Frankie Goes To Hollywood to get Q Award

25 years ago five young Liverpudlians wore iconic 'Frankie Say…' t-shirts and with one song polorised the entire nation. It was early 1984 when Frankie Goes To Hollywood released their debut single Relax and became a household name.

The key moment in the band's history that enabled them to make the jump to worldwide superstardom was in 1983 when legendary producer, Trevor Horn, heard Relax being played on Radio 1. The renowned music producer and songwriter, a former member of Buggles and prog-rock band Yes, was so impressed and intrigued he immediately made moves to sign the band to his ZTT label, from where history was made

Later in 1984, the BBC famously banned Relax, giving the band endless publicity and so much notoriety that the track catapulted to Number One in the UK charts. It held the top spot for five consecutive weeks.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood went on to push boundaries, smash sales records, break taboos and stir up unprecedented levels of excitement and drama. Not a week goes by even now without hearing a Frankie song on the radio, reading about them in the press or seeing them on the TV. Like The Beatles or The Sex Pistols before, they are an important part of the cultural fabric of our society.

A quarter of a century on the band are being honoured by winning the Classic Track at the 2009 Q Awards with Russian Standard Vodka.

Paul Rees (Editor in Chief Q Magazine) says of the accolade; "Determining what constitutes a classic song is a tricky beast, but staying power and instant recognition aren't bad yardsticks. Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax more than ticks both boxes – more than a quarter of a century it is undimmed and unforgettable. That it also defined its era is equally inarguable. As such, Q is delighted to give it the recognition it deserves."

This year's ceremony again promises to be a thoroughly star-strewn affair.

Below is the full listing of this year's nominees as voted for by Q's legions of print and online fans.

BEST NEW ACT (Presented by Red Stripe)
White Lies
Friendly Fires
Empire Of The Sun
Passion Pit
The Dead Weather

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST (Presented by My-Wardrobe.com)
Florence & The Machine
Lady GaGa
La Roux
Mr Hudson
Pixie Lott

BEST TRACK
Kasabian – Fire
Muse – Uprising
Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning
Dizzee Rascal – Bonkers
Noisettes – Never Forget You
Lily Allen – The Fear

BEST VIDEO (Presented by Nixon Watches)
The Dead Weather – Treat Me Like Your Mother
Dizzee Rascal – Holiday
Florence & The Machine – Drumming Song
Mika ­– We Are Golden
Lady GaGa – Just Dance

BEST LIVE ACT (Presented by Marshall Amplification)
The Prodigy
U2
Oasis
Kasabian
Arctic Monkeys
Blur
Take That

BEST ALBUM (Presented by Citroën)
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
U2 – No Line On The Horizon
Florence & The Machine – Lungs
The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die
Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

BEST ACT IN THE WORLD TODAY (Presented by Russian Standard Vodka)
Kings Of Leon
Arctic Monkeys
Oasis
Coldplay
Muse