Dead or Alive were an English pop band who released seven studio albums from 1984 to 2000. The band formed in 1980 in Liverpool and found success in the mid-1980s, releasing seven singles that made the UK Top 40 and three albums in the UK Top 30. At the peak of their success, the line-up consisted of Pete Burns (vocals), Steve Coy (drums), Mike Percy (bass), and Tim Lever (keyboards), with the core pair of Burns and Coy writing and producing for the remainder of the band's career due to Percy and Lever exiting the group in 1989. Burns died in 2016; with the death of Coy in 2018, the band ended.
Peter Jozzeppi Burns was an English singer, songwriter and television personality who formed the band Dead or Alive in 1980 during the new wave era and was the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter. He sold over 17 million albums and 36 million singles worldwide and also gave the songwriting and record production trio Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) their first UK No. 1 hit single. His first three albums all reached the UK Top 30, with Youthquake reaching the Top 10. Additionally, the band had seven UK Top 40 singles, two US Top 20 singles and another two singles which went to No. 1 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. In 2016, Billboard magazine ranked Dead or Alive as one of the most successful dance artists of all time.
Youthquake is the second studio album by the English pop band Dead or Alive, released on 3 May 1985 by Epic Records. The album was their commercial breakthrough in Europe and the United States, due to its lead single "You Spin Me Round ", which was a No. 1 hit on the UK singles chart and a Top 20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. Additional single releases from the album included "Lover Come Back to Me", "In Too Deep" and "My Heart Goes Bang ".
Sophisticated Boom Boom is the debut studio album by the English pop band Dead or Alive, released on 20 April 1984 by Epic Records. Featuring mostly synth-pop and dance elements, the album contains the band's first UK top 40 single, a cover version of KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way ". That song, along with "Misty Circles", were hits on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The album was a minor success in the UK where it peaked at No. 29.
"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" is a song by the English pop band Dead or Alive, featured on their second studio album, Youthquake (1985). Released as a single in November 1984, it reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart in March 1985, taking 17 weeks to get there. It was the first UK No. 1 hit by the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio.
"No Excuses" is the lead single from American rock band Alice in Chains' third EP, Jar of Flies (1994). Written by guitarist and co-lead vocalist Jerry Cantrell, the song was well received by music critics and was a charting success, becoming the first Alice in Chains song to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, spending a total of 26 weeks on the chart. It has gone on to become one of the band's most popular songs. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). Alice In Chains performed an acoustic version of "No Excuses" for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1996, which marked the last time they performed the song with Layne Staley, and that version was included on the band's Unplugged live album and home video release.
"Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by American rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1975 album Dressed to Kill. It was released as the A-side of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway". The studio version of the song peaked at No. 68 on the Billboard singles chart, besting the band's previous charting single, "Kissin' Time" (#89). A subsequent live version, released as a single in October 1975, eventually reached No. 12 in early 1976, the first of six Top 20 songs for Kiss in the 1970s. "Rock and Roll All Nite" became Kiss's signature song and has served as the group's closing concert number in almost every concert since 1976. In 2008, it was named the 16th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.
"Hungry Like the Wolf" is a song by English new wave band Duran Duran. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Colin Thurston for the group's second studio album, Rio (1983). The song was released on 4 May 1983 as the band's fifth single in the United Kingdom, and 8 June 1983 in the United States. It reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart, and received a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"The 13th" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as the first single from the band's 10th studio album, Wild Mood Swings (1996), on 22 April 1996. The song reached the top 20 in several territories, including Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Wallonia. It charted the highest in Hungary, where it reached number two, and in Italy, where it peaked at number five.
"Strawberry Letter 23" is a song written and composed by Shuggie Otis from his 1971 album Freedom Flight. It is also widely known by the 1977 cover version recorded by the Brothers Johnson and produced by Quincy Jones.
Evolution: The Hits is a compilation album from the British dance/pop band Dead or Alive, in 2003. This is the band's second hits collection, after 1987's Rip It Up. This collection spans their musical history from their 1984 debut album, Sophisticated Boom Boom, to 2000's Fragile, and contains all their single releases and several remixes. The album was released in two editions: a single disc containing 18 tracks, and a double disc containing 28 tracks. A DVD video compilation was also released.
"In Too Deep" is a song by English pop band Dead or Alive. It was included on their 1985 studio album Youthquake, and was remixed for release as the third single. The choice of song was criticised by producer Pete Waterman, who felt it strayed too far from the formula of the band's mega-hit, "You Spin Me Round ". It peaked at No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart, No. 61 in Germany and No. 31 in Australia. Chris Heath of Smash Hits praised the song, saying "it's quite good".
"Brand New Lover" is a song recorded by the English pop band Dead or Alive. It was the lead single released from the band's third studio album, Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know on Epic Records. It achieved international success when released as a single in 1986, including the United States and Japan, though it failed to enter the Top 20 in the UK.
"So Alive" is a song by British alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1989 as the second single from their self-titled fourth album. The song reached No. 1 in Canada and charted within the top 30 in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. In the US, it topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for five weeks and was ranked No. 1 on that listing's year-end chart for 1989. The song's music video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh and produced by Pamela James.
"Heaven Beside You" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains and the second single from their third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995). It was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell about his relationship with his then-girlfriend, Courtney Clarke. Cantrell sings lead vocals, with Layne Staley doing harmonies during the chorus. The song spent 26 weeks on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at No. 3. An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged in 1996 was released in a live album and DVD. "Heaven Beside You" was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).
The discography of Dead or Alive, a British dance-pop group, consists of six studio albums, seven compilation albums, twenty-eight singles, and two video albums. Formed by frontman Pete Burns in 1980 in Liverpool, the band were first signed to the independent Rough Trade label in 1982, though moved to Epic Records the following year. Their debut album, Sophisticated Boom Boom, was released in 1984, producing a series of minor hits in the UK, most notably their version of "That's the Way " which gave them their first UK Top 40 hit.
The comprehensive discography of 311, a rock band, originally from Omaha, Nebraska, consists of thirteen studio albums, one live album, twenty-four live concerts released via Live311 four compilation albums, five extended plays, thirty-three singles, and seven video albums.
"Cuts You Up" is a song by English musician Peter Murphy, released in 1990 as the second single from his third solo studio album, Deep (1989). The song became Murphy's most successful release, topping the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and appearing on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Album Rock Tracks charts.
"My Heart Goes Bang (Get Me to the Doctor)" is a 1985 song by English pop band Dead or Alive. It was the fourth and final single from the band's second studio album Youthquake. It peaked at No. 23 on the UK singles chart, No. 12 in Japan, and became a dance hit in the U.S. The music video depicts lead singer Pete Burns in a leather jacket on the back of a motorcycle, and the band walking down a catwalk.
That's the Way I Like It: The Best of Dead or Alive is the third greatest hits album by English pop band Dead or Alive, released in 2010. It is the last release by Dead or Alive before lead singer Pete Burns died in 2016; the box set Sophisticated Boom Box MMXVI was released just five days after his death.
