Top 40 Music on CD Forum : FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

Top 40 Music on CD Forum : FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:44:15 +0000 Thu, 25 Sep 2025 18:06:21 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.07 360 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=4179 <![CDATA[Top 40 Music on CD Forum]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum//images/Top-40-Music-on-CD-Forum-Logo.png https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : The upcoming 40th anniversary...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=67316&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#67316 Author: AaronsAmazing
Subject: 4179
Posted: 25 September 2025 at 6:06pm

The upcoming 40th anniversary release of Welcome to the Pleasuredome will feature a dedicated Relax disc, which includes, among other things, the UK cassingle medley of Relax variations that concludes with the full single mix. I have no idea if the tracks labelled "The Single (The Act)" and "Relax (The Album)" will turn out to be identical, or if the latter is actually the "Come Fighting" LP mix.

EDIT: Just checked Spotify. The genuine single version appears as track 6 on the aforementioned Relax portion of the 7-disc set. The LP mix appears as part of the Pleasuredome album proper, on both the 2-disc and 7-disc versions. On the other hand, "The Album" appears to be a 23-minute rough mix of the version commonly known as either "Sex Mix" or "Original Mix", possibly retitled to be in-line with the cassingle variations.

Edited by AaronsAmazing - 30 October 2025 at 2:53pm]]> Thu, 25 Sep 2025 18:06:21 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=67316&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#67316 <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : I'll just add that there...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=60643&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#60643 Author: Paul Haney
Subject: 4179
Posted: 09 April 2022 at 2:36am

I'll just add that there appears to be a handful of Top 40 stations that were playing "Relax" in early 1984. KKBQ in
Houston charted it starting in March 1984 and it eventually went Top 20. Of course, the vast majority of CHR stations
waited until early 1985, but there were some that were ahead of the curve.]]> Sat, 09 Apr 2022 02:36:57 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=60643&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#60643 <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : MCT1 wrote:the 45 appeared...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=60640&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#60640 Author: mjb50
Subject: 4179
Posted: 08 April 2022 at 4:50pm

MCT1 wrote:

the 45 appeared in the February 4, 1984 issue (showing the running time as 3:02).

Thanks; I totally missed that earlier mention because it was buried in the wrong file in the worldradiohistory.com archive. I
found it now and agree that they got the record in January, because the "February 4th" issue would've been in shops several days
earlier, having gone to press over the previous weekend. Per their reviews policy, it must have been a retail copy, too.

Interesting that this is well before the Cash Box mention!]]> Fri, 08 Apr 2022 16:50:58 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=60640&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#60640 <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : A few points to add to the discussion: --The...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=60634&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#60634 Author: MCT1
Subject: 4179
Posted: 07 April 2022 at 8:23pm

A few points to add to the discussion:

--The 12” single appeared in Billboard’s single review
column in the January 7, 1984 issue, and the 45 appeared
in the February 4, 1984 issue (showing the running time
as 3:02). This suggests that the 12” had been released
by late December 1983, and the 45 by late January 1984,
at least in promotional form.

--I have always assumed that the “dancing couple” picture
sleeve was used with the single’s first release in 1984,
and the “checkerboard” sleeve was used with the single’s
second release in 1985. The checkerboard sleeve
certainly didn’t exist until the time of the single’s
second release (as ‘mjb50’ noted, the back of the sleeve
makes reference to events which took place in the fall of
1984), and it made sense to me that the dancing couple
sleeve would have come earlier, since it has the same
artwork used in the U.K. I don’t know that for a fact,
though, and comments earlier in this thread by ‘mjb50’
suggest that the first release didn’t come with a picture
sleeve, and both picture sleeves were then used with the
second release. FWIW, two books that I have, a 1990s
Joel Whitburn Hot 100 book and an early 2000s Goldmine
price guide edited by Tim Neely, both show the first
release as not having with a picture sleeve, and the
second release as having one. Neither gives any
indication that there were two different sleeves,
however, so it's not clear if Whitburn and Neely were
aware of the existence of both sleeves at the time (if
they only knew about the checkerboard sleeve, they may
have assumed that the first release didn’t come with a
sleeve, based on the checkerboard sleeve clearly not yet
existing at the time of the first release).

