Nineteen inches that must be taken always." The second ad promised "theories of bliss, a history of Liverpool from 1963 to 1983, a guide to Amsterdam bars". When first released in November 1983, the initial progress of "Relax" on the UK Top 75 was sluggish.
"Relax" is a song by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the United Kingdom by ZTT Records in 1983 as the Liverpudlian band's debut single. The hit version, produced by Trevor Horn and featuring the band along with other musicians, entered the UK Top 75 singles chart in November 1983 but did not crack the Top 40 until early January 1984.
Horn had made three versions of "Relax" prior to Richards and guitarist Stephen Lipson joining his ZTT Production 'Theam' in late 1983.
Nineteen inches that must be taken always." The second ad promised "theories of bliss, a history of Liverpool from 1963 to 1983, a guide to Amsterdam bars". When first released in November 1983, the initial progress of "Relax" on the UK Top 75 was sluggish.
The album mix also has a certain post-production sheen (greater stereo separation of parts, more strategic uses of reverb, etc.) that is absent from the original 1983 7-inch single mix.
"Relax" is a song by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the United Kingdom by ZTT Records in 1983 as the Liverpudlian band's debut single. The hit version, produced by Trevor Horn and featuring the band along with other musicians, entered the UK Top 75 singles chart in November 1983 but did not crack the Top 40 until early January 1984.
Three weeks later it reached number one, in the chart dated 28 January 1984, replacing Paul McCartney's "Pipes of Peace".
In June 1984, bolstered by the instant massive success of the band's follow-up single "Two Tribes", the single re-entered the Top Ten for a further nine weeks including two spent at number two (behind "Two Tribes").
Released in March 1984, albeit with a different mix and nearly a minute shorter in length, the single stalled at no.
But then on Thursday 5 January 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood performed "Relax" on the BBC flagship television chart show, Top of the Pops.
On 11 January 1984, Radio 1 disc jockey Mike Read expressed on air his distaste for both the record's suggestive sleeve (designed by Anne Yvonne Gilbert) and its lyrics, which centred on the oft-repeated "Relax, don't do it/When you want to sock it to it/Relax, don't do it/ When you want to come." He announced his refusal to play the record, not knowing that the BBC had just decided that the song was not to be played on the BBC anyway.
Holly Johnson contends that the lyrics were misheard - rather than "When you want to sock it to it", the lyric is "When you want to suck, chew it". In support of their disc jockey, BBC Radio banned the single from its shows a reported two days later (although certain prominent night-time BBC shows – including those of Kid Jensen and John Peel – continued to play the record, as they saw fit, throughout 1984).
It then began a slow decline on the charts, falling back as far as number 31 in May 1984 before returning to number two in July whilst Frankie's follow-up single "Two Tribes" held the UK number-one spot.
Later in 1984 the ban was lifted and "Relax" featured on both the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops and Radio 1's rundown of the best-selling singles of the year. Throughout the "Relax" controversy, the band continued to publicly deny that the song's lyrics were sexual.
Nevertheless, by 1984, it was clear that the public were aware of the sexual nature of the lyrics, but the scandal had fuelled sales anyway.
The 1984 reissue runs at 45 RPM. ===12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 1 (United Kingdom)=== "Relax" (Sex Mix, Edition 2) - 8:20 "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03 "Relax" (Bonus, Again) – 4:31 "Edition 2" is an edit of "Sex Mix".
The single re-entered the UK Top 75 in February 1985, and, more successfully, in October 1993, when it spent three weeks in the Top Ten. In the United States "Relax" was also comparatively slow in reaching its chart peak.
In January 1985, a release of "Relax" that was far more similar to the UK hit version entered the Hot 100 at no.
In the end, "Relax" remained on the Top 75 for 48 consecutive weeks and returned in February 1985 for four more, giving a total of 52. The ban became an embarrassment for the BBC, especially given that UK commercial radio and television stations were still playing the song.
In 1985, with the release of the Welcome to the Pleasuredome album (which included "Relax"), the band dropped any public pretense about the lyrics: The track was reissued in September 1993, the first of a string of Frankie Goes to Hollywood singles to be reissued that year.
The single re-entered the UK Top 75 in February 1985, and, more successfully, in October 1993, when it spent three weeks in the Top Ten. In the United States "Relax" was also comparatively slow in reaching its chart peak.
In 1985, with the release of the Welcome to the Pleasuredome album (which included "Relax"), the band dropped any public pretense about the lyrics: The track was reissued in September 1993, the first of a string of Frankie Goes to Hollywood singles to be reissued that year.
The "Classic 1993 Version" is a version of the original 7" mix that uses "Bonus, Again" as the instrumental track, although modification with elements from "Come Fighting" thrown in (e.g.
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | style="text-align:center;"|26 |} ===Year-end charts=== ===1993 and 2001 reissues=== {|class="wikitable sortable" !Chart (1993-1994) !Peakposition |- |align="left"|Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) |align="center"|1 |- |- |Ireland (IRMA) | style="text-align:center;"|6 |- |Japan (Oricon) | style="text-align:center;"|40 |- |- |- |- |- !Chart (2001) !Peakposition |- |U.S.
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