Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 1986 (US) February 1987 (UK) [1] | |||
Recorded | 1986 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:58 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Producer | Stock Aitken Waterman | |||
Dead or Alive chronology | ||||
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Singles from Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Smash Hits | 6.5/10 [6] |
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know is the third studio album by English pop band Dead or Alive, released in December 1986 on Epic Records. Continuing their association with the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) production team, Dead or Alive scored several hit singles from this album, including "Brand New Lover" and "Something in My House". [7] In addition to an image of singer Pete Burns, the cover features one of the game walls at the Château de Raray, where some of the scenes for La Belle et la Bête were filmed. The cover photographer was Bob Carlos Clarke. The phrase "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know" itself comes from a statement by Lady Caroline Lamb describing controversial English literary figure Lord Byron.
Production of the album was marked by arguments between the band and SAW, with the latter frustrated by the band's refusal to branch into house music, [8] and singer Pete Burns unwilling to hand over songwriting duties to the producers. [9] Burns expressed frustration with his record company's attitude to his single choices, complaining the label only relented on scheduling "Brand New Lover" for release after Bananarama had a hit with their Dead or Alive-inspired cover of "Venus", and alleging they also refused to give "Something In My House" a Halloween release date. [8] [10]
While Burns claimed vicious studio arguments during production of the album made him ill, [9] recording engineer Karen Hewitt stated the singer appeared to thrive on his often explosive and confrontational dynamic with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken during the album sessions. [8] Fellow album engineer Yoyo described tensions as mostly good humoured and centred on artistic disagreements, rather than personal animosity. [11] [12]
Side one
Side two
Dead or Alive
Additional personnel
Chart (1987) | Peak position |
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Australian (Kent Music Report) [13] | 37 |
Canada Top 100 Albums [14] | 52 |
Finnish Album Chart [15] | 14 |
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart | 19 |
Sweden Top 60 Albums [16] | 21 |
U.K. Top 75 Albums [17] | 27 |
U.S. Billboard 200 [18] | 52 |
Bananarama are an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Their success on both pop and dance charts saw them listed in the Guinness World Records for achieving the world's highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. Between 1982 and 2009, they had 32 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart.
Stock Aitken Waterman are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through to the early-1990s. SAW is considered one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time, scoring more than 100 UK top-40 hits, selling over 500 million records and earning an estimated £60 million in royalties.
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 acted as the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter. He sold over 17 million albums and 36 million singles worldwide and also gave successful English 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 ranked Dead or Alive as one of the most successful "dance artists" of all time.
Mel and Kim were an English pop duo, consisting of sisters Melanie and Kim Appleby. Originally managed by Alan Whitehead, they achieved success between 1986 and 1988, before Melanie died of cancer in January 1990 at the age of 23.
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 the lead single "You Spin Me Round ", which was a UK No. 1 hit and a Top 20 hit in the United States. Additional single releases from the album included "Lover Come Back to Me", "In Too Deep" and "My Heart Goes Bang ".
"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 in the UK in March 1985, taking 17 weeks to get there. It was the first UK number one hit by the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio. On the US Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at No. 11 on 17 August of that year, becoming their highest-charting single there. The song also reached No. 1 in Ireland and in Canada, while in Australia it peaked at No. 3 and it charted highly in numerous European countries.
Hazell Dean is an English dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top-ten hits in the United Kingdom "Searchin' ", "Whatever I Do " and "Who's Leaving Who". She has also worked as a songwriter and producer.
Wow! is the fourth studio album by English group Bananarama, released on 4 September 1987 by London Records. The album was entirely produced and co-written with the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio. Tensions between group member Siobhan Fahey and Stock, Aitken and Waterman regarding songwriting input and lyrical content prompted Fahey's departure from Bananarama five months after its release. The album reached number 26 on the UK Albums Chart and number 44 on the US Billboard 200, while peaking at number one in Australia. The album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 3 February 1988.
Another Place and Time is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on March 13, 1989 by Atlantic Records and Warner Records. The album was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and featured Summer's top-10 hit "This Time I Know It's for Real", which reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was her last top 40 hit on the chart.
Nukleopatra is the sixth studio album from British synth-pop band Dead or Alive, first released in Japan in 1995 by Epic Records. Nukleopatra was subsequently issued by several different labels in different territories, with varying track listings, timings and artwork.
Evolution: The Hits is a compilation album from the British dance/pop band Dead or Alive, in 2003. Evolution: The Hits is the band's second "greatest 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 'Collector's Edition', containing 28 tracks. The group's biggest hit, "You Spin Me Round ", was re-released as a single to promote Evolution: The Hits. A video compilation was also released on DVD.
"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.
Please Yourself is the sixth studio album by English pop act Bananarama. It was released on 29 March 1993 by London Records, the group's last release under the label. It is also the first album from Bananarama as a duo – with original members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward continuing after the departure of Jacquie O'Sullivan in 1991. Please Yourself also reunites Bananarama with two-thirds of the Stock Aitken Waterman production team. Musician Gary Miller was brought in to do keyboards and guitar and would be Bananarama's next collaborator on their following album Ultra Violet. The concept of the album was first suggested by Pete Waterman as 'ABBA-Banana', a record that would feature pop songs in the style of ABBA, but updated for the 1990s. Ultimately, however, much of the album ended up incorporating a ‘90s Euro-disco sound with only “Movin’ On” and “Last Thing On My Mind” utilising an ABBA-esque influence.
"I Want You Back" is a song by English girl group Bananarama from their fourth studio album, Wow! (1987). It was released on 28 March 1988 by London Records as the album's fourth and final single. The track was co-written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) trio. It became one of Bananarama's highest-charting singles, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart. It also climbed into the top three in Australia and the top 10 in New Zealand. The single was not released in the United States. Andy Morahan directed its accompanying music video.
Stock Aitken Waterman Gold is a compilation album released in 2005 by Sony BMG, PWL Records and EBUL.
"Shattered Glass" is a song written by Bob Mitchell and Steve Coe which was originally recorded in 1980 by Scottish singer Ellie Warren. The song was recorded in 1987 by American singer Laura Branigan with the Stock Aitken Waterman production team to serve as the lead single from Branigan's fifth studio album, Touch (1987).
"Something in My House" is a song by English pop band Dead or Alive, produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. It was released in the UK in December 1986 as the second single from the band's third studio album, Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. The single peaked at No. 12 on the UK singles chart.
Pete Waterman Presents The Hit Factory is a compilation album released in July 2012 collecting 39 hits produced by Pete Waterman. Included are a vast number of tracks that were written and produced by Waterman along with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken during their most successful period working as Stock Aitken Waterman, becoming among the most successful music producers of all-time.
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.