--I have always thought that the 3:02 version
corresponded to the first release in 1984, and the 3:56
version to the second release in 1985. I may have gotten
that idea from the previously referenced Whitburn book,
which indicates that the second release is a different
mix from the first one. I had recently come to the
conclusion that the 3:56 version has to have appeared
much earlier than the time of the second release,
however, after realizing that the catalog number of the
PR 600 promo (which contains the 3:56 version) suggests a
March or April 1984 release. The earlier discussion in
this thread has clinched that for me. The 3:56 version
came out partway through the first release, early enough
in relation to when the song charted that the 3:56
version was arguably the hit version both times.

--I have always struggled to figure out where the purple
label copies with the 3:56 version fit into the
chronology. I had noticed that Island used the purple
labels for the 1985 follow-up “Welcome To the
Pleasuredome”. Were the purple label 3:56 versions
pressed in 1985 during the second release as part of the
same purple label revival as “Welcome To the
Pleasuredome”? Or are they late first release pressings
from early 1984? Earlier in the thread, ‘mjb50’
indicated that he thinks they’re from 1985. Now that
we’ve confirmed that the 3:56 version replaced the 3:02
version so early on, though, I think they’re from 1984 –
it just makes too much sense to me that this is where
they come from.

So, this is the chronology of the 45, as I see it:

1)     The 45 was first released around January 1984.
Stock copies had purple labels with the 3:02 version.
They may have possibly come with the “dancing couple”
picture sleeve, or they may not have come with any
picture sleeve at all; exactly when Island used the
dancing couple sleeve is not entirely clear to me (they
definitely did not come with the checkerboard sleeve).
Promo 45s had the same catalog number as stock copies (7-
99805) and used the same 3:02 version as stock copies.

2)     Around March or April 1984, Island decided to
substitute the 3:56 version on the B-side of the 12”
single as the 45 version. Promo 45s with the catalog
number PR 600 were issued to make this version available
for promotional purposes. Stock copies switched to the
3:56 version at this point, presumably still using the
purple label.

3)     Around December 1984 or January 1985, the single
was re-released, this time on the blue label, still using
the 3:56 version. Second release copies were definitely
available with the “checkerboard” picture sleeve, and may
have possibly also been available with the “dancing
couple” picture sleeve (exactly when Island used the
dancing couple sleeve is not entirely clear to me).
About the same time, Island issued a new promo 45, PR
695, containing the 3:55 LP version (a promo 12” with the
same version also appeared as PR 696), which is overall
fairly similar to the 3:56 version. (Why did Island
issue the LP version on promotional singles if they
weren’t going to use it on stock singles? Was the PR 600
promo with the 3:56 version also re-serviced to radio at
this time as well?)

4)     Copies of the 3:56 stock 45 also exist on the
black label that Island introduced in 1985. These are
very late pressings of the second release.

Edited by MCT1]]> Thu, 07 Apr 2022 20:23:42 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=60634&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#60634 <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : I don't know...my research,...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=59087&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#59087 Author: mjb50
Subject: 4179
Posted: 08 September 2021 at 3:21pm

I don't know...my research, summarized above, suggests there was no US 7" (at retail, at least) until March 1984, when the pictured 45 with 3:01 version was first reviewed in Cash Box. Also as I mentioned, an R&R magazine ad from February was encouraging radio to play the 12", which had been out since circa late December '83; no mention of any 7" before then.

But to answer the question of what version was heard in the U.S., it depends on when we're talking about. The song had a long life. You could've heard it as early as November 1983 if you had the import singles (the song came out the last week of October in the UK). December for the domestic 12", which also contained the hit single version. Otherwise, March 1984 for the first 45 with the 3:01 edit of the 12" version, followed soon after by the 45 with the hit version, then the album itself in October '84, and 45s containing the album version around December '84, with the song finally becoming a big hit in '85!

