The most popular '80s hit in terms of covers.
Содержание
You probably recognise this song just from the first lines of the chorus... "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by British band Dead or Alive became the biggest hit of the 80s! Having seen the light of day in 1984, the track instantly topped the charts in the musicians' homeland! Later it completed the Youthquake record (1985), as well as numerous "Best Songs of All Time" rankings of various major publications!
According to the results of the 2015 voting, the song became the British public's favourite among the hits of the 80s! Needless to say, it inspired many musicians... Thus, the famous English musician and actor Gary Kemp commented:
"'You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)' is one of the best dance records of all time..."
Today the composition is the most popular hit of the 80s by the number of covers! But - about everything in order. We suggest to remember where it all started...
History of Creation
The song was written by Pete Burns, a British singer and composer best known as the lead singer of Dead or Alive. After the release of the song, Pete opened the curtain of secrecy, revealing details of his work on the song in his autobiography:
"How did I write the biggest hit of my career? I just took a few existing songs as a base and... Bingo! Something new and more unique came out... I just heard the song "I Wanted Your Love" by Luther Vandross, and later the song "See You 'Round Like A Record" by Little Nell. Both songs settled in my head, I drastically realised what I wanted from them!"
Very curiously, the label didn't appreciate Pete's labours at first... What's more, the vocalist had to take out a £2,500 loan to record the track!
"I recorded a track but the label staff called it terrible... They didn't like it at all and it was awful. I thought, 'What the hell is this? This is going to be a hit!"" - Pete recalled.
As a result, the band members decided to self-finance the production of the music video for "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"... And they did not fail!
Pete Burns later recalled this period as "a time of intense friction between the band and the label".
Reissues
The track was subsequently re-released three times. Each new version was a success, although it could no longer match the success of the original 1984 release.
According to Burns, the band had to threaten the record company with a lawsuit before receiving their royalties from the sales...
Popular covers
As it was mentioned above, "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" is the most popular hit of the 80's by the number of recorded covers! Whoever tried to re-sing the song and become famous on it: Jessica Simpson, Flo Rida... There is a version performed by the famous "Elvin's Chipmunks"!
Whether other artists have succeeded in surpassing the original is for the listeners to judge for themselves. The versions are really good, modern... However, as they say, "a copy is always paler than the original". But, again, to taste and colour...
