Global InformationWelcome to the Pleasuredome information
| Welcome to the Pleasuredome | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Illustration by Lo Cole[1] | ||||
| Studio album by Frankie Goes to Hollywood | ||||
| Released | 29 October 1984 | |||
| Recorded | July 1983–1984 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Pop[2][3] | |||
| Length | 64:06 | |||
| Label | ZTT | |||
| Producer | Trevor Horn | |||
| Frankie Goes to Hollywood chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 The original CD cover, which was taken from one of the vinyl record's dust jackets. Cover photography by Peter Ashworth[4] | ||||
| Singles from Welcome to the Pleasuredome | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Los Angeles Times | [7] |
| Mojo | [8] |
| Record Collector | [9] |
| Record Mirror | [10] |
| Rolling Stone | [11] |
| Smash Hits | 7/10[12] |
| Sounds | [13] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[14] |
| The Village Voice | C[15] |
Welcome to the Pleasuredome is the debut studio album by English synth-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released on 29 October 1984 by ZTT Records.[16] Originally issued as a vinyl double album, it was assured of a UK chart entry at number one due to reported advance sales of over one million.[16] It actually sold around a quarter of a million copies in its first week.[17] The album was also a top-10 seller internationally in countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.
While commercially successful, the album also drew criticism [by whom?] for containing new versions of all of the songs from the group's (already much-remixed) singles from the same year ("Relax" and "Two Tribes", plus B-side "War"), as well as a surfeit of cover versions in lieu of much new original material. It was later revealed that Trevor Horn's production dominated the record so thoroughly that the band's own instrumental performances were often replaced by session musicians or Horn himself.[citation needed] Frankie's second album, Liverpool, actively featured the full band.
However, the album's evergreen ballad "The Power of Love" subsequently provided the group with their third consecutive UK number one single.
To celebrate the album's 30th anniversary, in October 2014, ZTT through Union Square Music released a limited edition (2,000 copies only) box set entitled Inside the Pleasuredome, available exclusively from the website pledgemusic.com. The box set contains rarities on 10" vinyl, as well as a book, a DVD, a cassette (featuring 13 mixes of "Relax" and its B-side "One September Monday") as well as a new 2014 remastered version of Welcome to the Pleasuredome on 180g vinyl.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
artofztt.comwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Max Bell (3 November 1984). "Frankie say pleasure can pay". The Times. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ Richard Cook (3 November 1984). "Welcome to the pleasuredome". NME. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ Liverpool Echo: Peter Ashworth interview: Frankie Goes to Hollywood
- ^ "Record Mirror". 16 June 1984.
- ^ Raggett, Ned. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome – Frankie Goes to Hollywood". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert; Hunt, Dennis; Cromelin, Richard; Feather, Leonard; Atkinson, Terry; Johnson, Connie; Pond, Steve; Damsker, Matt; Grein, Paul; Waller, Don; Willman, Chris; Gurza, Agustin; Matsumoto, Jon; Baker, Chris; Shapiro, Marc; Reeves, Jim (16 December 1984). "Guiding the Uninitiated Through the Top 40". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Harrison, Ian (January 2018). "Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Mojo. No. 290. p. 106.
- ^ Staunton, Terry (May 2010). "Welcome To The Pleasuredome | Frankie Goes To Hollywood". Record Collector. No. 375. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ Reid, Jim (3 November 1984). "Greetings, pop pickers". Record Mirror. p. 21.
- ^ Fricke, David (17 January 1985). "Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Welcome To The Pleasuredome". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 January 2002. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ Ellen, Mark (8–21 November 1984). "Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Smash Hits. Vol. 6, no. 22. p. 23.
- ^ Linfield, Carole (3 November 1984). "Dome Is Where the Art Is". Sounds. p. 32.
- ^ Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Frankie Goes to Hollywood". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 154–155. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (25 December 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ a b Thrills, Adrian (13 October 1984). "Frankie Say: Beat It!". NME. London. p. 2.
- ^ Jones, Alan (10 April 1993). "Chart Focus". Music Week. p. 11.