TOP Eighties pop band Frankie Goes To Hollywood are coming to York.

The Liverpool group, who had three consecutive Number One hits, will perform at the city's very own pleasuredome - The Grand Opera House - as part of their comeback tour, although they will be without charismatic frontman Holly Johnson.

Frankie dominated British music in the mid-1980s with their energetic style of dance-pop. Major hits included Two Tribes, Relax, The Power of Love and Welcome To The Pleasuredome.

But what really distinguished the group was not so much their music, but clever marketing campaigns. They used a series of slogans, clothing, and homoerotic videos, to great effect, causing enormous controversy across the UK and America.

Frankie's first single, Relax, was banned by Radio One for being too raunchy, but it still stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks.

And no music fan's wardrobe was complete without a Frankie Says Relax T-shirt.

The Frankie line up consists of original members Mark O'Toole, Ped Gill, Jed O'Toole and Paul Rutherford, with Ryan Molloy as the new lead singer.

Original frontman Holly Johnson was diagnosed with AIDS in the early 1990s and subsequently retired from music.

Frankie fan Gary Sullivan, from Dringhouses, York, said: "It would be great to see them again. They were one of the top bands of the 1980s - a brilliant era for music."

A spokesman for the Grand Opera House said: "The 80s return to York in the form of Frankie Goes To Hollywood - best known for the fantastic, but controversial Relax.

"We're incredibly proud to be playing host to one of the most influential acts from the eighties and nineties, and are very much looking forward to working with the band. Although the date hasn't been confirmed, it is looking likely for October 1, and tickets are expected to sell out fast once the event has gone on sale."

Updated: 12:07 Wednesday, July 13, 2005