Editing Liverpool (album)

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Liverpool
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]]
| cover        = FrankieGoestoHollywoodLiver.jpg
| alt          = Monochrome photo of 5 men with 5 superimposed colored pictograph-like symbols
| released     = 20 October 1986<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=Robin|date=11 October 1986|title=News Digest|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|page=52}}</ref>
| recorded     = November 1985 – June 1986
| studio       = * [[Wisseloord|Wisseloord Studios]] ([[Amsterdam]])  
  [[Sarm West|Sarm Studios]] ([[London]])
| genre        = 
*[[Hard rock]]
*[[heavy metal music|heavy metal]]<!--BBC review-->
| length       = 43:43
| label        = [[ZTT Records|ZTT]]
| producer     = [[Stephen Lipson]]
| prev_title   = [[Bang! (1985 Frankie Goes to Hollywood album)|Bang!]]
| prev_year    = 1985
| next_title   = [[Bang!... The Greatest Hits of Frankie Goes to Hollywood]]
| next_year    = 1993
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = Liverpool
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Rage Hard]]
 | single1date = 25 August 1986
 | single2     = [[Warriors of the Wasteland]]
 | single2date = 10 November 1986
 | single3     = [[Watching the Wildlife]]
 | single3date = 23 February 1987
}}
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/liverpool-mw0000650165 |title=Liverpool – Frankie Goes to Hollywood |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=3 December 2017 |last=Garcia |first=Alex S.}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev2score = {{rating|2|5}}<ref name="CL">{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=3 |page=584}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Record Mirror]]''
| rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Morton|first=Roger|date=25 October 1986|title=Albums|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|page=22}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev4score = {{rating|.5|5}}<ref name=RS>{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=262}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev5score = 1/10<ref name="SP">{{cite book |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Vintage Books |pages=154–155}}</ref>
}}
'''''Liverpool''''' is the second and final studio album by British band [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]], released in October 1986. Produced by [[Stephen Lipson]] and mixed by [[Trevor Horn]], the album showcases a [[Rock music|heavy rock]] sound in contrast to the [[Dance music|synth dance]] tone found in its predecessor, ''[[Welcome to the Pleasuredome]]''. The recording sessions would be marred by the radical change in musical direction creating tension within the band.

The album received mixed reviews from critics and was a commercial disappointment compared to its predecessor, but it charted at number 5 in the United Kingdom and was a modest success in other countries. It would be supported by the lead single “[[Rage Hard]]”, a UK number 5 and number 1 in Germany. ''Liverpool'' would be the band's final album as lead singer [[Holly Johnson]] would leave the band followed by a flurry of lawsuits from [[ZTT]].

==Recording==
Johnson was distant from the band during the sessions and was unhappy about the album's focus on rock over dance.<ref name="Bradley-1988">{{Cite journal |last=Bradley |first=Lloyd |date=March 1988 |title=The final chapter? |url=https://www.zttaat.com/article.php?title=664#page6 |journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]}}</ref> [[Jill Sinclair]], Horn's wife and one of the ZTT founders, later alleged that Johnson had been uncooperative and absent for most of the sessions.<ref name="Bradley-1988" /> According to Nash, Johnson was preoccupied with the serious illness of Wolfgang Kuhle, then Johnson's boyfriend, but he did not tell the band.<ref name="Nasher">{{cite book |last=Nash |first=Brian |date=2012 |title=Nasher Says Relax |url=https://archive.org/details/nashersaysrelax0000nash |location=Liverpool |publisher=[[Reach plc|Trinity Mirror Media]] |pages=230–245 |isbn=9781906802981}}</ref> Johnson's distancing and disinterest came to the point that the band members concluded he was "finished and were in the market for a new singer".<ref name="Nasher"/> They invited [[Duran Duran]] singer [[Simon Le Bon]] but he declined, [[Pete Wylie]] was also approached, but Johnson eventually remained with the band and completed ''Liverpool''.<ref name="Nasher"/><ref name="Wright-2012">{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Jade |date=2012-11-06 |title=Ex-Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Brian 'Nasher' Nash reveals all in his new autobiography |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/music/ex-frankie-goes-hollywoods-brian-nasher-3328902 |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=[[Liverpool Echo]] |language=en}}</ref> The session studio recordings were made in Ibiza, Holland and London.<ref name="BBCReview">{{cite news |last=Lester |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Lester |date=2011 |title=Frankie Goes to Hollywood Liverpool Review |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/mn9p/ |work=BBC |access-date=30 October 2023}}</ref>

