Pete Burns RIP

[davidatpreston]

Just seen on the news that one of Merseyside's great eccentric characters, 80s pop star Pete Burns has sadly passed away, aged just 57.

 

As well as being lead singer on Dead or Alive's 1984 classic number 1 hit 'You Spin Me Round', Pete Burns will be remembered for his part in Celebrity Big Brother and several other tv shows.

 

RIP, a great entertainer.

[Memphis]

a great entertainer.

 

Really?

 

Name another Dead or Alive song.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Not my cup of tea but 'You Spin me Round' is for me one of the great iconic 80's songs...probably owed more to Wayne Hussey in terms of writing and SAW's production which was so typical of the time. Burns was also at the time one of the great 80s iconic figures...it all just came together so well in that one record.

 

Sad to see him die so young

[davidatpreston]

D o A had no less than 5 UK hits and albums that were successful too, as well as majoir international success including the US and Canada.

The entertainment referred to was not just chart success, Pete Burns was very watchable in Celebrity Big Brother. Sad that he was obsessed with his appearance and had over 300 operations which no doubt contributed to his early passing.

 

I rememeber the hits 'Brand New Lover' and 'Something In mY House' very well.

The group's label released a box set of over 12 CD's of material earlier this year, a lot of it not really my sort of stuff, but there is no denying they were successful.

 

They were also considered well known enough for Pete Burns death to be the headline front page story in at least one tabloid yesterday.

 

Hits (wikipedis) -

 

Dead Or Alive's debut album, Sophisticated Boom Boom, was released in May 1984 and featured their first Top 40 UK single, "That's the Way (I Like It)", a remake of the 1975 hit by KC and the Sunshine Band. Hussey departed Dead or Alive just before the album's release, despite having had a hand in writing much of the material that appears on it. The single peaked at No. 22 in the UK and the album at No. 29.[8]

1980s chart success[edit]

 

Now a four-piece following the departure of Hussey, in May 1985 the band released its second album Youthquake (US No. 31, UK No. 9), produced by the then-fledgling songwriting/production team of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW). The single "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"[9] went to number one on the UK singles chart[10] after having lingered outside the Top 40 for over two months (the song was SAW's first chart-topping single). The song also hit No. 11 in the US and No. 1 in Canada.[11] Other album tracks released as singles included "Lover Come Back To Me", "In Too Deep", and "My Heart Goes Bang". They all reached the UK Top 30.In late 1986, Dead or Alive released their third album, Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know (US No. 52, UK No. 27), also produced by SAW. The lead single "Brand New Lover" became a modest UK hit, peaking at No. 31, but was more successful in the US where it reached No. 15 on the US Hot 100, and number one on the US Billboard dance chart.[11] Three more singles from the album were released, although none saw any notable US success on the pop charts. All of these singles caused some sort of controversy in the UK. The most successful in the UK was "Something in My House" (UK No. 12),

[SourceOfTheTrent]

Never realised he was so popular, I was up the hospital today and noticed they've already named a unit after him.

 

Personally I found him about as entertaining as Barbara Windsor, who may well have been the person he was trying to look like, but it's very sad to hear of someone passing away at such a young age. He obviously had deep mental health issues disfiguring himself the way he did but you have to question why there are little or no controls over an 'industry' that does that to people. Yes, it may be their free choice but to go to those extremes (a la Michael Jackson) suggests they are not in a fit state to be making such 'free choices' and could do with some help and protection.

[Valiant62]

He used to work in a record shop in Liverpool when I was there. He was (literally) the son of Captain Birdseye from the adverts. At that time he used to "wear" coloured contact lenses that made his eyes look scarily freaky. I think he was well in with a band called the crucial three whoch spawned Teardrop Explodes, Echo and the Bunnymen and Wah. He had an absolutely drop dead gorgeous girlfriend who was on the same uni course as a few friends of mine.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Any info on where in the world he had most/all of his surgery done? I can find a reference to Italy but it doesn't seem certain

 

Regulation of such surgery varies enormously around the world..people do need protecting from themselves at times

[toyahw]

Pete was a good bloke. Not surprised he ultimately found fame as reality TV star. Like a previous poster I knew him back from his Scouseland/Eric's days. Could I post this which I like from back in the old days? B-side of "I'm falling" RIP Pete

[davidatpreston]

Pete was a good bloke. Not surprised he ultimately found fame as reality TV star. Like a previous poster I knew him back from his Scouseland/Eric's days. Could I post this which I like from back in the old days? B-side of "I'm falling" RIP Pete

 

A brilliant link, thanks.

 

You might like this, if you haven't already seen it - Pete, seen sporting Vale's away kit for 2018/19, with a later group of his called Glam and a track that never got played much (lyrics a bit tricky?) called Sex Drive from an Italian TV show - equally as good as 'You spin me round' I reckon.