Top 10 Alert!
Gold Record Alert!
Song#: 2185 Date: 01/19/1985
Debut: 70
Peak: 10
Weeks: 16
Genre: Dance-Pop, Synthpop
Pop Bits: Wasn't this song already covered here? Yup. It's first time around, the song didn't quite catch the ears of US folks and it quickly disappeared after peaking at a low #67. However, the band got some good exposure thanks to their second single, "Two Tribes" (#43), and the increasing publicity surrounding the banning of this song in the UK. The label decided to take advantage of the situation and reissue "Relax" in the US. It was a good idea as the second time around the song caught on and proceeded to head towards the Top 10. Nearly a year and a half after it was first issued in the UK, the song was finally a hit in the US. The combined sales of the first release and reissue allowed the single to go gold.
ReduxReview: There's not much to add here that wasn't in my original posting. It's perverse fun that sounds fantastic when cranked to eleven.
ReduxRating: 9/10
Trivia: Several videos for this song were issued along the way. Its first video was an S&M themed affair that took place in a gay nightclub. It went over about as well with TV stations as the song did at radio and it apparently got banned. Then the team of Godley & Creme filmed a more palatable video that showed the band performing the song amid various laser effects and lighting. Next, famed music video director David Mallett filmed a live performance version of the song with the band. Finally, a video that cross promoted the song with the 1984 Brian De Palma thriller film Body Double was put together. In that movie, the band makes an appearance performing this song. It was kind of a film-within-a-film scene that had the band performing the song during the filming of a porn movie.
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