==Production==
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]]''). According to Nash, the band was given contradicting information, with Horn considered as a producer or executive producer.<ref name="Nasher"/> In the end Horn took over mixing it on which "spent a whopping £500,000 (making £840,000 in all) tidying it up".<ref name="Bradley-1988"/><ref name="Aston-1994">{{Cite journal |last=Aston |first=Martin |date=October 1992 |title=Where are they now? |url=https://www.zttaat.com/article.php?title=116 |journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |access-date=28 October 2023}}</ref> The band was so much in debt that they had to sell at least a million copies to start earning "a penny".<ref name="Nasher"/>

==Music==
''Liverpool'' features a heavier [[Rock music|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).

==Release==
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]]". By March 1988, the album had sold around 800,000 copies.<ref name="Bradley-1988"/> On 20 June 2011 was released a 2xCD reissue including session recordings, mixes and covers of [[David Bowie]], [[the Doors]] and [[Rolling Stones]].<ref name="BBCReview"/>

==Critical reception==
In the 80s and 90s the album received poor 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."<ref name=RS/>

Alex S. Garcia writing 2.5/5 review for [[AllMusic]] considered that "on many accounts, ''Liverpool'' can be considered as an improvement over its predecessor", that being shorter duration and almost the same quality of all songs, and "the production is impeccable ... worth a listen if you like the band or have an interest for 80s music—of which this is not such a bad sample".<ref name="AllMusic"/>

[[Paul Lester]] in BBC review of 2011 reissue noted how "many of the [original] tracks are straight [[hard rock]]/[[metal music|metal]], with the lavish sonics and orchestral pomp typical of the ZTT label dropped on top", and that the reissue is "a superb repackage of what remains one of the great anticlimaxes in pop".<ref name="BBCReview"/> Lester compared the original album to the similar "climb-down" records [[ABC (band)|ABC]]'s ''[[Beauty Stab]]'' (1983) and [[Simple Minds]]' ''[[Sparkle in the Rain]]'' (1984), "those other early-80s albums where the bands in question retreated from studio opulence towards a more 'authentic' approach that proved they could reproduce the music live; that they were Proper Rock Bands."<ref name="BBCReview" />

[[Steve Howe (musician)|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."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JqGRKklDOc | title=Steve Howe: New Yes Album &#124; Topographic Live Tapes &#124; Rick Wakeman's hatred of TFTO &#124; Tormato Album | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref>

== Track listing ==

{{track listing
| all_writing = [[Peter Gill (FGTH drummer)|Peter Gill]], [[Holly Johnson]], [[Brian Nash (musician)|Brian Nash]] and [[Mark O'Toole (musician)|Mark O'Toole]].
| title1 = [[Warriors of the Wasteland]]
| length1 = 4:53
| title2 = [[Rage Hard]]
| length2 = 5:08
| title3 = Kill the Pain
| length3 = 6:16
| title4 = Maximum Joy
| length4 = 5:32
| title5 = [[Watching the Wildlife]]
| length5 = 4:18
| title6 = Lunar Bay
| length6 = 5:42
| title7 = For Heaven's Sake
| length7 = 4:29
| title8 = Is Anybody Out There?
| length8 = 7:25
}}

==Personnel==
;Frankie Goes to Hollywood
*[[Holly Johnson]] – lead vocals
*[[Paul Rutherford (singer)|Paul Rutherford]] – backing vocals
*[[Brian Nash (musician)|Brian Nash]] – guitar
*[[Mark O'Toole (musician)|Mark O'Toole]] – bass guitar
*[[Peter Gill (FGTH drummer)|Peter Gill]] – drums

'''Additional personnel'''
*[[Trevor Horn]] – executive producer
*Betsy Cook – backing vocals 
*Barry Diament – mastering
*[[Stephen Lipson]] – guitar, keyboards, producer
*[[Steve Howe (musician)|Steve Howe]], [[Trevor Rabin]] – guitar
*Heff Moraes – assistant engineer
*[[Richard Niles]] – string arrangements, brass arrangement
*[[Andy Richards]], [[Peter-John Vettese]] – keyboards
*[[Anton Corbijn]] – photography

