What's behind the hit "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" - Interesting facts about the song and its artists

You might not have been a fan Dead or Alivebut their mega-popular hit. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" you've probably heard it! In the mid-80s this song rumbled on the radio and in the charts, and even today - decades later - it continues to be used heavily in the media, on the big screen and by contemporary artists. As said Gary Kemp:

"This is undoubtedly one of the best dance records in history."

This makes this composition significant and important, although in Russia, for example, not everyone agrees with this: the public has long been divided into two camps - those who genuinely like this track, and those who find it mediocre. There are indifferent people too, but they are still few.

"You Spin Me Round" was born out of two songs and an opera

The song was written by the lead singer Pete Burnsand as he later told me himself - the sources of inspiration were two other people's compositions.

"This hit was born from two songs - "I Wanted Your Love" by Luther Vandross and "See You 'Round Like A Record" by Little Nell. I took them as a base, and bingo - it worked! Basically, I just ripped something out of them, added unique tones and wrote my own, new track. And it became a hit. From the very beginning, when 'You Spin Me Round' wasn't written yet, I already knew what I wanted in the output..."

This dance hit was also influenced by the opera The Flight of the Valkyries Richard Wagner, or rather the string parts from it.

Fighting the label and your own weaknesses

Burns was confident potential of the track from the start, which is something that can't be said for the label.

"It's a horror!" - the producers said. And I thought, "What the hell? It's going to rumble on the radio!"

In the end, Pete was right. But in order to record the track and film the video, Burns had to go into debt - he took out a loan £2,500! And when the song became popular, the band had to sue the label for royalties from sales. Later Dead or Alive vocalist would call this period "an era of great friction between the band and the record company".

But it wasn't just professional litigation that accompanied the future dance hit. In his interview, the producer Pete Waterman reminisced:

"It took us 36 hours to record this track! 36 hours without sleep or rest! In order not to fall asleep in the studio, I took substances. It was the only time in my life when I went for it - for me, drugs were extreme".

Fans' fantasies

According to the vast majority of listeners, including Dead or Alive fans, "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" is the band's only hit that fully reveals Burns' vocals! On this track Pete sounds more powerful and energetic than ever. Of course, this could not go unnoticed - the audience started to actively fantasise "what if Burns had been a rock singer?"

To be fair - Pete's voice is really good! And as it seems to us - Burns really could have become a vocalist of a rock band. But his soul demanded bold and daring experiments...

How did Pete's fate turn out

"One of our great true weirdos" is how another musician extraordinaire described Pete Boy George. And it's hard to argue with that: from a young age, Burns was an egregious personality, which even got him kicked out of school! He loved to draw attention to himself, and at the end of his life, he actively hit the cosmetic procedures. Because of his unusual (to put it mildly) image, many were sure that Pete considers himself a woman at heart. But this is not true - in interviews Burns claimed that he was proud to be a man.

Sadly, the vocalist's heart stopped on 23 October 2016. At the end of his life, Pete tried to undo the consequences unsuccessful lip treatments. He looked terrible (by his own admission - Burns was sober about the situation), and blew most of his savings. However, many fans remembered him as young and reckless, as in the music video for "You Spin Me Round."

Flo Rida cover.

"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" is one of those songs that breaks all the records on the covers! It is difficult to count the exact number of them, but it is easy to name the most popular version - it belongs to the American rapper Flo Rida (feat. Ke$ha).

There's even a clip in the clip original referenceslike a disco ball! But we think the Dead or Alive version sounds more dynamic, energetic and flirty. However, Flo Rida's cover is in step with the times. So - both songs are good in their own directions. The rest is just matter of tasteas they say.