Holly Johnson

[friedbutty 41]

If anyone deserves a thread, it's the ex front-man of that 80s band, FGTH. One of the last pre-2000 Death listers alive, Holly Johnson ended up on mid-nineties death lists from his HIV diagnosis. Unfortunately, three decades years ago it was the doctor telling you, "you're gonna drop dead before your gran". Due to the homophobes blocking medical research and world leaders calling it, "God's cleansing" or some mong phrase like that.

Happily, we beat prejudice, folks with the infection could become centenarians and Holly's now an otherwise healthy 61 year-old. Who probably won't be appearing on any list for twenty years.

Sorry this was so long, x.

[time 8,624]

11 minutes ago, friedbutty said:

If anyone deserves a thread, it's the ex front-man of that 80s band, FGTH. One of the last pre-2000 Death listers alive, Holly Johnson ended up on mid-nineties death lists from his HIV diagnosis. Unfortunately, three decades years ago it was the doctor telling you, "you're gonna drop dead before your gran". Due to the homophobes blocking medical research and world leaders calling it, "God's cleansing" or some mong phrase like that.

Happily, we beat prejudice, folks with the infection could become centenarians and Holly's now an otherwise healthy 61 year-old. Who probably won't be appearing on any list for twenty years.

Sorry this was so long, x.

sure...

[Banana 859]

2 hours ago, friedbutty said:

Happily, we beat prejudice, folks with the infection could become centenarians and Holly's now an otherwise healthy 61 year-old. Who probably won't be appearing on any list for twenty years.

Sorry this was so long, x.

Then why make the thread?

[JR976evil 909]

Well no indications of drug or alcohol problems, no other apparent underlying health conditions besides HIV (which he presumably manages with regularly monitored medication). He seems stable and well adjusted, unless he migrates to Africa he probably won’t be a viable candidate for some time yet 

[Dying Probably 579]

Again, I say...

 

Who in the name of fuck?

[En Passant 3,743]

31 minutes ago, Dying Probably said:

Again, I say...

 

Who in the name of fuck?

 

Ah well, one presumes you're just not old enough then . Then again neither is he.

It's more a question of "Why the fuck?" Than "Who the fuck?", at least if you're old enough to know who it is.

[Youth in Asia 1,087]

When you're thinking about setting up a thread like this ..... RELAX, DON'T DO IT

[Bentrovato 1,089]

"Frankie says why?" T-shirt now available from my new blah blah.......

[time 8,624]

1 hour ago, Dying Probably said:

Again, I say...

 

Who in the name of fuck?

JFGI

[msc 18,480]

2 hours ago, time said:

JFGI

 

I'm only in my 30s. Younger folk shouldn't make me feel this old! 

 

Frankie Goes to Hollywood were of the course the first band to reach Number 1 with their first 3 singles since Gerry and the Pacemakers. All three are outstanding pop singles, imo, but their later 80s work never lived up to it. (And I believe someone modern equalled the Gerry/Frankie feat with their first 3 singles but I can't mind who...)

 

Big fan of their TOTP appearance for Two Tribes, tearing up The Sun, giving the director a heart attack with Holly casually walking into the audience, and so on. My club days were about 20 years later and even then, in between Rammstein and The Killers and bands I forget, they'd sometimes play Two Tribes, because it remained a favourite with folk.

 

 

 

(EDIT - Has imbedding YouTube gone again?)

(EDIT2  - Back again)

[En Passant 3,743]

4 minutes ago, msc said:

(EDIT - Has imbedding YouTube gone again?) 

 

I don't know for sure, but something is going on. @gcreptile reported the same elsewhere, probably the what are you listening to thread, cba to look it up. 

It's not limited to you tube though, some photos that I 'drag an dropped' from facefarce have been replaced with "May be an image that has text that says 'bla bla bla'" and the actual image is gone.

 

 

[Toast 16,155]

 

They also did a decent cover of Springsteen's 'Born To Run'.

 

1 hour ago, msc said:

 

I'm only in my 30s. Younger folk shouldn't make me feel this old! 

 

Frankie Goes to Hollywood were of the course the first band to reach Number 1 with their first 3 singles since Gerry and the Pacemakers. All three are outstanding pop singles, imo, but their later 80s work never lived up to it. (And I believe someone modern equalled the Gerry/Frankie feat with their first 3 singles but I can't mind who...)

