Welcome to the Pleasuredome (song)

"Welcome to the Pleasuredome" is the title track to 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.

"Welcome to the Pleasuredome"
Single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
from the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Released18 March 1985 (1985-03-18)
November 1993 (1993-11)
2000 (2000)
RecordedMay–June 1983
GenreNew wave
Length13:38 (album version)
4:20 (7" version)
LabelZTT – ZTAS 7
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Trevor Horn
Frankie Goes to Hollywood singles chronology
"The Power of Love"
(1984)		 "Welcome to the Pleasuredome"
(1985)		 "Rage Hard"
(1986)

In March 1985, the album track was substantially abridged and remixed for release as the group's fourth UK single.

While criticized at the time of release and afterward for being a song that glorifies debauchery, the lyrics (and video) make clear that the point of the song, just as Coleridge's poem, is about the dangers of this kind of lifestyle. This song, along with "Relax", made Frankie Goes to Hollywood even more controversial than they already were.

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.

This is the only single from the group that was not released on a CD single at that time, the other being "Watching The Wildlife". "Relax", "Two Tribes", "The Power of Love" and "Rage Hard+" all saw a CD-maxi release in Germany at the end of the '80s. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" was not given such a release. However, the 7" vinyl single was released in two different mixes, and it was purely random as to which one you ended up with, as both mixes were in identical sleeve designs and carried the same catalogue number. Not only that, but the subtitle used to identify different mixes was identical on both record labels, with only the matrix number on the run out groove giving the game away. The first 7" (matrix 7 A 1 U) carried the normal 7" single mix, which was guitar driven. However, the "secret" alternative mix (matrix 7 A 7 U or 7 A 8 U) was quite different, and featured on the Apple shaped Picture Disc. The subtitle for that disc was 'alternative reel' but on the 7" single the subtitle remained unchanged as 'altered real'. In fact, although appearing to be identical sleeves, the two mixes were actually released in slightly different ones. The standard 7" mix came in a thick paper sleeve, whereas the "secret" one came in a thin paper sleeve.

B-sides

All releases featured an edited version of "Get It On", originally recorded for a BBC Radio 1 session in 1983 (a full-length version was included on the cassette release), plus a faded or full length version of "Happy Hi!", a non-album track.

Both "Relax (International)" and "Born To Run" are live recordings (with some minor overdubs), based on an actual live appearance on The Tube's "Europe A-Go-Go" in Newcastle during early January 1985.

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.

Three edits were made, the regular 4:55 version with the regular 7" mix, a 5:45 version matching what was included on the cassette single and a 7:52 version with a longer, different intro.

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 second UK 7-inch mix of the track ("Alternative Reel"), labeled "Trevor Horn Re-mix Edit".
  • 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). This is on the Bang! Japanese album and CD, alongside the digital "Fruitness" single.
  • A slightly edited (spoken introduction removed) version of "Relax (International)" (4:26)

Chart performance

Track listing
PZTAS 7 picture disc.

7": ZTT / ZTAS 7 (UK)
  1. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Altered Real) – 4:20
  2. "Get It On" (Marc Bolan) — 3:28
  3. "Happy Hi!" [fade] (Gill/Johnson/O'Toole) — 3:47
  • Matrix numbers on A-side: 1U/2U
  • "Get It On" has the third verse edited out, going from the second chorus to the fourth verse.
  • The "Altered Real" mix is also known as "Alternative To Reality".

7": ZTT / ZTAS 7 (UK)
  1. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Alternative Reel) [a.k.a. Escape Act Video Mix or A Remade World] – 5:05
  2. "Get It On" – 3:28
  3. "Happy Hi!" – 4:04
  • Matrix numbers on A-side: 7U/8U
  • Also issued in Ireland and Canada.

7": ZTT / PZTAS 7 (UK)
  1. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Alternative Reel) – 5:05
  2. "Get It On" – 2:32
  3. "Happy Hi!" – 4:04
  • apple-shaped picture disc single
  • "Get It On" has the third and fourth verses edited out, going from the second verse to the fourth chorus.

7": Island / 7-99653 (US)
  1. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Trevor Horn Remix) – 4:20
  2. "Relax" (International Live) – 4:26
  • A-side is actually the "Altered Real" mix.

7": Island / 107 199 EP (Germany)
  1. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Altered Real) - 4:22
  2. "Get It On" – 2:32
  3. "Happy Hi!" – 4:04
  • "Get It On" has the third and fourth verses edited out, going from the second verse to the fourth chorus.
  • Also issued in Australia without "Get It On".

12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 7 (UK)
  1. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Real Altered) – 9:42
  2. "Get It On" – 3:28
  3. "Happy Hi!" – 4:04
  4. "Relax" (International) (Gill/Johnson/O'Toole) — 4:51
  • "Get It On" is the same as the UK 7" edit.
  • "Relax" (International) was rereleased in 2012 on CD Sexmix Disk 1, Track 6 in a very slightly edited (first words of spoken introduction removed) version.
  • ""Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Real Altered) also known as "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (How To Remake The World)"

12": ZTT / 12 XZTAS 7 (UK)
12 XZTAS 7 cover art.
A
'Fruitness'
  1. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Fruitness) – 12:15
B
'Fruitness and light'
  1. "Get It On" – 2:32
  2. "Happy Hi!" – 4:04
  3. "Born to Run" ("live") – 4:49
  • "Fruitness" (usually portrayed without the 1:25 outro) is commonly referred as "The Alternative" by fans.
  • "Born to Run" was recorded live in Newcastle in January 1985 on the "Europe A Go Go" tour. On other releases this version is labeled as "Born to Run (Live on the tube)"

12": Island / 0-96889 (US)
  1. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Trevor Horn Remix) - 9:47
  2. "Get It On" - 2:32
  3. "Happy Hi!" - 4:02
  4. "Relax" (International/Live) - 4:51
  • A-side is actually the "Real Altered" mix.
  • Also issued in Germany, and in Australia without "Get It On".

