1. Frankie Goes To HollywoodWelcome To The Pleasure Dome
I have an older brother and an older sister, so like many people, my taste was kind of shaped by what they like, but I guess Frankie Goes To Hollywood was the first real music of my own. I think it really had to do with the super-villainous personality of Holly Johnson, even more than the music; this guy seemed like he was getting revenge by being a pop star. And to some extent, it inspired me that there was so much mischievous energy in what he was doing, and he took negativity and turned it into something positive.
Later on, when I got into rap music, I thought Holly Johnson was an anti-precursor to rappers, in what he was bringing to the table – the maniacal laughing [laughs, maniacally], “ha ha ha, the world is my oyster, ha ha ha!” He really was literally like a super-villain, just laughing at them and having pulled one over on everybody, so I think that’s what I connected to right off the bat.