 

Big fan of their TOTP appearance for Two Tribes, tearing up The Sun, giving the director a heart attack with Holly casually walking into the audience, and so on. My club days were about 20 years later and even then, in between Rammstein and The Killers and bands I forget, they'd sometimes play Two Tribes, because it remained a favourite with folk.

 

 

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes (TOTP 1984) - YouTube

 

 

(EDIT - Has imbedding YouTube gone again?)

 

(embedding working for me)

[Youth in Asia 1,087]

The Two Tribes 12" was great.

"If your grandmother or any other member of your family should die whilst in the shelter, Put them outside, but remember to tag them first for identification purposes"

[msc 18,480]

49 minutes ago, Toast said:

 

They also did a decent cover of Springsteen's 'Born To Run'.

 

 

(embedding working for me)

 

 

Ok, now it does. Weird. 

 

EDIT - Yeah its working again, but wasn't earlier. Maybe someone fixed it.

[RIP Wee Jum 1,559]

29 minutes ago, msc said:

 

 

Ok, now it does. Weird. 

 

EDIT - Yeah its working again, but wasn't earlier. Maybe someone fixed it.

 

This episode is one of my earliest memories of TOTP.  Holly Johnson ripping a copy of the s*n in half

[Redrumours 861]

2 hours ago, RIP Wee Jum said:

 

This episode is one of my earliest memories of TOTP.  Holly Johnson ripping a copy of the s*n in half

I remember The Boomtown Rats doing the same thing to John Travlolta in 1978.

[Book 3,560]

4 hours ago, msc said:

 

Frankie Goes to Hollywood were of the course the first band to reach Number 1 with their first 3 singles since Gerry and the Pacemakers. All three are outstanding pop singles, imo, but their later 80s work never lived up to it. (And I believe someone modern equalled the Gerry/Frankie feat with their first 3 singles but I can't mind who...)

 

The Spice Girls became the first music act to have their first six singles reach number one on the UK singles chart between 1996 and 1997.

Westlife became the first music act to have their first seven singles to reach number one from 1999 to 2000.

I guess this is hard to beat.

[harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy 1,689]

30 minutes ago, Redrumours said:

I remember The Boomtown Rats doing the same thing to John Travlolta in 1978.

I remember Lena Martell setting fire to a wax effigy of the one-eyed maracas player out of Dr Hook in 1979.

[Toast 16,155]

2 hours ago, harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy said:

I remember Lena Martell setting fire to a wax effigy of the one-eyed maracas player out of Dr Hook in 1979.

 

I so wish that had really happened.

[Paul Bearer 6,109]

3 hours ago, harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy said:

I remember Lena Martell setting fire to a wax effigy of the one-eyed maracas player out of Dr Hook in 1979.

 

1 hour ago, Toast said:

 

I so wish that had really happened.

You mean it didn't?   'Arrys telling porkies? 

[Toast 16,155]

2 hours ago, Paul Bearer said:

 

You mean it didn't?   'Arrys telling porkies? 

 

My friends and I religiously watched TOTP every Thursday while getting ready to go out pubbing & clubbing.  I well remember the Lena Martell stretch and I think we would have noticed.

[Paul Bearer 6,109]

2 hours ago, Toast said:

 

My friends and I religiously watched TOTP every Thursday while getting ready to go out pubbing & clubbing.  I well remember the Lena Martell stretch and I think we would have noticed.

I think I remember punks in the background doing the pogo or the dying fly. Or maybe I've just made that up. 

[harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy 1,689]

7 hours ago, Toast said:

 

...the Lena Martell stretch...

 
Was that anything like the Len Ganley Stance?

[Toast 16,155]

 

6 hours ago, harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy said:

13 hours ago, Toast said:

.the Lena Martell stretch...

 
Was that anything like the Len Ganley Stance?

 

More in the sense of a jail sentence.

[natquen 46]

On 27/03/2021 at 01:57, Book said:

 

The Spice Girls became the first music act to have their first six singles reach number one on the UK singles chart between 1996 and 1997.

Westlife became the first music act to have their first seven singles to reach number one from 1999 to 2000.

I guess this is hard to beat.

 

@msc Before the Spice Girls, Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers topped the UK singles chart with their first 3 singles, in 1989, equalling the then-record held by Gerry and the Pacemakers and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.