. Horn developed this version of the recording in his west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
studio while the band remained in their hometown of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Ultimately lead vocalist Johnson was the only band member to perform on the record; the only contribution by the other members was a sample crafted from the sound of the rest of the band jumping into a swimming pool. Horn explained years later, "I was just . . . Look, 'Relax' had to be a hit." Despite the band's absence from the record, Horn said, "I could never have done these records in isolation. There was no actual playing by the band, but the whole feeling came from the band." Horn completed the recording having spent £70,000 in studio time.
Release and controversy
Morley intentionally courted scandal with the promotion of "Relax". ZTT initiated the ad campaign for "Relax" with two quarter-page ads in the British music press. The first ad featured images of Rutherford in a sailor cap and a leather vest, and Johnson with a shaved head and rubber gloves. The images were accompanied by the phrase "ALL THE NICE BOYS LOVE SEA MEN" and declared "Frankie Goes to Hollywood are coming . . . making Duran DuranDuran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
lick the shit off their shoes . . . Nineteen inches that must be taken always." The second ad promised "theories of bliss, a history of Liverpool from 1963 to 1983, a guide to Amsterdam bars".
When first released in November 1983, the initial progress of "Relax" on the UK Top 75 was sluggish. First charting at number 67, by its seventh week on the chart it had progressed only to number 35, even falling back slightly during that time. But then on Thursday 5 January 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood performed "Relax" on the BBC flagship television chart show, Top Of The Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. The following week it soared to number 6. On 11 January 1984, Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Mike Read
Mike Read
Michael David Kenneth Read is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter.-Early life:...
expressed on air his distaste for both the record's suggestive sleeve (designed by Anne Yvonne Gilbert) and its lyrics. He announced his refusal to play the record, not knowing that the BBC had just decided that the song was not to be played on the BBC anyway.
In support of their disc jockey, BBC Radio banned the single from its shows a reported two days later (although certain prominent night-time BBC shows – including those of Kid Jensen
David Jensen
David "Kid" Jensen , is a Danish Canadian-born, British radio DJ.-Early career:Born in a Danish family residing Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began his career in his home country at the age of sixteen playing jazz and classical music. He then joined Radio Luxembourg at the age of eighteen in...
and John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
– continued to play the record, as they saw fit, throughout 1984). The now-banned "Relax" rose to number 2 in the charts by 17 January, and hit the number-one spot on 24 January. By this time, the BBC Radio ban had extended to Top of the Pops as well, which displayed a still picture of the group during its climactic Number One announcement, before airing a performance by a non-Number One artist.
This went on for the five weeks that "Relax" was at number one. It then began a slow decline on the charts, falling back as far as number 31 in May 1984 before returning to number two in July whilst Frankie's follow-up single "Two Tribes
Two Tribes
"Two Tribes" is the second single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records in May 1984 . The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome....
" held the UK number-one spot. In the end, "Relax" remained on the Top 75 for 48 consecutive weeks and returned in February 1985 for four more, giving a total of 52.
The ban became an embarrassment for the BBC, especially given that UK commercial radio and television stations were still playing the song. Later in 1984 the ban was lifted and "Relax" featured on both the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops and Radio 1's rundown of the best-selling singles of the year.
Throughout the "Relax" controversy, the band continued to publicly deny that the song's lyrics were sexual. Nevertheless, by 1984, it was clear that the public were aware of the sexual nature of the lyrics, but the scandal had fuelled sales anyway. In 1985, with the release of the Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Welcome to the Pleasuredome was the debut album by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released in the UK in October 1984 by ZTT/Island Records. 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...
album (which included "Relax"), the band dropped any public pretense about the lyrics:
The track was reissued in September 1993, the first of a string of Frankie Goes to Hollywood singles to be reissued in this year. It debuted at a high number six on the UK singles chart and peaked at number five the next week. It spent seven weeks on the Top 75 this time, thus extending its combined total to 59, making it the 3rd longest runner of all time (seven other singles have since surpassed it; now it is in joint 10th place).
Original 1983–84 mixes
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
version of the single remained unchanged throughout its initial release (a mix generally known as "Relax (Move)"), promotional 7-inch records featuring a substantially different mix of "Relax" (entitled either "The Last Seven Inches" or "Warp Mix" because it is a compilation of other versions) were the subject of a limited 1984 release.
Three principal 12-inch remixes of "Relax" were eventually created by producer Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....
