His debut album Blast went to No1, selling over 300,000 copies, spawning two Top Five singles, Love Train and Americanos. In 1989 a victorious Holly could finally sign to MCA Records. “He literally had to be dragged off by other people and I thought, ‘Well that’s the end of the line.’ I can’t tolerate physical violence.”Ī bitter two-year court battle ensued and Holly fought tirelessly to be released from his record contract with label ZTT. “The defining moment when I knew I wanted to leave was when one of the band members lashed out at me,” says Holly. Their debut album Welcome To The Pleasuredome sold three million copies – but, in the years that followed, growing tensions within the band ripped them apart. Their next two singles – Two Tribes and The Power of Love – also went to No1, making them only the second act in UK history to top the charts with their first three singles.īy the summer of 1984, the country was gripped by Frankie-mania, with their famous slogan T-shirts, including Frankie Say Relax Don’t Do It, flying off the shelves. Their 1984 debut single Relax was famously boycotted by Radio One DJ Mike Read for being too explicit and the track – which was slipping down the charts – catapulted to No1 and became one of the biggest-selling UK singles of all time. Tucking into steak and chips in a Central London restaurant, washed down with sparkling water, the star turns 50 in February, although he looks 10 years younger.īorn William Johnson in Liverpool, Holly was the driving force behind pop powerhouse Frankie Goes To Hollywood. I’m a big fan of his and I love the X Factor.” “He deserves every success in life and has fulfilled his personal ambitions and facilitated the success of others. “Simon was the only person who made an offer to me like that and, to this day, I have got a soft spot for him. “I politely declined but it was left that if I had any ideas for covering songs then I should get in touch. He smiles: “It was very kind of Simon but, as a songwriter, I felt I would rather perform my own songs than the Unchained Melody type of song, which I know he likes. However, Holly was reluctant to go down that route, a path which later proved phenomenally successful for Cowell’s double act Robson & Jerome. “I got a message that he wanted to work with me, so I sent him some demos of new songs and he came round and suggested that I do an album of cover versions.” “He knew that I wasn’t in the best of health and he had seen me walking my dog Funky on Parsons Green in Fulham when he was visiting Sinitta. “But Simon Cowell was one of the very few people who came round to my house to see that I was OK. “I had little support from people in the music business and I didn’t hear from any of the other band members. I was gravely ill and no one knew if I would make it. “It was a very hard and dark time for me. Holly says: “When I dropped out of the music business, it was like being an outcast for a number of years. Now, in an exclusive interview with the Mirror, Holly reveals how one man refused to give up on him – a then little-known music industry executive named Simon Cowell. Eighteen years ago, Holly Johnson was in the doldrums.Īfter a string of mammoth No1 hits, the Frankie Goes To Hollywood star had retreated from the world of pop.
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