MC: ZTT / CTIS 107 (UK)
  1. "Happy Hi!" (All in the Body) – 1:18
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (The Soundtrack from Bernard Rose's Video)" – 5:37
  3. "Get It On" – 4:06
  4. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Real Altered) – 9:23
  5. "Happy Hi!" (All in the Mind) – 1:05
  • "Real Altered" plays at a slightly faster speed here. A 11:40 version of the regular "Real Altered" appears on the digital release and Sexmix.
  • This complete cassette was slightly edited rereleased in 2012 on CD Sexmix Disk 1, Tracks 1–5. By mistake, the rerelease was originally printed in Monaural and was corrected via a mail-in replacement campaign.

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.

1993 reissues

CD: ZTT / FGTH2CD United Kingdom
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Original 7") – 4:22
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Brothers In Rhythm Rollercoaster Mix) – 14:36
  3. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Elevatorman's Non-stop Top Floor Club Mix) – 6:06
  4. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Pleasurefix Original 12" Mix) – 9:41

Track 4 is mislabeled. It's the "Real Altered" version from 12 ZTAS 7.

12": ZTT / FGTH2T United Kingdom
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Brothers In Rhythm Rollercoaster Mix) – 14:36
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Elevatorman's Non-stop Top Floor Club Mix) – 6:06
  3. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Elevatorman's Deep Down Bass-Ment Dub) – 6:02

2000 reissues

CD: ZTT / ZTT 166CD United Kingdom
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Album Mix Edit) – 3:35
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Remix Edit) – 8:00
  3. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Anthem Mix) – 7:32

CD: Avex / AVTCDS-296 Japan
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Full Length Mix) – 11:23
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sander's Coming Home Mix) – 10:18
  3. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Paralyzer Remix) – 5:17
  4. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Dub) – 11:22
  5. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Edit) – 3:53
  6. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Full Length Club) – 7:32
  7. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Pleasurefix Mix) – 9:40

12": ZTT / ZTT 166 T United Kingdom
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Remix) – 11:23
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sander's Coming Home Remix) – 10:18

2x12": ZTT / ZTT 166 TP United Kingdom
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Remix) – 11:23
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sander's Coming Home Remix) – 10:18
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Paralyzer Remix) – 5:17
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Dub) – 11:22
  • UK 2x12" promo

12": ZTT / ZTT 166 TPX United Kingdom
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesisters Anthem Mix) – 7:32
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Paralyzer Remix) – 5:17
  3. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Edit) – 3:53
  • UK 12" promo

2014 reissues

Digital download (regular)
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Altered Real) - 4:23
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Real Altered) - 9:40
  3. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Alternative Reel) [reel misspelt as real] - 5:08
  4. "Get It On" (short version) - 2:36
  5. "Happy Hi!" - 4:06
  6. "Relax" (International) - 4:43

Digital download (Fruitness)
  1. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Fruitness) - 12:15
  2. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Ubran) - 8:05
  3. "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Pleasurefix) - 9:44
  4. "The Only Star in Heaven" (Starfix) - 3:54
  5. "Get It On" (short version) - 2:36
  6. "Happy Hi!" - 4:06
  7. "Born To Run" (International) - 4:54

Other versions

The instrumental "Into Battle Mix" appears on the soundtrack to the film Toys, specifically utilized whenever the Tommy Tanks appeared.

gollark: However, they don't, and it satisfies their actual not-caring-about-others values.
gollark: It could, if people CARED.
gollark: 20% economic hit in 100 years, according to people, it's obviously not *ideal* but not an existential threat.
gollark: It's not "dying".
gollark: Reasonably good, sure.

References
  1. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 118. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  2. "Austriancharts.at – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  3. "Ultratop.be – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  4. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0524." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  5. "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque artiste commençant par F". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  6. "Offiziellecharts.de – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  7. "Topp 10 vinsælustu lögin". DV (in Icelandic). 26 April 1985. p. 45. ISSN 1021-8254. Retrieved 20 July 2020 – via Timarit.is.
  8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Irish Singles Chart.
  9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Frankie Goes to Hollywood" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  11. "Charts.nz – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – welcome to the Pleasuredome". Top 40 Singles.
  12. "Archiwum LP3, notowanie 154, z dn. 16.03.1985". www.lp3.pl. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  13. "Swisscharts.com – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – welcome to the Pleasuredome". Swiss Singles Chart.
  14. "Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  15. "Frankie Goes to Hollywood Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  16. "Frankie Goes to Hollywood Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  17. "Top 100 1985 - UK Music Charts". www.uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
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