:
One of the reasons we did all the remixes was that the initial 12-inch version of 'Relax' contained something called 'The Sex Mix', which was 16 minutes long and didn't even contain a song. It was really Holly JohnsonHolly JohnsonHolly Johnson is an English artist, writer and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and former bassist for Big in Japan.- Big in Japan :...
just jamming, as well as a bunch of samplesSampling (music)In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
of the group jumping in the swimming pool and me sort of making disgusting noises by dropping stuff into buckets of water! We got so many complaints about it – particularly from gay clubs, who found it offensive – that we cut it in half and reduced it down to eight minutes, by taking out some of the slightly more offensive parts [this became the "New York Mix"]. Then we got another load of complaints, because the single version wasn't on the 12-inch – I didn't see the point in this at the time, but I was eventually put straight about it.
Horn attested that visits to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Paradise Garage
Paradise Garage
The Paradise Garage was a discotheque notable in the history of modern gay and nightclub cultures and in dance and pop music. It was founded by Michael Brody, its sole proprietor, and was located at 84 King Street, in the Hudson Square neighborhood of New York City. It operated from 1976 to 1987...
club led to the creation of the final "Relax (U.S. Mix)", which ultimately replaced the original "Sex Mix"/"New York Mix" releases:
It was only when I went to this club and heard the sort of things they were playing that I really understood about 12-inch remixes. Although I myself had already had a couple of big 12-inch hits, I'd never heard them being played on a big sound system, and so I then went back and mixed 'Relax' again and that was the version which sold a couple of million over here [in the UK].
The UK cassette single
Cassette single
A cassette single is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette.- History :...
featured as the title track a unique amalgam of excerpts from the "Sex Mix", "U.S. Mix", "Move" and an instrumental version of "Move".
Since virtually all of the UK "Relax" 12-inch singles were labeled "Sex Mix", a method of differentiating between versions by reference to the record's matrix numbers
Matrix numbers
Matrix numbers are alphanumeric codes stamped or hand written into the run-out groove area of a gramophone record...
necessarily became de rigueur for collectors of Frankie Goes to Hollywood releases (and ultimately collectors of ZTT records in general).
"Relax (Come Fighting)" was the version of the song included on the Welcome to the Pleasuredome album. This is ostensibly a variant of the 7-inch "Move" mix, but readily distinguishable from it in many ways, of which the most obvious are the fade-in (virtually no fade-in and the vocal is always central on the album track), plus a prominent reverbed-kick-drum sound during the introduction and third sung chorus (completely missing from the album version). The "Come Fighting" version also shares with the later "1993 Classic Mix" reissue (which is almost identical to the album version) a certain post-production sheen (greater stereo separation of parts, more strategic uses of reverb, etc.) that is absent from the original 1983 7-inch single mix.
The original airing of Relax on The Tube
The Tube (TV series)
The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...
, before the band were signed to ZTT, featured another verse that was edited from all the released versions, "In heaven everything is fine, you've got yours and I've got mine", presumably removed as it was taken directly from the David Lynch film Eraserhead
Eraserhead
Eraserhead is a 1977 American surrealist film and the first feature film of David Lynch, who wrote, produced and directed. Lynch began working on the film at the AFI Conservatory, which gave him a $10,000 grant to make the film after he had begun working there following his 1971 move to Los Angeles...
.
B-sides
The 7-inch featured "One September Monday", an interview between ZTT's Paul MorleyPaul Morley
Paul Morley is an English journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful periods, and has since written for a wide range of publications...
, Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford
Paul Rutherford
Paul Rutherford is the former backing vocalist, dancer and occasional keyboardist with 1980s pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood , one of the group's two openly gay singers....
. During the interview, Holly revealed that the group's name derived from a page of the New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine, headlined "Frankie Goes to Hollywood" and featuring Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
"getting mobbed by teenybopper
Teenybopper
The term teenybopper was invented by marketing professionals and psychologists, later becoming a subculture of its own. The term describes a young teenager, particularly a girl, who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion and culture. The term was introduced in the 1950s to refer to teenagers...
s".
On all of the original 12-inch releases, the B-side featured a cover of "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey
Ferry Cross the Mersey
"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the...
", followed by a brief dialogue involving Rutherford attempting to sign on
Unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. Benefits may be based on a compulsory para-governmental insurance system...
, and an a cappella version of the title track's chorus, segue
Segue
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...
ing into an instrumental version of "Relax", known as "From Soft to Hard". "From Soft to Hard" has the same structure as the 7-inch "Move" mix, but is not simply an instrumental of this mix.
