One of the more hook-heavy hits of the '80s, "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" was the biggest hit for Dead Or Alive, a synth-pop band from England with the kind of flamboyant look you would expect from a British synth-pop band in the '80s (huge hair, shiny clothes, eye makeup).
The song is essentially a series of pick-up lines, with lead singer Pete Burns trying one after another:
"You look like you're lots of fun"
"I set my sights on you"
"I would like to move in just a little bit closer"
And, of course, something more original in the chorus:
"You spin me right round like a record"
It's not clear if he gets the goods, as the song ends with him spinning round like a record over and over.
Pete Burns wrote the song with his fellow band members Steve Coy, Tim Lever and Mike Percy. That high-energy, dance-floor ready track came from Stock, Aitken and Waterman in one of their first productions. After that team scored their first hit with Hazell Dean's "
Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)," Burns decided he wanted to work with the production team. Stock, Aitken and Waterman went on to write and produce hits for Mel And Kim, Kylie Minogue and
Rick Astley.
Dead Or Alive released their first album in 1984 and had a few minor hits in the UK. They put out "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" as a single in November 1984, and it made a slow climb to #1 on the UK chart, hitting the top spot in March 1985 in its 14th week in the Top 75, breaking the record for the slowest climb to the top of that chart. It also claimed the top spot in Canada, Ireland and Switzerland. In America the song picked up steam in dance clubs and went to #11 in August 1985.
Dead Or Alive had another hit in the UK with "That's The Way (I Like It)" and one more in the US with "
Brand New Lover." Lead singer Pete Burns was very distinctive - he had an androgynous, Boy George look that was popular in the '80s.
A Linn 9000 drum machine/sampler, which was introduced earlier in 1984, was used on this track.
This track was re-released in 2006 after the lead singer of Dead Or Alive, Pete Burns, took part in Celebrity Big Brother on UK TV.
There have been a number of remixes, re-releases and covers of this song. The band Dope did an industrial version for the American Psycho soundtrack in 2000; Jessica Simpson recorded a pop rendition in 2006.
Adam Sandler sang this in his 1998 movie The Wedding Singer to open the film.
Pete Burns was married to a woman when this song was released, and they stayed together until 2006. Burns had extensive plastic surgery in the '90s and '00s, explaining that he would get bored with the way he looked. His appearance became more feminine, and his lips got really big.
In 2007, Pete Burns filed a lawsuit against the plastic surgeon who worked on those lips. Burns released this statement: "What happened to me after a series of injections was far worse than any nightmare I could have envisioned. Not only was it agonizingly painful but it was physically repulsive in the extreme. It was impossible to lead any life whatsoever. I was unable to leave my house as I was so distorted with swelling and I might begin to discharge yellow pus that was coming from the holes in my face. At times it leaves me seriously suicidal and depressed and I could have problems for the rest of my life. If I can prevent at least one person from undergoing this hell and point them in the right direction to a doctor who can manage their problem, then at least I can help stop someone else suffering."
In 2016, Burns died of a heart attack at age 57.
Flo Rida reworked this song for his 2009 single "
Right Round." It was the first high-profile appearance of Kesha, who sang the hook.
Speaking with the Daily Mail in a 2012 interview, Pete Waterman revealed that the song was recorded in a 36-hour session, and he took cocaine to help him stay awake in the studio. "It's the only time I have ever done cocaine in my life," he said. "Well, you know, how do you stay up for 36 hours?"
The song got a lot of attention from TV performances across Europe, including on the UK show Top Of The Pops. Pete Burns could really command the camera, which translated to the video, which helped get the song a lot of exposure in America thanks to MTV.
Jimmy Fallon and Paul Rudd, emboldened by the viral video they made re-creating "
Too Much Time On My Hands" by Styx, did a
shot-for-shot remake of "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" in 2019. But this time, Rudd actually sang the song as well.
