Liverpool (album)

Liverpool is the second and final studio album by British synth-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in October 1986. It would be the band's final album of all-new material, and lead singer Holly Johnson would leave the band following the corresponding world tour, followed by a flurry of lawsuits from ZTT. The album's production was handled by Trevor Horn's engineer Stephen Lipson, who urged the band to play their own instruments on this album (Horn having replaced many of the band's performances and arrangements with his session musicians or his own performances on Welcome to the Pleasuredome). Liverpool therefore features a heavier rock sound than its predecessor. Frankie Goes to Hollywood have not released any more studio albums since Liverpool. The cover photo was different depending on what format was purchased (LP, cassette, or compact disc).

Liverpool
Monochrome photo of 5 men with 5 superimposed colored pictograph-like symbols
Studio album by
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Released20 October 1986[1]
RecordedMarch – July 1986
Length43:43
LabelZTT
ProducerStephen Lipson
Frankie Goes to Hollywood chronology
Bang!
(1985)		 Liverpool
(1986)		 Bang!... The Greatest Hits of Frankie Goes to Hollywood
(1993)
Singles from Liverpool
  1. "Rage Hard"
    Released: 25 August 1986
  2. "Warriors of the Wasteland"
    Released: 10 November 1986
  3. "Watching the Wildlife"
    Released: 23 February 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Record Mirror[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Spin Alternative Record Guide1/10[6]

The album was a commercial disappointment compared to the band's previous effort, though it charted generally high at No. 5 in the United Kingdom and Germany, No. 7 on the Austrian and Swiss music charts and No. 8 in Norway. It produced the top 5 single "Rage Hard" (No. 1 in Germany), top 20 single "Warriors of the Wasteland" and top 30 single "Watching the Wildlife". Steve Howe, who played on the album, said in a 2023 interview, "I just was hoping so much that Liverpool [...] would [...] make a meaningful dent in the [...] success of the band because it was just great".[7]

Critical reception

The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote: "Like most of the era's one-hit wonders, the group did make a second album, though God only knows why anyone would want to hear it."[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Peter Gill, Holly Johnson, Brian Nash and Mark O'Toole unless otherwise stated

No.TitleLength
1."Warriors of the Wasteland"4:53
2."Rage Hard"5:08
3."Kill the Pain"6:16
4."Maximum Joy"5:32
5."Watching the Wildlife"4:18
6."Lunar Bay"5:42
7."For Heaven's Sake"4:29
8."Is Anybody Out There?"7:25

Personnel
Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for Liverpool
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[26] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[27] Gold 250,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 100,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Smith, Robin (11 October 1986). "News Digest". Record Mirror. p. 52.
  2. Garcia, Alex S. "Liverpool – Frankie Goes to Hollywood". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 584.
  4. Morton, Roger (25 October 1986). "Albums". Record Mirror. p. 22.
  5. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 262.
  6. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 154–155.
  7. "Steve Howe: New Yes Album | Topographic Live Tapes | Rick Wakeman's hatred of TFTO | Tormato Album". YouTube.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 118. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Austriancharts.at – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0861". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  12. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 46. 22 November 1986. p. 19. OCLC 29800226. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 August 2021 – via World Radio History.
  13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  14. "Ísland (LP-plötur)". DV (in Icelandic). 14 November 1986. p. 43. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
  15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  16. "Charts.nz – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  18. "Swedishcharts.com – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  21. "Frankie Goes to Hollywood Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  22. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  23. "European Hot 100 Albums – Hot 100 of the Year 1986" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 51/52. 27 December 1986. p. 35. OCLC 29800226. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2021 – via World Radio History.
  24. "European Charts of the Year 1987 – Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 51/52. 26 December 1987. p. 35. OCLC 29800226. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 July 2020 – via World Radio History.
  25. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1987" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  26. "French album certifications – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 19 November 2021. Select FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and click OK. 
  27. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Frankie Goes to Hollywood; 'Liverpool')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  28. "New Zealand album certifications – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  29. "British album certifications – Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Liverpool". British Phonographic Industry. 8 January 1987. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
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