DEAD OR ALIVE – "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)"

This is a milestone number one as the first to be produced (though not written) by the terrible trio who were to debase the chart for the rest of the decade.

Query for Billy Smart : Am I correct in thinking that Pete Waterman’s own embarrassing TOTP appearance (as 1418 doing Goodbye-ee) where he pranced around in a soldier’s uniform has been lost ? I’ve never seen it on TOTP2 or Angus Deayton’s programme.

As for Dead Or Alive they are an 80s equivalent of Mud, a third division act who couldn’t get a look in until the competition weakened. They were getting nowhere with their stodgy goth pop when Wayne Hussey was in the line up. Once he left they decided to become a dance act and their 1984 LP “Sophisticated Boom Boom” is a masterclass in plaigiarism.

Having said that Pete Burns did make a first rate pop star and it’s a shame that like Bob Geldof and more recently Louise Wiener he didn’t have the songs to keep himself in the spotlight.

Does anyone know if this is still the record which took longest to reach the top in a single chart run ? I’m guessing as we move into an era where instant number ones become the norm it probably is.

Btw while this was number one the best record of the year (IMHO) peaked at number 12. In Jimmy Savile style two points to the first person who can guess what that was !

If 1985 was New Pop’s 1974, then Pete Burns was New Pop’s Alvin Stardust, and not simply because of the Pete Waterman connection – both veterans of a previous era, both hitching a belated ride on the rapidly defuelling gravy train. Older and considerably more resilient than Boy George – it’s that Northern thing again – Burns belatedly reintroduced a notion of dagger-thrusting glamour which George had by this time largely abandoned in favour of cups of tea, whining about “I hate all that Labour crap” and heroin.

The production team of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman had first come to full notice some 12 months previously with a “Relax” ripoff entitled “The Upstroke” sung by some female session singers grouped under the name of Angels Aren’t Aeroplanes. A big club hit, it led to further mainstream hi-NRG crossovers more indebted to “Blue Monday,” such as Hazell Dean’s “Wherever I Go (Whatever I Do)” (with an astonishing, apocalyptic 12-inch mix), Divine’s “You Think You’re A Man” and, eventually, “You Spin Me Round.” Though classified as the first major product of the Hit Factory, Burns and the group wrote the song and SAW produced it pretty much in accordance with Burns’ unsurprisingly firm instructions. Charting in November 1984, it proved to be yet another sleeper, hitting especially big in Scotland and the North West, but bided its time over Christmas before nudging its way into the Top 40 and thereafter hurtling to the top. Rather like “Relax” a year earlier but without the ban or the outrage.

Nevertheless “You Spin Me Round” is an important transitional record, the most direct link between the fading embers of New Pop and the imminent age of SAW (and to a degree New Order) dominance. Its beats are trebly but resonant, harshly staccato and slightly crude but finally rather compelling. Over the top Burns flashes his “I”s and swims deliriously in the pre-E ecstasy palindromic roundelay of the chorus, riding a Moebius rollercoaster, with some ingenious touches of near-punctum, e.g. the bass-led descending harmonic figure linking the first chorus to the second verse possibly inspired by UB40’s “Food For Thought.”

It falls just short of being a great pop record largely because Burns’ undeniably fulsome operatic tenor sometimes falls through the Tom Jones trapdoor of knicker-happy pomp (for instance, on the line “I’ve got to have my way now, ba-BEEEEEE”) and at other times he grits his teeth too hastily (the sneer on “You look like you’re lots of fun”). But “You Spin Me Round” was undoubtedly the liveliest number one since “I Feel For You” and in the light of the dour drear which will characterise much of the rest of 1985’s upper reaches, its blue glow is as near to the carrying of a New Pop torch that we’re likely to discover in the imminent future.

# 5 Well done Ian, you’ve bagged your points. That low peak was my first real intimation that my tastes were becoming detatched from the mainstream a process that moved on inexorably for the rest of the century. (The noughties have seen a modest reversal).

# 6 I seem to remember it was specifically “Whatever I Do” (a record I prefer) that led Pete Burns to engage SAW. I think that notorious revisionist Pete Waterman would challenge your account of this collaboration. He has made grandiose claims of adding bits of Wagner to this record.

