DUMPING GLOOMY GOTH ROCK IN FAVOUR OF MAKING “A BIG GLITTERY DISCO RECORD”, DEAD OR ALIVE’S SHORT UNION WITH STOCK AITKEN WATERMAN TOOK THE OLD ADAGE OF ‘THE DIFFICULT SECOND ALBUM’ TO NEW HEIGHTS - OR PERHAPS THAT SHOULD BE DEPTHS…

DEAD OR ALIVE

MARK LINDORES

Christmas 1984. With the all-conquering triumvirate of Band Aid, Wham! and Frankie Goes To Hollywood holding court at the top of the charts, little attention was paid to anything else, let alone those languishing in the lower reaches of the Top 100. Yet for both Dead Or Alive and Stock Aitken Waterman, the fact that the song was made at all was a personal triumph given the conditions, compromises and conflicts they had faced to bring You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) to fruition.

With a decade of infamy and notoriety around Liverpool under his studded belt due to his unique appearance and acerbic wit, Pete Burns acted like a star long before he had any right to. A hairdresser and a shop assistant, his major claim to fame at that time was his outlandish dress sense. He was an intimidating presence behind the counter at record store Probe, berating customers’ musical tastes, refusing to sell them certain records or purposely putting a different record into the sleeve of a record he didn’t like. All this, and more, made him a formidable local celebrity.

Those that feared him by day revered him by night, for he was a pivotal figure at Eric’s, Liverpool’s celebrated live music mecca. A frontman without a band, the accidental pop star found himself being featured in music papers and offered radio sessions despite the fact that he had never publicly sung a note. One night he was told he wouldn’t be allowed back in Eric’s until he was in a group, as the opportunities landing at his feet were too good to pass up - and Pete duly began to work with a string of local musicians.

After collaborating with countless short-lived bands, including The Mystery Girls (with Julian Cope and Pete Wylie), Nightmares In Wax and Those Who Died Young, Burns eventually found himself offered a record deal and a John Peel session, forcing him to solidify a line-up with Tim Lever, Mike Percy, and Steve Coy (The Mission’s Wayne Hussey left after the electronic aspect saw his guitarist role in the band rendered redundant). This would be Dead Or Alive’s definitive line-up. A string of post-punk/ goth indie singles raised their profile, and their first album, Sophisticated Boom Boom, was a minor hit, reaching No.29 in the UK and spawning a camp cover of KC & the Sunshine Band’s That’s The Way (I Like It).

Dead Or Alive pictured circa Youthquake: Steve Coy, Tim Lever, Pete Burns and Mike Percy

THE PLAYERS

PETE BURNS

The face of Dead Or Alive, Pete founded the band initially as a vehicle for his burgeoning image-based celebrity. After releasing seven albums with Dead Or Alive, Pete’s life came full circle and in his later years he was once again known for the way he looked due to his extensive cosmetic surgeries and appearances on countless reality TV shows before his death in 2016.

STEVE COY

Aside from Pete, drummer Steve Coy was Dead Or Alive’s longest serving member, working with Pete throughout all of DOA’s various incarnations - plus a brief spell as International Chrysis to record a cover of David Bowie’s Rebel Rebel in 1994. Following Pete’s death, Steve promoted the career-spanning Dead Or Alive Sophisticated Boom Box set. Steve died in May 2018, aged 56.

MIKE PERCY

Bassist and songwriter Mike Percy joined the band in the early 80s, shortly before the band signed their deal with Epic and released Sophisticated Boom Boom. Mike played in Dead Or Alive throughout the band’s peak years (the entire SAW period) before he and Tim Lever left in 1990 to form their own writing and production company, One World Productions.

TIM LEVER

Keyboardist and songwriter Tim was an integral member throughout DOA’s most successful period before leaving with Mike in 1990. Today the pair own and operate out of Steelworks Studios in Sheffield and have enjoyed success writing and producing hits for Robbie Williams, S Club 7, Blue, Liberty X and Dannii Minogue, among others.