Dead or Alive (band)
| Dead or Alive | |
|---|---|
 Pete Burns, front man for Dead or Alive (2008) |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) |
Dark Wave / Gothic Rock (1980–1982) New Wave (1983–1984) Hi-NRG , Dance , Pop (1984–1990) Hi-NRG , Eurodisco (from 1991) |
| founding | 1978 (as Nightmares in Wax, from 1980: Dead or Alive) |
| resolution | 2011 |
| Website | deadoralive.net |
| Founding members | |
| Pete Burns † (1978-2011) | |
| Martin Healey (until 1983) | |
| Walter Ogden (until 1980) | |
| Phil Hurst (until 1980) | |
| Last occupation | |
singing |
Pete Burns † |
Drums |
Steve Coy (1982-2011) † 2018 |
| former members | |
guitar |
Mike Reid (1979–1980) Adrian Mitchely (1980–1981) Wayne Hussey (1981–1984) |
bass |
Sue James (1980–1981) Mike Percy (1981–1989) |
Keyboard |
Timothy Lever (1983–1989) Jason Alburey (1995–2003) |
Drums |
Joe Musker (1980-1982) |
Dead or Alive was an English band formed in 1978 by Pete Burns , Martin Healey, Phil Hurst and Walter Ogden under the name Nightmares in Wax in Liverpool . In 1980 the name was changed to Dead or Alive. The band achieved world fame in early 1985 with their single You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) .
Band history
After Pete Burns' separation from the band Mystery Girls towards the end of 1977 he formed the band Nightmares in Wax with a few other musicians. After the group had acquired a reputation in the black scene in London, she signed a record deal with the label Inevitable Music and released the single Birth of a Nation . A short time later the band Pete Burns' request in Dead or Alive was renamed because the name in his opinion, a better brand recognition have.
On their first singles I'm Falling , Number Eleven , It's Been Hours Now and The Stranger , Dead or Alive initially offered a mixture of psychedelic rock , post-punk and gothic rock , before they signed a contract with Epic Records in the summer of 1982 and signed themselves stylistically based on the disco sound of the time. Wayne Hussey , later with The Sisters of Mercy and founder of The Mission , also belonged to the band for a few years .
In spring 1984 the debut album Sophisticated Boom Boom was released . The LP brought a mixture of hi-NRG disco and new wave sound. Around the same time, one of their singles, That's the Way (I Like It) , a cover version of the hit by KC and the Sunshine Band , entered the UK charts for the first time with some success . It was directed by Zeus B. Held ( Birth Control ). At that time, after several line-up changes, the group consisted of Steve Coy (drums), Mike Percy (bass) and Timothy Lever (keyboards) in addition to Burns.
The great success came only after switching to the production team Stock Aitken Waterman . In late 1984, their single You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) entered the UK charts and soon became the top seller. In the USA , it reached number 11 six months later. From the accompanying album Youthquake , the singles Lover Come Back to Me , In Too Deep and My Heart Goes Bang were decoupled by autumn 1985 , which at least in Great Britain could still occupy passable positions in the charts.
With this line-up, two albums and other singles followed by the end of 1989, none of which reached the top 10.
In the 1990s, Burns had several cosmetic surgeries on his face. The last studio releases were the albums Nukleopatra from October 1995 and Fragile from September 2000.
In mid-2003, the group released a best-of album entitled Evolution , which also contained some newly recorded versions of their better-known tracks, including You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) '03 , which was released as a single .
In late 2005, Burns moved to the Celebrity television WG of the Big Brother of the British broadcaster Channel 4 a. As a result, the single You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) was released again in early 2006 on the British market and made it into the top ten again.
In late April 2006, Burns was jailed for a few days in a London prison for parole violation convicted of fighting with a former lover. In May 2006 his autobiography Freak Unique was published .
