Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax (2009) by Ben Peters
Wednesday, 4. November 2009 - 10:00 am
To mark the 25th anniversary of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s anthem Relax, Universal re-release and remix the original single – with a vast increase in tempo. For the video director Ben Peters gives the classic track a more up-to-date modern club feel.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Relax (2009) (Universal Music)
Director: Ben Peters
Producer: Luti Fagbenle
Production Company: LUT! MED!A
DoP: Derik Tan
Editor/Colorist: John Holloway
Commissioner: Cynthia Lole
4. November 2009 - 12:01 pm
an empty and soulless piece of work
4. November 2009 - 1:04 pm
WTF? This kind of shit makes me so angry. Rancid on so many levels, Universal should be shot for taking the All Around the World formula and applying it to this when it so clearly doesn’t work. The song’s a classic and they’ve absolutely killed it. What the hell Holly Johnson thinks he’s playing at I’ve no idea. Everything about this video is hideous and Cynthia’s got to be feeling pretty awful about the whole thing. I’m not even going to bother trying to be constructive because this shit speaks for itself.
God it’s appalling. Fuck me….
And feel free to disagree or sling it back in my face but I really don’t know why David even bothered to post it.
Steaming, fuming, bitter Billy R
4. November 2009 - 3:29 pm
someone saw the virgin ad and thought ‘i know, lets make a shit version of the intro and totally fuck it up’ couldn’t agree with u more Billy
4. November 2009 - 3:47 pm
Absolutely, irredeemably vile.
To reduce one of the most seminal, provocative and ground-breaking videos of all time to this toothless, derivative tripe is a travesty.
And to post it here and describe it as “modern” – when all it does is regurgitate the same trashy and jaded cliches Ministry of Sound has been hammering to death for the past ten years – is an absolute joke.
Must be a VERY slow day in the Promo news office..!
4. November 2009 - 4:44 pm
As Frankie says “Relax” guys
4. November 2009 - 5:01 pm
Well Gail, as a producer you know how it goes.
Picture the scenario: you’re a director, you get the track, you think it’s a great opportunity to revisit an absolute classic, it’s got a little bit of money behind it, and you pitch your guts out. Then they make that garbage. You then wonder why you bother spending hours and hours every week continuing to pitch your guts out when, for all that this industry likes to blow it’s own trumpet about how wankily good it is, it’s still producing turds like that. It happens all the time and it just proves how moronic we all are for scrapping the way we do for those crumbs that are flung our way from time to time.
The whole thing stinks of great fat camel pudding.
4. November 2009 - 5:18 pm
I think Mr Rubin has covered things off here and I agree entirely.
As for directors, the good ones are just going to bail out and go to where they get love and where the ratio of labour to income is more favourable. Its that simple. And it’s already happening.
By the way, I just wanted to say how ridiculous does that light being swung about behind his head look?
4. November 2009 - 7:34 pm
Wedding videos!
4. November 2009 - 8:20 pm
if you are pitching on horrible stuff like this because you think the track is ‘wicked’ or whatever the fuck the vernacular is in your part of town,then you are beyond redemption and sorely need a Maoist style musical re-education. I mean do you have a record collection? Jesus wept. Raise your standards.
You lie down with dogs…..
4. November 2009 - 8:53 pm
Obviously never been a director Malachy. It’s a bitch, and if shit comes your way and you’re trying to put a reel together then you’re a mug if you don’t take it.
I lie down with cats, by the way. And they like it.
4. November 2009 - 8:58 pm
Ive seen wedding videos which are better than this one.
5. November 2009 - 11:33 am
Depends what kind of reel you want to put together. Fill it up with music like this, and your lot won’t get any easier i promise you
5. November 2009 - 11:46 am
You learn on every job, mate.
5. November 2009 - 12:16 pm
Agreed. But if it’s reel building you want, then you need to be a lot more strategic. Don’t get upset about losing out on stuff like this for. Get upset about not getting the amazing stuff. There’s a lot of great music out there, just don’t rely on the major labels sending it your way. I mean, what kind of video did you think the marketing department wanted for the pointless will this do remix cash-in?
5. November 2009 - 12:54 pm
Malachy is on the money here Bill. Music videos aren’t really the place where you should do anything. You do have to pick and choose and be a bit careful. Shoot-to-learn in shorts and corpos or whatever and see making a video as a bit of a self branding exercise. Or as Malachy suggests, you’re just on the medicore stack like everyone else. In promos you are judged not really on the quality of your work so much as who its for. Sad but true. Its an industry with alot of excitable hype victims. There are some good eggs about too though.
5. November 2009 - 1:32 pm
Let’s put an end to this with a true story:
A director once had a great idea for a video. He really, really wanted to do it. He needed to pay his rent too. So he presented the idea to Danni Minogue. She knocked it back.
Then he was lucky enough to present the same idea to one of the best rock n roll bands in the world who said yes and it was the defining point of his career on the international stage.
Where would he be if Danni had given him the nod? He might be a very bitter man right now.
It’s all about the music.
5. November 2009 - 2:46 pm
Where were you guys when I was growing up? I accept all of that one hundred percent. I actually directed under a different name when doing stuff like this. Had to pay the rent, you know how it goes!
I’ve had the rough and the smooth, created some great stuff for people when it was never seen by anyone, and when the big artists came along had my bollocks in a vice so hard I didn’t want to show them to anyone.
I think all along the point was, if this site is a celebration of the stuff that’s good, then why was that video on here. Good friendly debate though guys and much appreciated. In a way it’s done its job.
11. November 2009 - 6:58 pm
Not many people know the truth about this video…Another director shot a controversial film that was banned by Universal because it wasn’t mainstream/obvious/formulaic enough.The film had an idea that went way beyond a singer on stage while people dance in a nightclub.It was made to get banned by middle of the road.Some record companies can’t think beyond someone singing and some other people dancing…shame!