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Post by La Princess on Aug 2, 2021 15:00:09 GMT -5
Going by the comments, I'm going to assume most of you mean UK. I'm not going to comment on that but yes they were huge in the USA and yes I believe they sold 100 million records. Billboard accurately calculates how they do it so if they are stating 100 million I believe them and they know more than most of you about this. Also, if you don't think they could have sold that much, consider this: I still hear songs from them very often on TV and commercials. A local TV station uses Is There Something I Should Know as a bumper, another uses Girls On Film. I always hear Hungry Like The Wolf and sometimes Rio in commercials. Every time I turn on the classic hits station I hear either HLTW or Rio, etc. So yeah I believe the 100 million.
Getting to the other point, the reason Michael Jackson or Madonna are mentioned is that they were mainstream, more so than DD. This might not make sense to the many UK and European fans but here in the USA, even though DD sold a ton, they were always more of an alternative band, as was (as strange as it seems) U2. They all became mainstream but MJ and Madonna were both more popular than DD or U2 because of this and nothing wrong with it. Also, MJ and Madonna are/were American so there's that as well. With Huey Lewis and the News, one of their attractions was that they seemed to attract older fans as well. MJ did as well (not sure about Madonna) because many older people remembered him when he was a kid with the Jackson 5 and they were on Ed Sullivan Show.
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Post by Rabbit Dog on Aug 2, 2021 15:09:39 GMT -5
Great article! Sure they were popular in the early 80's but I don't think they had any longevity and credibility after those hits and main album..I mean did their sexuality play a role in not achieving more success OUTSIDE of the UK?? GREAT to me is you can still create new music..don't dwell on the past and when you tour you can still pack the house...that is great to me in today's music! Sure no more crazy album sales or #1 charts but you are still getting respect..you are getting private gigs and you are getting promoters that still want you to play their venues...I can't ever see Madness or FGTH on tour in the US or anywhere else in Europe..to me they are 1 hit wonders! sorry just my opinion... www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/28/frankie-goes-to-hollywood-30-years-welcome-to-the-pleasuredomeMy point was that DD never had a UK hit on the scale of FGTH's first two singles, which probably outsold any of DD's big hits several times over. FGTH simply captured a moment in time perfectly in 1984 with Relax and Two Tribes, and their iconic "Frankie Say" t-shirts. But yes, FGTH's star fell quickly and they were gone. FGTH ended with their second album - don't buy into any idea that they carried on beyond this with any reunion just half-hearted nonsense. Holly Johnson did go onto have a hit solo album after this, but his star fell soon after this too. But FGTH in the UK will be remembered by a lot of folk for a moment of zeitgeist magic that is almost peerless in its impact.
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Post by ghostjet on Aug 2, 2021 15:13:02 GMT -5
I watched the first 100 hours of MTV on YouTube and of course none of the people we are discussing in this thread were there at first. Although Duran Duran videos soon were present with Planet Earth and Girls on Film. Jackson appeared first with Billie Jean I believe and Madonna wasn't too far behind in late 83. I think by the time they were making their mark on MTV, MTV had been established. I think the Police had more to do with establishing MTV in 82 and 83 before Michael Jackson and Madonna.
And as soon as I witnessed Duran Duran, I was hooked.
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Post by andre005 on Aug 2, 2021 15:13:07 GMT -5
Great article! Sure they were popular in the early 80's but I don't think they had any longevity and credibility after those hits and main album..I mean did their sexuality play a role in not achieving more success OUTSIDE of the UK?? GREAT to me is you can still create new music..don't dwell on the past and when you tour you can still pack the house...that is great to me in today's music! Sure no more crazy album sales or #1 charts but you are still getting respect..you are getting private gigs and you are getting promoters that still want you to play their venues...I can't ever see Madness or FGTH on tour in the US or anywhere else in Europe..to me they are 1 hit wonders! sorry just my opinion... www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/28/frankie-goes-to-hollywood-30-years-welcome-to-the-pleasuredomeMy point was that DD never had a UK hit on the scale of FGTH's first two singles, which probably outsold any of DD's big hits several times over. FGTH simply captured a moment in time perfectly in 1984 with Relax and Two Tribes, and their iconic "Frankie Say" t-shirts. But yes, FGTH's star fell quickly and they were gone. FGTH ended with their second album - don't buy into any idea that they carried on beyond this with any reunion just half-hearted nonsense. Holly Johnson did go onto have a hit solo album after this, but his star fell soon after this too. But FGTH in the UK will be remembered by a lot of folk for a moment of zeitgeist magic that is almost peerless in its impact. So they were a fad?