At the end of 2011, Pete Burns finally declared that the band would never be reformed again.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1984 | Sophisticated boom boom | - | - | - |
UK29 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: April 1984
|
| 1985 | Youthquake |
DE24 (10 weeks) DE |
- |
CH10 (7 weeks) CH |
UK9  (15 weeks)UK |
US31 (20 weeks)US |
First published: May 1985
|
| 1987 | Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know | - | - | - |
UK27 (4 weeks) UK |
US52 (25 weeks) US |
First published: November 1986
|
More albums
- 1988: Nude (released December)
- 1989: Nude - Remade Remodelled (release: July)
- 1990: Fan the Flame (Part 1) (release: December)
- 1995: Nukleopatra (release: October)
- 2000: Fragile (release: September)
- 2001: Unbreakable: The Fragile Remixes
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1988 | Rip It Up | - | - | - | - |
US195 (2 weeks) US |
First published: October 1987
|
More compilations
- 1987: The 12 "tape
- 1993: Star Box
- 1999: You Spin Me Round / Sex Drive (2 CDs)
- 2003: Evolution: The Hits
- 2010: That's the Way I Like It: The Best of Dead or Alive
- 2011: Original Album Classics (box with 3 CDs)
- 2016: Sophisticated Boom Box MMXVI (CD box set with 17 CDs and 2 DVDs)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1983 | Misty Circles | - | - | - |
UK100 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: May 1983
|
| What I want | - | - | - |
UK88 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: August 1983
|
|
| 1984 | I'd do anything | - | - | - |
UK79 (5 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: January 1984
|
|
That's the Way (I Like It) Sophisticated Boom Boom |
- | - | - |
UK22 (10 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: March 1984
|
|
| What I Want '84 | - | - | - |
UK87 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: June 1984
|
|
|
You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) Youthquake |
DE2 (16 weeks) DE |
AT10 (12 weeks) AT |
CH1 (14 weeks) CH |
UK1 (25 weeks)UK |
US11 (18 weeks) US |
First published: November 1984
|
|
| 1985 | Lover Come Back to Me Youthquake |
DE21 (12 weeks) DE |
- |
CH5 (10 weeks) CH |
UK11 (8 weeks) UK |
US75 (7 weeks) US |
First published: April 1985
|
| In Too Deep Youthquake |
DE61 (4 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK14 (9 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: June 1985
|
|
| My Heart Goes Bang (Get Me to the Doctor) Youthquake |
- | - | - |
UK23 (6 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: August 1985
|
|
| 1986 | Brand New Lover Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know |
- | - | - |
UK31 (4 weeks) UK |
US15 (22 weeks) US |
First published: September 1986
|
| 1987 | Something in My House Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know |
- | - | - |
UK12 (7 weeks) UK |
US25 (6 weeks) US |
First published: December 1986
|
| Hooked On Love Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know |
- | - | - |
UK69 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: March 1987
|
|
| I'll Save You All My Kisses | - | - | - |
UK78 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: September 1987
|
|
| 1988 | Turn Around and Count 2 Ten Nude |
- | - | - |
UK70 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: August 1988
|
| 1989 | Come Home with Me Baby Nude |
- | - | - |
UK62 (3 weeks) UK |
US69 (8 weeks) US |
First published: May 1989
|
| 1994 | Rebel rebel | - | - | - |
UK76 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: June 1994
as International Chrysis |
| 2003 | You Spin Me Round 2003 Evolution: The Hits |
DE96 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK23 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: March 2003
|
| Begin to Spin Me Round Neon Nights |
DE37 (5 weeks) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: March 2003
Dannii Minogue vs. Dead or Alive |
|
| 2006 | You Spin Me Round 2006 | - | - | - |
UK5 (11 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: January 2006
|
More singles
- 1980: I'm Falling (release: May)
- 1981: Number Eleven (release: May)
- 1982: It's Been Hours Now (EP; release: February)
- 1982: The Stranger (released May)
- 1984: Mighty Mix
- 1987: The Dead or Alive Radio Special with Pete Burns (12inch vinyl, promo, interview)
- 1987: Rip It Up (Flip Out Mix) (release: November)
- 1988: Son of a Gun
- 1988: I Cannot Carry On
- 1989: Baby Don't Say Goodbye (release: October)
- 1990: Your Sweetness Is Your Weakness (released December)
- 1991: Been Gone 2 Long (release: April)
- 1991: Unhappy Birthday (release: August)
- 1997: Sex Drive (release: April)
- 2000: Hit and Run Lover (release: September)
- 2000: Turn Around and Count to Ten [Dead or Alive 2000Mixes]
Awards for music sales
Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.
| Country / Region |
gold |
 platinum
|
Sales | swell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources) |
||||
|
United States (RIAA)
|
gold1
|
- | 500,000 | riaa.com |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
2 × gold2
|
- | 600,000 | bpi.co.uk |
| All in all |
3 × gold3
|
- | ||
swell
- ↑ deadoralive.net ( Memento from September 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ "Pete Burns Jailed For Flouting Bail," in: Female First . As of May 1, 2006. Pete Burns in custody at femalefirst.co.uk (accessed December 27, 2012)
- ↑ Q&A Live-Session with Pete Burns (pdf) (accessed: December 27, 2012)
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: Singles Albums UK1 UK2 US1 US2
Web links
- Official website ( Memento of September 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- Dead or Alive at Allmusic (English)
- Dead or Alive at Discogs (English)
- Dead or Alive at laut.de