Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” 1983. Today, February 9th, is FGTH’s frontman/vocalist Holly Johnson’s birthday (b. William Johnson, 1960). He is not pictured on the cover of this 12″ single (those THIGHS!). The single hit #1 in the UK in early 1984 and eventually became the seventh best-selling single in the UK singles chart’s history, even after (or especially because) its banned status on the BBC. It took a bit longer to catch on in the US, finally cracking the top 10 in March ‘85. Side A is an extended remix, Side B has the original 7″ single version along with an instrumental variation. The back sleeve is filled with tiny provocative tidbits, in chapters, like “’Get down there and lick that shit off my shoes!’ Frankie demanded. Excited and half terrified, Peta began to like the shit from his shoes.” And “Frankie was a monster. No one could imagine what he demanded of his nephew.” “And it is the incision and tumescence and new intensive points, pain-pleasure points, that first extends the erotogenic extension.” I understood none of this in ‘84 and ‘85 and was beyond ecstatic when my father surprised me with tickets to FGTH while we were on vacation in Los Angeles during the summer of ‘85. We had pretty amazing seats at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater (now demolished) and I remained fairly clueless of the content for most of the performance, probably much to the relief of my dad.