Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Come Again

My first introduction to Frankie Goes To Hollywood was the fruity 16 minute mix of 'Relax' that was essentially lots of samples of zips and "water". I can't say that at the age of 13 I was fully aware of what was going on, but something most definitely was. When I got around to see the video, it shed light – though not much light, dark rooms are dark for a reason – on a vision of SICK FILTH unseen before. It was probably my Starman moment. It was probably quite a few people's Starman moment. This wasn't the casual draping of an arm around another man. This was dirty and butch and involved a tiger....

Ian Wade pays tribute to the magic of FGTH on Quietus.

They have a new compilation album out, Frankie Said.

It is their tenth (at least).

PS Graingerboy writes for Polari on a record company recently telling him his album was "too Erasure", and "only really suitable for the gay market".

John Howard: Lost And Found

The story really is one of those lost classic stories. In 1973, while playing at London’s Troubadour he was spotted and signed by then-Head of Pop at Chappell Music, Stuart Reid. By the end of the year, John signed to CBS Records and was commissioned to write and record the theme song, 'Casting Shadows' for the Peter Fonda/William Holden movie, Open Season. 
For a while in the early 70s John was the next big thing, as far as songwriters went. After it was released on CBS, his debut Kid In A Big World sank without a trace. Various events seemed to have conspired against it, possibly the changing fashions, certainly the biting lyrics which saw Radio 1 refuse to play songs they thought 'too depressing'. Possibly the industry wasn't ready for a flamboyant, openly gay singer-songwriter. 
John went on to cut singles with Trevor Horn and the band that would become The Buggles/Art of Noise. But by the early 1980s, feeling disillusioned with lack of success or recognition, John locked his piano lid and walked away from unrealised ambitions, only occasionally recording material when producer friends asked him to. Through the 80s and 90s John carved out a career in marketing and A&R at various record companies. In 2001, after retiring to Pembrokeshire John began performing again, at local pubs and in the piano bars on the cruise ships...

Ralegh Long talks to The Quietus about John Howard - the great "lost" gay 70s singer-songwriter.

John's new album Storeys is released today.
Why not go and find out more at his website?