The late Pete Burns radically changed his appearance several times during his 57 years.
The late Pete Burns radically changed his appearance several times during his 57 years.

Pete Burns, androgynous vocalist for the popular UK dance-pop group Dead or Alive, died yesterday, at age 57, of cardiac arrest. Burns, who has been cited as an influence on Boy George, had a huge hit in 1985 with his band Dead or Alive—the uproarious disco cut "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", a song I heard dozens of times while clubbing in Detroit around the time of the song's release. Love it or hate it, the track's an incredible ear worm. Just writing about it will lodge it in my brain for hours.

But if your only encounter with Burns's oeuvre are Dead or Alive's radio/club staples, you may be surprised to learn that he belts convincingly on the surprisingly heavy title track of 1984's Sophisticated Boom Boom, and evokes Morrissey on that same album's "Far Too Hard." (Boom Boom also has a perhaps too-on-the-nose cover of KC & the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It).")


In addition to the seven albums he recorded with Dead or Alive, Burns had a sporadic solo career, published the autobiography Freak Unique, and appeared on various reality TV shows in England. (His Celebrity Big Brother co-star George Galloway described Burns as "a cross between Oscar Wilde and Dorothy Parker.")

RIP, Pete Burns.