Childhood: Johnson was called Billy as a boy. He was the third of four children. His father was Eric Johnson, whose father in turn, Patrick Johnson, was Irish. Holly Johnson's mother was Pat Johnson (née Mcglouchlin). Her father, Patrick Mcglouchlin, was three quarters Indian. The family lived in an end-of-terrace house in Rathbone Road, Liverpool 13.

Education: Johnson started his education in Liverpool at St Mary's Church of England primary school where he learnt to play the recorder. When eleven he went to the Liverpool Collegiate Grammar School for Boys. In his second year he got to know a fellow pupil who was somewhat fey and had the same interest in Marc Bolan. They went round together and suffered abuse from the other boys who called them Honey Heath and Jolly Johnson. They went on to develop an obsession with David Bowie who at the time projected himself as openly bisexual.

Work: In 1977 Holly Johnson became a vocalist with the group Big In Japan. Johnson claims to have chosen his nickname, "Holly", spontaneously when asked on a dancefloor for his name and he grasped "Holly" from Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side which was playing at the time. Johnson was a solo artist from 1978 to 1981 but in 1982 he became the lead singer with the group Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood was formed in Liverpool in the summer of 1980. Apart from Johnson the members were Paul Rutherford (born 8th. December 1959), Nasher Nash, Mark O'Toole, and Peter Gill. The name of the group was chosen at the last minute before they were scheduled to play at a gig. The magazine Variety was stuck on the wall and had the headline "Frankie Goes Hollywood" and reported Frank Sinatra's move from Las Vegas. The fact that it contained "Holly" made it attractive. The group's name came to be featured on many tee-shirts in the form of slogans of the type Frankie says . . .. The unashamed homosexuality of Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford only added to the group's curiosity value. It provoked Boy George, before he had started to be open about his own sexuality, to write a letter to the Record Mirror complaining about their upfront approach.
Their biggest hit was Relax which was number one in the British pop charts in 1984. It caused a stir with its erotic content. It was particularly helped by BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read who aborted it in mid play for reasons of 'good taste'. In fact their first three singles all got to number one, and Two Tribes was there for nine weeks. He went solo in 1989 and had a number one album, but fell out with his new record company, MCA. He did not release another album until 1999.

Discography: Relax, December, 1983, (Re-released October, 1993), with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Two Tribes, June, 1984, (Re-released February, 1994), with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The Power of Love, December, 1984, (Re-released December, 1993), with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Welcome to the Pleasuredome, March, 1985, (Re-released November, 1993), with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Rage Hard, September, 1986, with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Warriors, November, 1986, with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Watching the Wildlife, March, 1987, with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Albums: Welcome To The Pleasuredome, November, 1984, with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Blast!, 1989, solo. Dreams That Money Can't Buy, solo. Disco Heaven, September, 1999, solo. Soulstream, 1999, solo.

Friends & Relationships: In the early eighties Holly Johnson met Wolfgang Kuhle who became his personal manager and lover. Wolfgang became a successful art dealer, and a collector of paintings by Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell. In 1987 Holly Johnson fell out with the rest of his group. He also had an argument with his record company and won a case in court against them on restraint of trade.
In 1991 he was diagnosed with HIV, and then in an interview for The Times in April 1993 he revealed that he had AIDS. Not expecting to be alive for much longer he wrote a confessional autobiography, A Bone In My Flute, (1994), and held an exhibition of his paintings in the West End of London.
With his single Disco Heaven in 1999 he made his directorial debut with the video which features celebrities such as Boy George and Jasper Conran imitating gay icons like Divine and Leigh Bowery.

Greatest Achievement: Relax

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