"Rage Hard" is the fifth single by
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...
. It was released on 25 August 1986.
Background
Having topped the charts around the world with ''Welcome to the Pleasuredome'' and its accompanying singles, Frankie Goes to Hollywood took off to
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
to record the follow-up album, ''
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
''. Taking on a rockier edge, "Rage Hard" was the first single culled from the disc.
Of note, "Rage Hard" was a testament to the changing musical landscape in Britain at the time. It was not only the first Frankie single to be featured on CD single, it was also the first single to not feature a cassette release - new rules limited the number of items that could count towards the official charts, following the earlier ZTT excesses.
"Rage Hard" eventually hit Number 4 in the UK singles charts and Number 1 in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(for two weeks), #5 in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, #7 in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, #12 in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, #19 in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and #32 in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
B-sides
The B-sides to "Rage Hard" were, for the most part, straight forward cover songs. Firstly there was a cover of
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's 1972 glam-rock classic "
Suffragette City
"Suffragette City" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released in April 1972 as the B-side of the single "Starman" and subsequently appeared on his fifth studio album ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and ...
", slightly renamed to "SuffRAGEtte City" to fit in with the "Rage Hard" promotion. The second cover song was "
Roadhouse Blues
"Roadhouse Blues" is a song by the American rock band the Doors from their 1970 album '' Morrison Hotel''. It was released as the B-side of "You Make Me Real", which peaked at No. 50 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Roadhouse Blues" charted ...
" by
The Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
which featured on the 2nd 12". A shorter version features on the CD single.
The original B-side is an odd composition entitled "(Don't Lose What's Left) Of Your Little Mind". It was released in two versions, a 4-minute mix and a 6-minute mix and featured
Holly Johnson
William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was ...
& Brian (Nasher) Nash imitating
Count von Count
Count von Count (known simply as the Count) is a Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is meant to parody Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula. He first appeared on the show in the Season 4 premiere ...
("Ha ha ha/I am the Count") from the children's TV show ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
''. This was complemented by sampled burps and belches over a backing track.
Track listing
7": ZTT / ZTAS 22 United Kingdom
"rage rage"
# "Rage Hard" (7" mix) - 5:05
# "(Don't Lose What's Left) Of Your Little Mind" - 4:03
* The standard release features all five coloured fists on the cover
* 20,000 copies in a pop-up gatefold sleeve (with the Rage Hard fists being the pop-up) (sleeve featured the Orange fist) (ZTD22)
7": ZTT / ZTAX 22 United Kingdom
# "Rage Hard" (stamped) - 4:55
# "(Don't Lose What's Left) Of Your Little Mind" - 4:03
* Stamped is an edit of the "Broad Mix" from the 2nd 12" (sleeve featured the Blue fist)
* Was released to celebrate the song entering #6 on the UK charts on 6 September 1986.
(All discographical information pertains to UK releases only)
12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 22 United Kingdom
"Slam Bam"
# "Rage Hard" (The Young Person's Guide To The 12" Mix) - 12:08
# "
he B-side
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
+ "SuffRAGEtte City"
(David Bowie) - 3:31
# "(Don't Lose What's Left) Of Your Little Mind" - 6:15
# "
always note the sequencer...' - 0:22
* An edit (10:05) of this mix is also known as "Young Person's Guide Into The 12-inch"
* This 12" was also released with a 12" x 24" poster (12 ZTAQ 22), 20,000 copies.
* Also released on German CD (Island / 658 434)
12": ZTT / 12 ZTAX 22 United Kingdom
# "Rage Hard" (Broad Mix) - 8:36
# "Roadhouse Blues" - 4:03
# "(Don't Lose What's Left) Of Your Little Mind" - 6:15
# "
always note the sequencer...' - 0:22
* (sleeve featured the Yellow fist)
* Note: 12ZTAX22 also came in a limited edition cardboard box which was designed to contain the complete set of Rage Hard UK releases. The front of the box lists the relevant catalogue numbers of the intended contents, minus the Stamped mix 7" single which is not listed. The box, called "The Total" had a sticker which made it clear that only 12 ZTAX 22 was included. It is still not established whether any box sets with their intended contents were ever officially released or indeed sold by record stores, but it's highly likely that some stores sold a complete set on request, if not officially.
* "Broad Mix" also known as "Rage Hard ⊕⊕"
* Track 2 is labelled as "Broadhouse Blues" on the sleeve.
* Track 3 is labelled as "(Don't Loose What's Left) Of Your Little Mind" on the front sleeve
CD: ZTT / CD ZCID 22 United Kingdom
# "Rage Hard (⊕⊕⊕✪)" - 17:12
# "SuffRAGEtte City" - 3:31
# "
Don't lose what's left.." + "Roadhouse Blues" (compacted) - 3:54
*(sleeve featured the Purple fist)
*(⊕⊕⊕✪ is a combined edit of Stamped, The Young Person's Guide to the 12" and Broad.)
Tracks 1 and 3.1 was rereleased in 2012 on CD
Sexmix Disk 1, Tracks 14 and 15.
12": Island / DMD 987 United States
# "Rage Hard" (Freddie Bastone Vocal Remix) - 7:00
# "Rage Hard" (Freddie Bastone Remix Edit) - 4:03
# "Rage Hard" (Freddie Bastone Remix Dub) - 5:30
* US Promo 12"
Digital download: ZTT
# "Rage Hard" (7" mix) - 5:09
# "Rage Hard" (Stamped) - 5:00
# "Rage Hard" (7" mix, instrumental)
abelled as "Voiceless"/small> - 5:07
# "Rage Hard" (The Young Person's Guide To The 12" Mix) abelled as "⊕"/small> - 12:07
# "Rage Hard" (Broad Mix) abelled as "⊕⊕"/small> - 8:42
# "Suffragette City" - 3:35
# "(Don't Lose What's Left) Of Your Little Mind" - 6:15
# "Roadhouse Blues" - 4:07
# " always note the sequencer...' abelled as "Rage Hard (⊕⊕ Coda)"/small> - 0:24
*Later versions replace "Voiceless" with the "Monetrux Mix" (5:34).
* Track 1 is actually the album version with the spoken intro.
1993 Version
In 1993, a version of the song appeared on the b side of The Power Of Love reissue (FGTH 3) entitled "Original DJ mix". This version is the original 7" mix from 1986, but with the first chorus removed. Instead, the first verse and second verse are jointed together. This release can also be found on a large centre hole 7" disc with the label details stamped into the naked vinyl, as opposed to a paper or printed label.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Authority control
Frankie Goes to Hollywood songs
1986 singles
Number-one singles in Germany
1986 songs
Song recordings produced by Stephen Lipson