Personally I regard the album version as superior, but the differences between it and the original hit single are almost impossible to notice, and even the 3:01 version isn't that different.]]> Wed, 08 Sep 2021 15:21:41 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=59087&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#59087 <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : When the song debuted on new wave...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=59076&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#59076 Author: MMathews
Subject: 4179
Posted: 07 September 2021 at 4:27pm

When the song debuted on new wave radio in '83, I bought
the above pictured 45 with the 3:01 version.

This version was also on the 12" but as part of the "long
version" ... as I recall the whole first part of the 12"
was a dub instrumental, then at about 4:20 the 3:01 mix
was tacked on to the end and that's how it finished.

The following year I bought the newer "hit" 45.

MM ]]> Tue, 07 Sep 2021 16:27:45 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=59076&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#59076 <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : What a mess! As is often the...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=59054&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#59054 Author: NightAire
Subject: 4179
Posted: 03 September 2021 at 9:39am

What a mess! As is often the case, it's Ron the rescue to try to untangle the various versions, mixes, lengths, and pressings.

I'm wondering what radio was playing at the time: the LP version, or the hit 45 version? Seems they're close enough that audio processing could make it difficult to confirm which my local station was running.

I want to replace the copy I'm currently airing (some phasing issues when listening in mono on my Echo Dot) and that's when the trouble started... Fourty-eleven-billion different copies of "Relax" in my library... :-D]]> Fri, 03 Sep 2021 09:39:38 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=59054&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#59054 <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : Indeed, I'm using a Chromium-based...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=58326&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#58326 Author: mjb50
Subject: 4179
Posted: 06 June 2021 at 8:08pm

Indeed, I'm using a Chromium-based browser (Edge, Chrome, Brave ... doesn't matter which). I normally resize the box to as wide as I can go on my screen with the browser window maximized, but I still get stuck with line breaks at whatever size I set it to. Your workaround to make the box so wide that each paragraph is on one line probably does work. Trying it on this one now.

I feel your pain with records getting lost in a move. In fact, my copy of "Relax" with the 7" checkerboard sleeve is one of the casualties of my last move. No one else had access to it, all my records are in one place now, and yet... poof, it's gone, along with several others I know I didn't intentionally get rid of.

Anyway, the Cash Box mention doesn't actually say promo or retail, just the catalog number and 3:02. So on reconsideration, I think you're right that this was available as the initial retail release. This would be what came out in March '84, and then I believe it was replaced with the 3:54 version very soon after.]]> Sun, 06 Jun 2021 20:08:56 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=58326&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#58326 <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : I know for a fact that I didn't...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=58325&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#58325 Author: crapfromthepast
Subject: 4179
Posted: 06 June 2021 at 7:38pm

I know for a fact that I didn't buy it when it was a current hit. I bought the back-to-back sleeve version when the song was in the top ten.

As for where it actually came from, I have no idea. It's been in a box filed under "F" for at least two decades. It's box #5 of about 14 or 15, in case I need to go digging again.

I suppose I should enter this on Discogs, but I don't really want to venture into the rat's nest of "Relax" releases on there.

I couldn't easily find the 12" single. My 12" vinyl filing system fell apart when I moved into my current house nine years ago. The crates end at Percy Faith and pick up with Gary's Gang. I found one Funkadelic album filed in an unsorted crate, but no FGTH.

Unrelated: I found a way around the line-break problem, which seems to only happen on Google Chrome. Look at the text box into which you're typing, and hover your cursor over a gray box with two diagonal lines at the bottom-right corner of the text box. Drag that box to the right. Neat, huh? Now resize the text in Chrome to be teeny-tiny, and drag the little box off the end of the Chrome window. (It helps if you size the Chrome window to be narrow.) Keep dragging and re-dragging until all your text appears on the proper lines. I'm sure there's a better fix out there, but this one really works.

Edited by crapfromthepast]]> Sun, 06 Jun 2021 19:38:02 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=58325&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#58325 <![CDATA[FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Relax" : Hallelulah! That's awesome!! How...]]> https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=58324&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#58324 Author: mjb50
Subject: 4179
Posted: 06 June 2021 at 7:25pm

Hallelulah! That's awesome!!

How did this not turn up before, I wonder.

When did you get it?]]> Sun, 06 Jun 2021 19:25:16 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4179&PID=58324&title=frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax#58324