The UK cassette single included "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" and interview sections not included on "One September Monday".
Videos
The first official video for "Relax", directed by Bernard RoseBernard Rose (director)
Bernard Rose is an English actor and film director most famous for his direction of the 1992 urban horror film Candyman and the 1994 historical romance film Immortal Beloved....
and set in a S&M
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
themed gay nightclub
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
, featuring the bandmembers accosted by buff leathermen
Leather subculture
The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities. Wearing leather garments is one way that participants in this culture self-consciously distinguish themselves from mainstream sexual cultures...
, a glamorous drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
, and an abundantly contoured
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
admirer dressed up as a Roman emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
, was allegedly banned by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, prompting the recording of a second video, directed by Godley and Creme in early 1984, featuring the group performing with the help of "laser beams". However, after the second video was made the song was banned completely by the BBC, meaning that neither video was ever broadcast on any BBC music programmes.
In addition, a version including footage from the Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
film Body Double
Body Double
Body Double is a 1984 American thriller film directed by Brian De Palma starring Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, and Gregg Henry. The film is an homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, Rear Window, and Dial M for Murder. The original musical score was composed by Pino Donaggio...
as well as a live version, directed by David Mallet
David Mallet (director)
David Mallet is a British director particularly noted for his work on music videos, including David Bowie's innovative "Ashes to Ashes", Rush's "Distant Early Warning, and Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want to Break Free" videos. He has also served as a producer on television programmes including...
, also made the rounds at MTV.
Track listings
- All discographical information pertains to original UK releases only unless noted
- "Relax" written by Peter Gill/Johnson/Mark O'Toole
- "One September Monday" credited to Gill/Johnson/Morley/Brian NashBrian NashBrian Nash was the guitarist for 1980s pop band, Frankie Goes to Hollywood. He was otherwise known as Nasher....
/O'Toole/Rutherford - "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" written by Gerry MarsdenGerry MarsdenGerard "Gerry" Marsden is an English musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the British band Gerry & the Pacemakers.-Biography:...
7": ZTT / ZTAS 1 (UK)
- "Relax" (move) – 3:52
- "One September Monday" – 4:47
- also released as a picture disc bb(P ZTAS 1)
12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 1
- "Relax" (sex mix) (16:24)
- "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03
- "Relax" (from soft to hard) – 4:21
also released as a 3 track 12" picture disc featuring: (Sex Mix,) (Ferry 'Cross the Mersey,) (From Soft to Hard) – (12PZTAS1)
12": ZTT / 12ISZTAS 1
- "Relax" (New York mix) (8:20)
- "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03
- "Relax" (from soft to hard) – 4:21
- "New York mix" is an edit of "Sex mix"
12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 1 & CD MAXI: ZTT 651096
- "Relax" (U.S. mix) – 7:20
- "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03
- "Relax" (from soft to hard) – 4:21
12": ZTT / 200 068-6
- "Relax" (Disco mix) (6:15)
- "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03
- "Relax" (from soft to hard) – 4:21
- "Disco mix" (aka "The Greek Disco Mix") is a combination of "Relax (move)" and the "New York Mix"
12": Island / 0-96975
- "Relax" (U.S. mix) – 7:20
- "Relax" (move) – 3:52
- "Relax" (from soft to hard) – 4:21
- "U.S. Mix" labelled as "Long version"
- "Move" labelled as "7" Version"
- "from soft to hard" labelled as "Instrumental"
- also released on MC in Canada (Island / ISC-69750)
MC: ZTT / CTIS 102
- "From Soft To Hard – From Dry To Moist"
- "The Party Trick" (acting dumb) – 0:36
- "The Special Act" (adapted from the sex mix) – 7:46
- "The US Mix" (come dancing) – 4:38
- "The Single" (the act) – 3:55
- "Later On" (from One September Monday) – 1:36
- "Ferry Across The Mersey (...and here I'll stay)" – 4:06
Charts
| Chart (1983/1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| German Singles Charts | 1 |
| Italian Singles Charts | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 4 |
| Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
