"Welcome to the Pleasuredome" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Song#:  2277
Date:  04/06/1985
Debut:  84
Peak:  48
Weeks:  8
Genre:  Synthpop, New Wave, Dance



Pop Bits:  After finally snaring their first US Top 10 with a reissue of their first single "Relax" (#10), the band chose to issue this title track from their debut album. It didn't quite have the same appeal as the previous hit and it failed to crack the Top 40. It did a little more business at dance getting to #31. Unfortunately, it would be the band's final single to reach the US chart. Despite not having a second hit, the album did well thanks to "Relax" and it reached gold-level sales. The band would release a new album, Liverpool, in 1986, but it's first single, "Rage Hard," failed to chart and the album disappeared quickly after a minor #88 peak. Soon after, the band called it quits.

ReduxReview:  I like this intense, dark tune, but it's not really single-worthy. Actually, the double-album doesn't have a lot of single material. Despite that, the album is quite good and I played it quite a lot back in the day and still spin it on occasion. This track is actually over twelve minutes long on the album and is better than this shorter version, but they didn't do too bad of a job chopping it down. Still, it's nothing that was going to catch on in a big way.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  In the UK, the third single from the album was the ballad "The Power of Love." It became their third single in a row to reach #1. For whatever reason, the ballad was not select for release in the US. Instead, the title track was issued. The title track then became the fourth single in the UK and it was nearly their fourth #1, but it stopped just shy at #2.

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