Frankie Goes to Hollywood
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Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English pop band that formed in Liverpool in 1980. They comprise Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford, Mark O'Toole (bass), Brian Nash (guitar) and Peter Gill (drums). They were among the first openly gay pop acts and made gay rights and sexuality a theme of their music and performances.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood in 1985. From front: Paul Rutherford, Holly Johnson, Brian Nash, Peter Gill and Dave Lawton
Trevor Horn, pictured in 1984 wearing a Frankie Goes to Hollywood shirt, signed the band to ZTT and produced their first album.
Holly Johnson performing solo in 2014
Holly Johnson
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William Holly Johnson is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was a bassist for the band Big in Japan. In 1989, Johnson's debut solo album, Blast, reached number one in the UK albums chart. Two singles from the album – "Love Train" and "Americanos" – reached the top 5 of the UK Singles Chart. In the 1990s, he also embarked on writing, painting, and printmaking careers.
Johnson performing at the Astra Kulturhaus in Berlin, Germany, 2014
Johnson performing at the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow in 2023.