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Post by Rabbit Dog on Aug 2, 2021 15:15:02 GMT -5
My point was that DD never had a UK hit on the scale of FGTH's first two singles, which probably outsold any of DD's big hits several times over. FGTH simply captured a moment in time perfectly in 1984 with Relax and Two Tribes, and their iconic "Frankie Say" t-shirts. But yes, FGTH's star fell quickly and they were gone. FGTH ended with their second album - don't buy into any idea that they carried on beyond this with any reunion just half-hearted nonsense. Holly Johnson did go onto have a hit solo album after this, but his star fell soon after this too. But FGTH in the UK will be remembered by a lot of folk for a moment of zeitgeist magic that is almost peerless in its impact. So they were a fad? Absolutely. But a glorious one that worked perfectly for the moment. And it was one that helped define the 1980s in the UK.
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oakey
PAPER GOD
Posts: 2,600
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Post by oakey on Aug 2, 2021 15:34:36 GMT -5
I mean oakey still even at Duran's less popularity they still toured Europe==it may have not been large venues.but many still knew who duran duran were..but I was in the Middle East on several occasions to visit my family in the late 90's and 2000's and the Dj;s were all mostly British..I made friends with some..and they only played Relax on occasion and never any Madness..many DJ's told me that Frankie and Madness were not popular outside the UK--they did however PLAY lots of Duran! And it ranged from early stuff..to Warren years with the TWA and even rare B-sides..I never once heard Our House on these stations and there we many British expats living here at the time in the Middle East for work!! I was talking (continental) Europe in the 1980s, not the Middle East in the 2000s. They did not tour continental Europe at their height. SB 1987 was the first real tour and that was after their popularity had already deminished. They did a few 1981 and 1982 shows but that was before they had any hits (they did not break Europe with the Rio album like in the US but with Seven and the Ragged Tiger). Their massive period in Europe was (late) 1983-1985. Is there something I should know was their first top 40 hit in my country, not even making the top 10. And the SBS tour skipped Europe altogether like so many tours after that. So they were popular but you could not go and see them live (that was the same with Madonna and MJ btw, but they were superstar popular still when they did start to tour Europe in 1987). Madness was (and is) popular over here but never superstar big, more like popular with the kids who also liked The Smiths or The Jam. FGTH was huge here as well, but not a real live band, fully agree. After a handful of hits it was al over (1984-1986). Holly Johnson had a few solo hits in the late 80s. That FGTH incarnation with a different singer was a UK only thing.
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Post by Rabbit Dog on Aug 2, 2021 15:45:31 GMT -5
The Top 100 singles by sales in the UK make for interesting reading.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood have two singles inside the Top 10, with Relax at #2 and Two Tribes at #4.
Elsewhere in the Top 100 we have a couple of hits from Culture Club, three from Wham (plus another from George Michael), one each from André's favourites Madness and A-ha.
Predictably there's a couple each from Madonna and Michael Jackson, and even two from Shakin' Stevens.
And how many from our "100M" selling chums?
Erm, none.
As a consolation, our boys did perform on the best selling single of the decade, Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas...
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Post by andre005 on Aug 2, 2021 15:50:02 GMT -5
The Top 100 singles by sales in the UK make for interesting reading. Frankie Goes To Hollywood have two singles inside the Top 10, with Relax at #2 and Two Tribes at #4. Elsewhere in the Top 100 we have a couple of hits from Culture Club, three from Wham (plus another from George Michael), one each from André's favourites Madness and A-ha. Predictably there's a couple each from Madonna and Michael Jackson, and even two from Shakin' Stevens. And how many from our "100M" selling chums? Erm, none. As a consolation, our boys did perform on the best selling single of the decade, Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas... UK should have had AVTAK as #1 not #2--they got robbed! Not saying overall singles but more #1 hits in the UK!!!! Is Huey Lewis and the News on that chart?? lol
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Post by Rabbit Dog on Aug 2, 2021 15:52:20 GMT -5
The Top 100 singles by sales in the UK make for interesting reading. Frankie Goes To Hollywood have two singles inside the Top 10, with Relax at #2 and Two Tribes at #4. Elsewhere in the Top 100 we have a couple of hits from Culture Club, three from Wham (plus another from George Michael), one each from André's favourites Madness and A-ha. Predictably there's a couple each from Madonna and Michael Jackson, and even two from Shakin' Stevens. And how many from our "100M" selling chums? Erm, none. As a consolation, our boys did perform on the best selling single of the decade, Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas... UK should have had AVTAK as #1 not #2--they got robbed! Not saying overall singles but more #1 hits in the UK!!!! Is Huey Lewis and the News on that chart?? lol Huey Lewis isn't, but Spandau Ballet is. Spandau Ballet!
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Post by andre005 on Aug 2, 2021 17:06:50 GMT -5
UK should have had AVTAK as #1 not #2--they got robbed! Not saying overall singles but more #1 hits in the UK!!!! Is Huey Lewis and the News on that chart?? lol Huey Lewis isn't, but Spandau Ballet is. Spandau Ballet! I don’t see Coldplay or One Direction in top 100 but they are there later....but frickin Aqua is top 20 with Barbie Girl! Come on UK ! This is fricking embarrassing!! Your charts are hereby not legit!!!! www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/
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