Song of the Day: June 23rd, 2021

Song: Relax (1983)
Artist: Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Album: Welcome to the Pleasuredome

​Ya boi is bringing back One Hit Wonder Wednesday for this Pride Month SOD, and yes, "Relax" WAS on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders (2002) list (#41). Everybody and their mother knows this song, even the Prime Minister of Malaysia! While Frankie Goes To Hollywood enjoyed commercial success in the U.K. after "Relax," it was their only Top 40 hit (peaking at #10 in 1985) in the U.S.

​"Relax" was infamously banned by the BBC due to its lyrical content, which only made the song more popular. For a brief moment in time, shirts with "Frankie Says Relax" in big black letters were everywhere. I love how they initially tried to say the song wasn't sexual, as if "hit me with those laser beams (laser beams)" isn't the most obvious metaphor for cumming of all time.

The original music video was also banned due to the in-your-face gayness that the 1980s just couldn't handle yet. I respect the hell out of FGTH for saying "fuck you" to the times and making a video of how they wanted to.

​And because I'm a pro's pro, here's laser filled "safe for MTV" version. Both videos say "original" which means we have a liar on our hands!