during the mid 80s, british groups were all over MTV, and the band dead or alive had one of the top club hits of 1985, you spin me right round (like a record baby). sorry, i know it’s in your head now.
this was a totally danceable ditty and the group’s frontman, pete burns, had everyone dancing in a new way. early 80s dancing had been sort of frenetic. think cyndi lauper swinging her arms all over the place and kicking her feet around. this was actually quite a workout.
but pete was too cool for that. he just kind of stood there, swiveling his hips and snapping his fingers…and his feet never moved. so of course, we all began dancing like this. moving your feet was sooooo 1983.
anyway, here’s our boy circa 1985.
big hair? check.
eyeliner? check.
brocade jacket? check.
pirate eyepatch? check.
sigh. he’s so “new romantic.” those british guys were so sexy in their makeup and androgynous clothes. duran duran, boy george, george micheal. total studs. these guys were to the 80s what the emo bands are to the 2000s. and we all know it was just for show, right? all the guys from duran duran were marrying supermodels! and george micheal was so hot AND he dated brooke shields, for chrissakes!!
here’s our boy pete now.
…
well… after that, the video is kinda anticlimatic. here it is anyway. check out pete at about 2:20 to catch his bitchin’ frozen-feet dance technique. plus, in retrospect, it appears he may have pioneered “oh no, he din’t” head-bob move WAY before anybody else. that’s at 1:44.
Leigh Online 
If I saw him/her/it coming towards me, I’d freeze. Think Medusa.
I never thought I’d say he looked better in the 80s.
And yes! Now I’ll be singing that song ALL day!
He was oddly attractive before. Now…just freakish..Jocelyn Wildenstein freakish.
Help me, Jeebus, he’s the one on the RIGHT?
That lady has got some manhands! (sorry, I watch too much Seinfeld)
He looks like somebody to me as a lady but I can’t think of who.
Is he full on woman now? Surgery and all, or is he just a drag queen?
I always said that I would like to see the lead singer from The Cure walking around with his hair combed down and no make-up. I’m just curious what he looks like under all that.
maiden – everything in this blog is true. i swear.
tracy – apparently, he only wants to look like a woman from the neck up. he still has all the plumbing.
I have just lost all hope for humanity…
Appreciate that.
No really, thanks.
Oy vey. Pete used to be FIERCE. Now he’s crossed over to Freak. But I love that song.
Thanks for that. Now I can’t get that song out of my head.
The best part was how the rest of the band was physically bound together to prevent their escape from pirate pete. Good help may be hard to find, but it’s harder to keep when your a…whatever that is.
how do you get the quote balloons to paste to the pictures? too cool! if you don’t want to reply in a comment, feel free to write me at muskratblog@gmail.com. i’m not techno-skilled yet.
OMG. I would have totally tagged him back in the day. Leave it to me to not have a working gaydar in the 80’s. I’m such a ‘tard. I’m also feeling very non-PC. It could be the enormous cosmo I knocked back an hour ago.
Nahhh…
I just stumbled across this pic of him/it! Remembered this blog – wowza:
http://www.sheknows.com/articles/8015.htm?page=2