I think Trevor Horn – who is brilliant, don’t get me wrong – is a little unkind when he reminisces about FGTH. He writes them off as crap and said he got all his session musicians in for the actual studio recordings.
But if you listen to the Peel session from 1982, it’s mostly all there. And Frankie’s own bassist could play the bass line to “Two Tribes” Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Peel Session 1982 - YouTube
The trouble is, by the time FGTH were signed, their mix of Liverpool post-punk and Gang of Four punk-funk, sounded dated. Horn gave them sonic pixie dust that transformed them from indie-rock to mid-1980s chart pop, but the production alone didn’t write songs as good as “The Power of Love” and “Two Tribes”.
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