WELCOMETO THE PLEASUREDOME

When people talk about the "Big '80s," British pop upstarts Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 1984 debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, is usually one of the first things that comes to mind. Welcome to the Pleasuredome was almost more of an event than an album. Art of Noise/Buggles mastermind Trevor Horn's larger-than-life production took this leering Liverpool band's subversive pop dreams and blew them up to stadium size. Gargantuan drum beats, in-your-face bass, and mammoth synthesizer blasts were the order of the day, all creating a swirling sonic maelstrom around singer Holly Johnson and his crew. Riding on the strength of the huge hit single "Relax," which quickly reached pop-culture-catchphrase-status, Welcome to the Pleasuredome made Frankie Goes to Hollywood superstars in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, there were some other worthwhile tunes ("Two Tribes," "War," etc.) to round out the album. In retrospect, one of the more enjoyable aspects of the whole thing is the fact that the crew who made their way to the hearts of the worldwide masses were rather like a rough-trade Village People, salaciously singing about gay sex ("Krisco Kisses," anyone?) over an impossibly infectious dance groove, and making the world sing along. ~ Jim Allen|