The queer British singer/songwriter Holly Johnson adopted his name when he was aged 14 after being inspired by actress Holly Woodlawn, a friend of Andy Warhol. Sort of gives a clue to the life of the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, that three No 1 singles in the 1980’s that included ‘Relax’ which also became something of a gay anthem.
Johnson left the group in 1987 because of disagreements regarding their musical direction. which became extremely nasty and ended in a 2 year legal battle ….. which he eventually won and started his solo career.
Now some 40 years later Johnson is undertaking a UK tour, with his first appearance being at a concert in London to honor the life and music of Marc Bolan on the 46th anniversary of the passing of the T.Rex lead singer. For all the dates/venues of the Tour click HERE
In May this year, Working Title Films announced production of Relax, a musical biopic about Frankie Goes to Hollywood, based upon Holly Johnson’s autobiography A Bone in My Flute (1994), and starring Callum Scott Howells as Johnson. The film is to be written and directed by Bernard Rose, who directed the original music videos for the band’s songs “Relax” (1983) and “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” (1985). Watch This Space for future details….
