It was a bit like living in a desert for about 10 years. The gay community supported me, I did some performances at [clubs], but jobs were hard to come by at that time. I was sort of canceled by the music industry.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood singer Holly Johnson speaking to the BBC about being openly gay and HIV-positive in 1993.
The gay thing was a bit isolating in the music industry. There were a lot of other gay singers and they’d all been advised to stay in the closet. It was considered dangerous and it did affect the band’s profile in middle America.
It was great in New York and L.A. and San Francisco, so we were at the forefront of that and it wasn’t easy. Everything that was written about us was ‘gay this’ and ‘gay that.’ I think that’s why the Pet Shop Boys stayed in the closet during the ’80s.
People had the eye on marketing and money.
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Let’s dig into the Frankie Goes To Hollywood gem that underpins ‘All Of Us Strangers’
“The Power of Love” was never meant to just be a holiday hit.
Huron132
Man I loved Frankie goes to Hollywood. They were my favorite group. I remember seeing the video for Relax , the unedited version for the first time and knew they were for me. They had such a different sound and their music was so special to me. Still to this day I listen to their vinyls , I play them all of the time with the sound to 11!