History Music / DeadOrAlive

* GenderInclusiveWriting: Similar to Culture Club, most of the songs dealing with romance use the word "lover" instead of "she" or "her".

Their albums [[CriticalDissonance were popular, if not well-reviewed]], until the release of ''Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know'', which was considered [[AudienceAlienatingEra very bad]] by critics and fans alike ([[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff though the Japanese fanbase liked it]]). After 1988's ''Nude'', the band lost several principal members, essentially making them [[IncrediblyLamePun dead, yet still alive]], with three more albums being released from 1995 onward.

The band officially became [[JustForPun dead, not alive]] in 2016 when Pete Burns suffered a fatal heart attack. Steve Coy died two years later.

Dead or Alive was an English [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]]-NewRomantic-SynthPop band popular in the [[TheEighties 1980's]] and the very early [[TheNineties '90s]]. Their popularity mostly stemmed from their [[DudeLooksLikeALady androgynous frontman]] Pete Burns.[[note]]Amusingly, Pete would later accuse Boy George of stealing his androgyne look, as he used it in 1980 before Music/CultureClub released their first album in 1982.[[/note]]

* CoverVersion: A few, including KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It)", Music/{{Blondie}}'s "Picture This", Music/DavidBowie's "[[Music/DiamondDogs Rebel Rebel]]", and {{Music/U2}}'s "[[Music/AchtungBaby Even Better than the Real Thing]]".

* Cloudcuckoolander: Pete, of course. Though in spite of his extreme eccentricity, he was pretty down-to-earth and self aware about it.
* CampGay: Downplayed with Pete, but he ''did'' have the tendency to dance & pose theatrically in his music videos.

* DeadpanSnarker: More than once, the term "acid tongue" has been used to describe Pete.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Pete Burns was one of the first New Wave/New Romantic examples, beating both Boy George and Marilyn by a few years. Despite his androgynous or genderfluid persona, he was clear throughout his life that he ''always'' considered himself a man.

** It's worth noting however, that Pete Burns ''always'' intended to move toward a disco-inspired synthpop sound, it was simply a matter of synths being both prohibitively expensive and notoriously unreliable when he started making music in the late-70's.
* ExtremeOmnisexual: Pete Burns described his sexuality as "a completely different terminology and [he's] not aware if it's been invented yet". He never defined himself as straight, gay, or bi, though pan is a reasonable guess.
* EyepatchOfPower: Burns wears one in some photos and music videos, like the one for "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)".
* FriendlyEnemy: Pete Burns & Boy George. Despite the fact that they seemed to be bitter rivals in the 80's, with Pete publicly accusing George of plagiarizing his look, they grew to have a grudging respect for each other from TheNineties onward. George was even kind enough to pay for Pete's funeral when he learned that Pete's husband was too broke to pay for it himself.
* GenderInclusiveWriting: Similar to Culture Club, most of the songs dealing with romance use the word "lover" instead of "she" or "her". Given that Pete later married a man, it's quite fitting.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Pete Burns & Music/{{Morrissey}}, though the ''heterosexual'' part is a bit iffy (there's rumors they actually had sex with each other).
* {{Hypocrite}}: Pete fully admitted that he had an equal amount of songs that were about being unfaithful the frustration of being cheated on.
* IAmNotPretty: As a child, Pete was frequently bullied for being ugly, resulting in his plastic surgery addiction in his adulthood (when, ironically, most fans agreed destroyed the natural good looks he'd since developed).

* IWasQuiteALooker: Despite his childhood insecurities about his appearance, most would agree that Pete Burns was significantly more attractive prior to to the ''over 300'' facial reconstruction surgeries he had from 1998 onward, turning him from [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/f0085f28d35aef49979987c874ec6733/ce8fac28d61b8181-50/s1280x1920/87e45df48fd94f38801974ebf465ba6661c15eed.jpg an androgynous yet handsome man]] to [[https://www.flickr.com/photos/celebrityabc/27604584610 some cross]] between a DragQueen and a rotten vegetable, although [[http://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/2016/10/24/51e940de-4d74-456e-b45d-45ebc19c454a/gettyimages-71370913.jpg he looked better by the time of his death]].[[note]]It's rumored that he had one that went so badly that he ''blew his life savings'' having it redone, hence why he was so broke when he died. Others have speculated that the surgeries contributed to his fatal heart attack, as they seriously messed up his immune system.[[/note]]

* MrFanservice: Pete Burns, as befitting of a New Wave band vocalist. Steve Coy as well.

* RatedMForManly: Oddly enough, Pete. Though his looks were androgynous, his voice was a very masculine baritone, and his persona and lyrics were sexually aggressive in a way more closely resembling the hard rockers than the disco divas.

* GenderNeutralWriting: Similar to Culture Club, most of the songs dealing with romance use the word "lover" instead of "she" or "her". Given that Pete later married a man, it's quite fitting.

In the late 90s and early 2000s, Pete Burns was a regular on the UK reality show, ''[[Series/BigBrother Celebrity Big Brother]]'', where he became well known for his [[LoveToHate entertaining cattiness]] and [[UnnecessaryMakeover increasingly insane fascial reconstruction surgeries]]. This helped the band maintain a fanbase as they continued to tour for the next two decades.

* MrFanservice: Pete Burns, as befitting of a New Wave band vocalist.