Revisiting this was more of a revelation than I expected, because I’d never connected it to SAW before (nor Divine’s “You Think You’re a Man”), although it’s glaringly obvious now. In early 1985 I didn’t really think of SAW as SAW, I guess; they were just anonymous names in the background. But the first song I thought of as a SAW production (Bananarama’s “Venus” in 1986, an Australian number one) sounds basically like this with different vocals – which was SAW all over, wasn’t it?

The different vocals here were key, though, as Pete Burns was a more forceful and intriguing performer than the later SAW roster. They howl out of the hi-NRG backing and grab our attention, pushing the beats down to where they don’t seem as mechanical and obvious. And of course there was the video (here’s the full version without the last ten seconds chopped off); Burns is about the only interesting thing in it, but it hardly needs anything else.

Number three in Australia, and a six from me, which for a SAW track is pretty good going. But who knows, I may yet surprise myself. We shall see, SAW.

I’ve heard this probably hundreds of times, and yet I’m lost in the foregoing discussion of specific moments in the song; all that I can conjure up in memory is the chorus. I never particularly liked this song — like Frankie, they sounded bullying to me — and this year put the capper on it when Flo– ARGH BUNNY.

SAW has never meant anything much to me (unlike many other production teams), so I’m interested to follow their career through this context, especially given the variety of views on hand.

#15 I’d rather listen to this than any of those (often fine) records, except obviously in a “Careless Whisper” mood I admit Pete Burns wouldn’t quite do.

Re. SAW: They made other great records. Only time will tell if we get to discuss any of them. They also made some very poor ones, and it’s not too much of a spoiler to say we might meet some of THOSE.

the video should also be noted for Pete Burns’ use of the eyepatch – joining the ranks of Bowie (around Diamond Dogs), Gabrielle and Momus

I had always assumed this had been their first hit, despite the Guiness book being a firm fixture in the house (oh those pre-Interweb days when a pitchfork was something we used to THWART suspect opinions…).

So I was surprised that the KC&TSB cover which I quite enjoy tho had charted almost a year before this. Also news to me was its slow, erratic chart climb. This bubbled under the top 40 for over a couple of months before finally being propelled to the top.

Definitely liked it at the time, probably thought Burns was a lady at first. My favourite association is much more recent tho – Erol Alkan mixing this with ‘House Of Jealous Lovers’ at the Rizla Cafe, Glastonbury 02 – bringing the house down in style.

Its got a vitality lacking from any other SAW #1 with one possible (let’s say “fortunate”) exception and is surely one of their 3 greatest productions, derivative as it may be. Take the vocals off and you still have a barnstormer of a hi-nrg/Italo cosmic disco backtrack.

Shame about the countless inferior remixes (see also Blue Monday i guess…altho maybe a Hardfloor 303-meltdown version of YSMR(LAR) could’ve worked a treat).

Have to admit if I’m in a club and this comes on I find it iresistible despite any reservations about the two Petes.
Pete B is a uniquely talentless individual who seems ever more reluctant to admit how lucky he was – I mean come on even Chesney Hawkes seems to have a neat sense of irony about his position in the fickle world of the top 40.
As for Pete W midas touch and thrust of free enterprise made an awkward combination. By the time his records were dominating the charts 3 or 4 years later he was unseemingly gloating about his ability to make it onto Top of the Pops with any reptitious crap he’d slung together in 20 minutes.
Some things just work however and You Spin me …. works and then some. A spellbinding and lively track that if anything sounds even better now. Far greater than the sum of it’s soon to be self-parodying parts.

#25 You’ve got me thinking there Steve. Any clues ?

I’m a confirmed hi-nrg fan, so this is pretty perfect for me. Like Relax, it replaces hi-nrg’s usual more soulful post-disco style with something harder-edged and “nastier”. Neither Holly Johnson nor Pete Burns (nor Divine, for that matter) were you typical hi-nrg belters and their voices required some brutal, machine clatter to surround them, and in this case it’s those pulsing synth-lines and electronic hand-claps. Later SAW productions would lose much of this edge and to me that seemed to coincide with the shift in their main-market, from the club to commercial radio. Even when their dancefloor aim wasn’t as spot on as it was here (on a bunny baiting attempt at early house or their take on rare-groove, Roadblock) there was something there that was sorely missing later on.

