Welcome to the Pleasuredome (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Welcome to the Pleasuredome | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood | ||
| Released | 18 March 1985 | |
| Recorded/mixed | 1984-85 | |
| Genre | Dance, New Wave | |
| Record label | ZTT | |
| Cat. # | ZTAS 7 | |
| Producer | Trevor Horn | |
| Frankie chronology | ||
| The Power of Love (1984) |
Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1985) |
Rage Hard (1986) |
Welcome to the Pleasuredome is the title track of the 1984 debut album by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The lyrics of the song were inspired by the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
In March 1985, the album track was substantially abridged and remixed for release as the group's fourth UK single.
Contents |
[edit] Original 1985 single
Despite the group's record label (ZTT) pre-emptively promoting the single as "their fourth number one", an achievement that would have set a new UK record for consecutive number one singles by a debuting artist, "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" peaked at number two in the UK singles chart, being kept off the top spot by the Phil Collins/Philip Bailey duet "Easy Lover". The single spent a total of eleven weeks on the UK chart.
It was the first release by the group not to reach number one and, despite representing a creditable success in its own right, it symbolically confirmed the end of the chart invincibility that the group had enjoyed during 1984. Frankie Goes to Hollywood would not release another record for seventeen months, and they would ultimately fail to emulate their past glories upon their return.
The spoken-word introductions to both 12-inch mixes are adapted from Walter Kaufmann's 1967 translation of Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy. The recitation on the first 12-inch ("Real Altered") is by Gary Taylor, whilst that on the second 12-inch ("Fruitness") and the cassette is by actor Geoffrey Palmer. It is unknown whether Palmer's concluding "Welcome To The Pleasuredrome" was a genuine mistake or a deliberately scripted one.
- Welcome to the Pleasuredome (The Alternative) excerpt (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- An excerpt from Welcome to the Pleasuredome (The Alternative)
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
This version of the song, which is notable for not having the vocal over the drums was used for BBC One evening programme promotions during 1985.
[edit] B-sides
All releases featured either a short, long or even longer version of "Get It On", originally recorded for a BBC Radio One session in 1983, plus a faded or full length version of "Happy Hi!", the only brand-new song to appear on the single.
Both "Relax (International)" and "Born To Run" are faux-live recordings (ie. with studio overdubs), based on an actual live appearance on The Tube's "Europe A-Go-Go" in Newcastle during early January 1985.
[edit] Video
The video, by Bernard Rose, features the group stealing a car, going to a carnival and encountering all manner of deceptively "pleasureable" activities. The audio soundtrack of the video was included as part of the cassette single.
[edit] Promotional releases
In 1984, a few months prior to the album's release, an early instrumental version of the album track was issued as a promotional 12-inch single, entitled "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Pleasure Fix)", along with a similar early instrumental of "The Only Star In Heaven" (subtitled "Star Fix"). These tracks were subsequently given wider release as part of the B-side to the second 12-inch of "The Power of Love" single.
"Welcome to the Pleasuredome" was also used on several promotional records in the USA during 1985, featuring the following tracks in various combinations:
- The first UK 7-inch mix of the track ("Altered Real"), labelled "Trevor Horn Remix".
- An edited version of the album track created by the Sacramento radio station KZAP, and known as "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (KZAP Edit)" (6:22)
- A version of the second UK 7-inch mix ("Alternative Reel") with a new introduction added, and known as "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Urban Mix)" (8:08)
- A slightly edited (spoken introduction removed) version of "Relax (International)" (4:26)
[edit] Track listing
All discographical information pertains to the original UK single release only. All songs written by Peter Gill/Holly Johnson/Brian Nash/Mark O'Toole, unless otherwise noted.
[edit] 7" single (ZTAS 7)
- "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Altered Real)" (4:20)
- "Get It On" [longer version] (Marc Bolan) — (3:28)
- "Happy Hi!" [fade] (Gill/Johnson/O'Toole) — (3:47)
- Matrix numbers on A-side: 1U/2U
[edit] 2nd 7" single (ZTAS 7)
- "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Alternative Reel)" [aka: Escape Act Video Mix] (5:05)
- "Get It On" [longer version] (3:28)
- "Happy Hi!" [fade] (3:47)
- Matrix numbers on A-side: 7U/8U
[edit] 7" apple-shaped picture disc single (PZTAS 7)
- "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Alternative Reel)" (5:05)
- "Get It On" [short version] (2:32)
- "Happy Hi!" (4:04)
[edit] 12" single (12 ZTAS 7)
- "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Real Altered)" (9:42)
- "Get It On" [short version] (2:32)
- "Happy Hi!" (4:04)
- "Relax (International)" (Gill/Johnson/O'Toole) — (4:51)
[edit] 2nd 12" single (12 XTAS 7)
- "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Fruitness)" (10:47)
- "Excerpts from the Pleasuredome" (1:23)
- "Get It On" [short version] (2:32)
- "Happy Hi!" (4:04)
- "Born to Run" (Bruce Springsteen) — (4:49)
[edit] Cassingle (CTIS 107)
- "Happy Hi! (All in the Body)" (1:18)
- "Soundtrack from the "Welcome..." Bernard Rose Video" (5:37)
- "Get It On" [even longer version] (3:56)
- "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (How to Remake the World)" (10:59)
- "Happy Hi! (All in the Mind)" (1:05)
[edit] Reissues
The track has periodically been reissued as a single, including during 1993 and 2000. Although these releases have some admirers, and have usefully made available various original mixes on CD for the first time, the accompanying A-side remixes by contemporary DJs have tended on the whole to bear little or no comparison to the spirit of the originals.
Reissues in the group's name have also tended to shun any overt reference to the identity of the original artists, and the reissue artwork has notably featured no images of the group. It has been suggested that this situation may relate to Johnson's successful but acrimonious court case against ZTT in 1989, which freed him (and effectively the other group members) from their unfair contract with the label.
