Johnson and Rutherford are openly gay, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood made gay rights and sexuality a theme of their music and performances. They were connected to a rise in gay culture in the 1980s British mainstream, alongside bands such as Bronski Beat. In 2014, Morley reflected that Frankie Goes to Hollywood had combined the "exploratory gay energy" of Johnson and Rutherford with the "heterosexual scouse energy" of the other band members.