Plus, they just didn’t seem to try as hard later on. Surely no later period SAW production would contain anything like the “palindromic roundelay of the chorus”? Pete would have binned it off and replaced it with something more immediate that wouldn’t sound too odd on Capital FM.

#28 I seem to have provided a clue in my previous post without even realising ha

absolutely a nine. i’d never really thought about it being SAW doing frankie before, but that’s clearly what it is. there’s more than a touch of soft cell too, and it’s this slightly menacing seediness, along with the the way the SAW machine here seems set to ‘out of control’, that gives ysmr an edge over a lot of their other stuff. i will put in an early vote for ‘love in the third degree’ as being the second best of the non-embargoed ones though.

we’ll have and wait to see whether this is the greatest celebrity big brother-related no.1 (competition is reasonably stiff) but on the evidence of cbb it seems very likely indeed that pete burns is vilest individual ever to have hit the top spot. the look of almost sexual pleasure on his face as george galloway started taunting barrymore about his alcoholism will stay with me to my grave.

to bring up the ‘slowest climb to #1’ thing again, i’m sure i mentioned this before but Nickelback’s ‘Rock Star’ so nearly set what would probably have been a new record for this – 17 weeks before stalling at #2 (mercifully). That any song could do this as recently as two years ago is interesting tho.

addendum: in fact yes i mentioned both this and the aforementioned 16th week chart-topper in the comments for Aneka’s ‘Japanese Boy’, so adding insult to injury in repetetive chart geek tedium terms there or wot…

I’ve found one that took 15 weeks to hit the top according to Polyhex…

i am an enthusiastic SAW supporter, especially when i’ve had a few ales, and i feel this is the pinnacle of their achievement. they used to fill their records with effects that would make lights at discotheques go mental. i’m all for it. pete burns was, for me, the second most perfect* 1985 popstar: an over-made up gobshite. 9, all the way.

* most perfect, morrissey

#34 While I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with your verdict on Pete Burns’s character I’d be very wary of buying into Endemol’s self-serving crap about “social experiments” and “revealing true selves”.

CBB shows you how an already troubled (usually through diminished status) celebrity copes (or fails to) with extreme psychological pressure (if not outright torture) in an unforgiving artificial environment. It might tell you something about their strength of character but not their real personalities.

I expect to be making the same point on four occasions when we get to 1999-2001.

The Morrissey/Burns article is a camp classic, but what an odd pairing – Mancunian/Liverpudlian
Indie Prince/Pop Tart
Militant Vegetarian/Outspoken wearer of fur
The most reserved man in music/The least reserved man
in Britain.
Still they seemed to find common ground over some tea and biscuits.
By the way Conrad (43) from what I hear neither men are especially reliable at returning calls in general.

One other thing that strikes me about You Spin Me….. Burns’ voice is not so different from Andrew Eldritch or Ian Astbury. Like those two his vocals offer command over flexibility so perhaps this is what the goth stars of 1985 might have sounded like if they had a few extra dance moves.

Light Entertainment Watch: Not many UK TV appearances on the list, but I suspect that there may be more than these;

THE MONTREUX ROCK FESTIVAL: with Boy George, Talk Talk, Philip Bailey, Culture Club, Dead Or Alive, Elton John, Millie Jackson, Howard Jones, Kenn Loggins, Shakatak (1985)

THE MONTREUX ROCK FESTIVAL: with Philip Bailey, Culture Club, Dead Or Alive, Elton John & Millie Jackson, Howard Jones, Kenny Loggins, Shakatak, Talk Talk, Paul Young (1985)

WHISTLE TEST: with Cabaret Voltaire, Godley & Creme, Dead Or Alive, The Alarm (1985)

WOGAN: with Pamela Bellwood, Dead Or Alive, Aled Jones, Ken Livingstone, John & Chris Lloyd (1985)

WOGAN: with Tim Brooke-Taylor, Dead Or Alive, Sheila Gish (1986)

‘The Model/Computer Love’ is also on 15 weeks (within the top 75) before #1 but not consecutively, according to polyhex chartruns search. No idea how long it spent bubbling under 75 tho.