Frankie Goes to Hollywood to reunite for live concert next month

Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s classic line-up will reunite for the first time in 36 years next month. The band, who scored a string of hits in the 80s with tracks including ‘Two Tribes’, ‘The Power of Love’ and ‘Relax’, will perform at the National Lottery's Big Eurovision Welcome outside St George's Hall in their home city of Liverpool on Sunday 7th May.

The concert celebrates the launch of the week-long festivities for The Eurovision Song Contest, which concludes with the grand final at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena on Saturday 13th May.

Holly Johnson has confirmed his involvement by writing on Instagram: "Frankie Goes To Eurovision. To celebrate the UK hosting the @eurovision song contest for Ukraine in our hometown of Liverpool, I’m happy to announce that Frankie Goes To Hollywood will reunite to perform at the opening concert of this very special event."

Featuring fellow Liverpool acts The Lightning Seeds, The Real Thing and Atomic Kitten, the show’s ethos is to "celebrate Liverpool's incredible musicality."

Other non-local artists set to take to the outdoor stage include 2014 Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst from Austria, and Ukraine’s 2016 winner Jamala.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood formed in Liverpool in 1980 and scored phenomenal success with their Trevor Horn-produced debut album ‘Welcome to the Pleasuredome’ in 1984.

The album peaked at Number 1 in the UK and went on to achieve triple Platinum status. It spawned a trio of Number 1 singles with ‘Two Tribes’, ‘The Power of Love’ and ‘Relax’, and the album title track reached Number 2.

Follow-up album ‘Liverpool’ dented the Top 10 in 1986 and it featured the hit track ‘Rage Hard’, however Frankie Goes to Hollywood split the following year when the relationship between band members broke down.

After a legal wrangle with ZTT Records in court in 1988, Holly Johnson was freed from his contract and he went on to land a number of chart hits including ‘Love Train’ and ‘Americanos.’

Original members Paul Rutherford, Peter 'Ped' Gill and Mark O'Toole reformed Frankie Goes To Hollywood for a Princes Trust concert at London’s Wembley Arena in 2004, however Holly Johnson wasn’t involved. 28-year-old Ryan Malloy from Newcastle was drafted in perform vocals at the one-off show.

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• eurovision
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