Welcome to the Pleasuredome
| Welcome to the Pleasuredome | ||||
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| Studio album by Frankie Goes to Hollywood | ||||
| Released | 29 October 1984 | |||
| Recorded | July 1983-1984 at Manor Studios, Oxford and Sarm Studios, London | |||
| Genre | New wave, Synthpop, Hi-NRG | |||
| Length | 64:00 | |||
| Label | ZTT (UK), Island (US) | |||
| Producer | Trevor Horn | |||
| Frankie Goes to Hollywood chronology | ||||
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| Alternative Cover | ||||
The original CD cover, which was taken from one of the vinyl's dust jackets.
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| Singles from Welcome to the Pleasuredome | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| Mojo | |
| Record Collector | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Smash Hits | 7/10 |
| Uncut | |
| The Village Voice | C |
Welcome to the Pleasuredome is the debut studio album by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released by ZTT and Island Records on 29 October 1984. 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. The album was also a top ten seller internationally in countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, and New Zealand.
While commercially successful, the album also drew criticism for containing new versions of all of the songs from the group's (already much-remixed) hit 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. 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 (2000 copies only) boxset entitled "Inside the Pleasuredome," available exclusively from the website pledgemusic.com. Mopping up 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 the album on 180g vinyl, the boxset cost £85 to buy.
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