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly chart performance for ''Liverpool''
! scope="col"| Chart (1986)
! scope="col"| Peak<br>position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|publisher=Australian Chart Book|year=1993|page=118|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
| 72
|-
{{album chart|Austria|7|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|album=Liverpool|rowheader=true|access-date=18 September 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Canada|72|chartid=0861|rowheader=true|access-date=24 August 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|5|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|album=Liverpool|rowheader=true|access-date=18 September 2020}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[European Top 100 Albums|European Albums]] (''[[Music & Media]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/80s/86/M&M-1986-11-22-OCR-Page-0010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824030650/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/80s/86/M&M-1986-11-22-OCR-Page-0010.pdf |archive-date=2021-08-24 |url-status=live |title=European Hot 100 Albums |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |volume=3 |issue=46 |date=22 November 1986 |page=19 |oclc=29800226 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>
| 4
|-
! scope="row"| Finnish Albums ([[The Official Finnish Charts|Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref>{{cite book |last=Pennanen |first=Timo |title=Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 |language=fi |edition=1st |location=Helsinki |publisher=[[Otava (publisher)|Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-951-1-21053-5}}</ref>
| 21
|-
! scope="row"| Icelandic Albums ([[Tónlist]])<ref>{{cite news |url=https://timarit.is/page/2522478#page/n30/mode/2up |title=Ísland (LP-plötur) |newspaper=[[DV (newspaper)|DV]] |language=is |date=14 November 1986 |page=43 |issn=1021-8254 |via=[[Timarit.is]]}}</ref>
| 1
|-
{{album chart|Germany4|5|id=469|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|album=Liverpool|rowheader=true|access-date=18 September 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|New Zealand|12|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|album=Liverpool|rowheader=true|access-date=18 September 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Norway|8|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|album=Liverpool|rowheader=true|access-date=18 September 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|13|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|album=Liverpool|rowheader=true|access-date=18 September 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Switzerland|7|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|album=Liverpool|rowheader=true|access-date=18 September 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|5|date=19861029|rowheader=true|access-date=18 September 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|88|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|rowheader=true|access-date=18 September 2020}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1986 year-end chart performance for ''Liverpool''
! scope="col"| Chart (1986)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1986&cat=a |title=Jaaroverzichten – Album 1986 |language=nl |publisher=[[Dutch Charts]] |access-date=24 August 2021}}</ref>
| 92
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (''Music & Media'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/80s/86/M&M-1986-12-27-OCR-Page-0017.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718003044/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/80s/86/M&M-1986-12-27-OCR-Page-0017.pdf |archive-date=2021-07-18 |url-status=live |title=European Hot 100 Albums – Hot 100 of the Year 1986 |magazine=Music & Media |volume=3 |issue=51/52 |date=27 December 1986 |page=35 |oclc=29800226 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>
| 92
|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1987 year-end chart performance for ''Liverpool''
! scope="col"| Chart (1987)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (''Music & Media'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1987/M&M-1987-12-26.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728163007/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1987/M&M-1987-12-26.pdf |archive-date=2020-07-28 |url-status=live |title=European Charts of the Year 1987 – Albums |magazine=Music & Media |volume=4 |issue=51/52 |date=26 December 1987 |page=35<!-- 37 in PDF file --> |oclc=29800226 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>
| 97
|-
! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/album-jahr/for-date-1987 |title=Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1987 |language=de |publisher=GfK Entertainment |access-date=24 August 2021}}</ref>
| 52
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for ''Liverpool''}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Liverpool|type=album|award=Gold|source=infodisc|relyear=1986|certyear=1987|access-date=19 November 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Germany|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Liverpool|award=Gold|relyear=1986|certyear=1986|access-date=29 November 2019}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=New Zealand|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Liverpool|award=Gold|id=1987-02-06|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|relyear=1986}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Liverpool|award=Gold|relyear=1986|certyear=1987|id=3934-1960-2|date=8 January 1987|access-date=18 May 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Frankie Goes to Hollywood}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1986 albums]]
[[Category:Frankie Goes to Hollywood albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Trevor Horn]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Stephen Lipson]]
[[Category:ZTT Records albums]]
[[Category:Hard rock albums by English artists]]
[[Category:Heavy metal albums by English artists]]