Frankie Goes To Hollywood “Relax” b/w “One September Monday” 1983. Island Records. 45 rpm. This week in February ‘84 “Relax” was #1 on the UK charts propelled by the band’s early January appearance on Top of the Pops and the brief airplay ban by BBC, then reached #2 again in the UK in June after the release of “Two Tribes” (which made it to #1), eventually making the single one of the top-selling singles in UK chart history. “Relax” was not released in the US until late in ‘84 and finally made it to the US Top 10 in March of ‘85.

The song was highly controversial due to its overt sexual references, even though the band initially claimed the lyrics were not meant to be suggestive. However, after the release of Welcome to the Pleasuredome in 1985, upon which the single was included, the (obvious) truth came out: the liner notes state “Like, when people ask you what ‘Relax’ was about, when it first came out we used to pretend it was about motivation, and really it was about shagging.” Shocking! I thought the line “Relax, don’t do it/When you want to suck it, do it/Relax, don’t do it/ When you want to come” was meant to be spiritually uplifting!

The b-side, “One September Monday” is not really a song, it’s more of a kinda interview over vague beats between music journalist Paul Morley and FGTH’s Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford, where among other disjointed discussions, they reveal the source of the band’s name. You can read the transcript here.