Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax (Come Fighting)

ZTT, Fairlight pulse, BBC ban to No. 1

In May 1983 Trevor Horn signed Frankie Goes To Hollywood to his new label Zang Tuum Tumb after seeing them play Relax on Channel 4’s The Tube at the Liverpool State Ballroom. Holly Johnson sings lead; Paul Rutherford adds vocals; Brian Nash, Mark O’Toole, and Peter Gill complete the lineup. Horn and the ZTT team rebuilt the song across several versions: a live-band attempt, a Blockheads-assisted session, and finally a Fairlight-driven cut with session players including Steve Lipson and Andy Richards, Johnson’s vocal on top. The swimming-pool splash sampled at the Manor survived into the finished mix. ZTT released Relax in October 1983; the album version on Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984) is often tagged Relax (Come Fighting).

What you hear is a low, pumping synthesizer rhythm, a hard snare, and Johnson’s repeated command to “relax.” Horn’s production stacks effects and edits until the single feels like a club machine more than a five-piece demo. Multiple 12-inch mixes followed, including the long Sex Mix packed with sound effects. The 7-inch edit that climbed the charts keeps the hook front and centre at radio length while the bass sequence never lets go.

The single sat in the lower UK charts for weeks, then jumped after a 5 January 1984 Top of the Pops appearance. On 11 January Radio 1’s Mike Read stopped the record mid-spin over the sleeve and printed lyrics; the BBC widened the ban across daytime outlets. Sales surged. Relax hit No. 1 for five weeks, sold more than two million copies in Britain, and later won the 1985 Brit Award for Best British Single. It reached the US Top 10 in 1984. With Two Tribes and The Power of Love, Frankie matched Gerry and the Pacemakers as the second act to take their first three UK singles to No. 1.