10 |
| French Singles Chart | 1 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 5 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 10 |
CD: ZTT / FGTH1CD
- "Relax" – 3:55
- "Relax" (MCMXCIII) – 3:42
- "Relax" (Ollie J. Remix) – 6:38
- "Relax" (Jam & Spoon Trip-O-Matic Fairy Tale Remix) – 7:52
- "Relax" (Jam & Spoon HI N-R-G Remix) – 7:55
- "Relax" (U.S. Mix) – 7:22
2x12": ZTT / SAM 1231
- "Relax" (Ollie J. Remix) – 6:38
- "Relax" (Trip-Ship Edit) – 6:12
- "Relax" (Ollie J's Seven Inches) – 3:30
- "Relax" (Jam & Spoon HI N-R-G Remix) – 7:55
- "Relax" (Jam & Spoon Trip-O-Matic Fairy Tale Remix) – 7:52
- "Relax" (MCMXCIII) – 3:42
- UK 12" promo
CD MAXI REP 8027
- "Relax" 4:11 (original single A side)
- "One September Monday" 4:50 (original single B side)
- "Ferry Cross The Mersey"4:06 (original 12inch B side)
- "Relax MCMXIII" 3:43
- "Relax" 4:07 [enhanced section](original video)
CD: Star 69 / STARCD 520 (US)
- "Relax" (Peter Rauhofer's Doomsday Radio Mix) – 3:45
- "Relax" (Peter Rauhofer's Doomsday Club Mix) – 9:47
- "Relax" (Saeed & Palash Addictive Journey) – 11:16
- "Relax" (Coldcut Remix) – 4:59
- "Relax" (Peter Rauhofer's Doomsday Dub) – 6:27
- "Relax" (Original New York 12" Mix) – 7:31
- "Relax" (Original Radio Mix) – 3:54
Covers
- Judge DreadJudge DreadAlexander Minto Hughes , better known as Judge Dread, was an English reggae and ska musician. He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, and has the most banned songs of all time.-Career:...
released the first cover version of the song, in 1984. - "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
covered the chorus as the final song of the polka medley "Hooked on Polkas" from his 1985 album Dare to Be StupidDare to Be StupidDare to Be Stupid is the third studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1985. The album was one of many produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer...
. - Powerman 5000Powerman 5000Powerman 5000 is an American Metal band formed in 1991. Through the span of over two decades, the group has released several albums and gained their highest commercial success with 1999's science fiction themed Tonight the Stars Revolt!...
covered it with Danny Boy for the ZoolanderZoolanderZoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
Soundtrack. They made a music video as well. - Brooklyn BounceBrooklyn BounceBrooklyn Bounce is one of several pseudonyms used by German trance producers Matthias Menck and Dennis Bohn . They have also produced music under the names Mental Madness Productions and Beatbox feat. Rael...
covered it for their 1997 album The BeginningThe Beginning (Brooklyn Bounce album)The Beginning is the debut album by German dance band Brooklyn Bounce. Three singles were released from it: "The Theme ", "Get Ready to Bounce" and "Take a Ride".-Track listing:#"The Beginning" - 1:06...
. - Bloodhound GangBloodhound GangBloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...
sampled it in their song "MopeMope"Mope" is the fourth single released from The Bloodhound Gang's 1999 album Hooray for Boobies. The song and music video feature a man in a Pac-Man suit, portrayed as being on crack.-Track listing:# "Mope"...
". - Richard Cheese covered it on his 2002 album TuxicityTuxicityTuxicity is the second album from Richard Cheese, released October 1, 2002. The title is a reference to the System of a Down album Toxicity.-Track listing:# "She Hates Me" – 1:43# "Fell in Love with a Girl" – 1:31...
. - The Dandy WarholsThe Dandy WarholsThe Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...
covered it for their 2004 album Come On Feel the Dandy Warhols. - One-Way Mirror covered it on their 2008 album One-Way Mirror.
- Blake McGrathBlake McGrathBlake McGrath is a Canadian professional dancer, pop singer and choreographer, best known for being on the first season of So You Think You Can Dance in 2005, and MTV reality dance show, DanceLife.-Early career:...
released a cover version as a single in 2010. - Kevorkian Death CycleKevorkian death cycleKevorkian Death Cycle is an electro-industrial band from Riverside, California, USA.The band was originally named Grid and later changed their name to the politically motivated Kevorkian Death Cycle. The band released its first album, Collection for Injection, on the Ras Dva label. After a 1997...
released a cover version on their 1999 album "A+0(M)" - Duran DuranDuran DuranDuran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
played Relax as an encore on their 2011 All You Need is NowAll You Need Is NowAll You Need Is Now is the thirteenth studio album by the British pop/rock band Duran Duran. Produced by Grammy Award-winner Mark Ronson, a truncated version of the album was released as a download on 21 December 2010. It is the band's first album not released by a major record label; it appeared...
tour.