Youthquake Reissue

Review: Dead Or Alive – Youthquake Reissue (Demon)
★★★★☆

Turning Pete Burns from a cult figure to a star was traumatic for everyone involved. But, now 40 years on, Youthquake is mostly a testament to the iconic singer thriving in the spotlight.

Youthquake was essentially two factions at war with each other. Pete Burns may have been the visual focus of Dead Or Alive, but he remained staunchly loyal to the other members as a group rather than as a background, emerging from a fiercely competitive Liverpool scene full of fantastic bands with mouthy frontmen.

While Frankie Goes To Hollywood, the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes were all very much gangs, Dead Or Alive’s technical shortcomings on their instruments showed up somewhat against the sleek professionalism of Mike Stock and Matt Aitken’s musicianship. The two Petes (Burns and Waterman) may have loved each other, but that was most definitely not the case with everyone else involved. It’s also worth noting that Youthquake was the Dead Or Alive album Burns was most dissatisfied with, while Stock Aitken & Waterman would rarely work with a full band again.

However, without SAW, Dead Or Alive would probably have remained a frustratingly chart-allergic cult turn, rather than the pop toast of 1985. And without Dead Or Alive, SAW might not have barged into the front row of pop to rule the rest of the decade.

Seizing The Moment

This 40th anniversary package reminds you Youthquake is still a great album with plenty of moments to recommend it. While the hardcore fans might have wanted a little bit more – there’s no lack of exhaustive back catalogue out there already – it still showcases a group in the midst of giddily seizing their moment.

Across four CDs, there’s a whole disc dedicated to various mixes of You Spin Me Round (Like A Record), another featuring mixes of following singles My Heart Goes Bang (Get Me To The Doctor), In Too Deep and Lover Come Back To Me, with the other bonus CD a gig from Hammersmith Odeon, which emanates the electricity of Dead Or Alive being quite the live turn.

To the casual observer, Youthquake may feel like You Spin Me Round… and some other songs…, but that’s selling it short. Once you get past the highlights of the singles, I Wanna Be A Toy has all the high-energy tropes and orchestral stabs that were seemingly the law in 1985, though DJ Hit That Button and Big Daddy Of The Rhythm feel like a reduction of the band’s services in favour of thin, dancefloor-facing, poppers-aloft flimsy drifts with Burns bellowing over them. Luckily the bangers, including all four singles, shine like diamonds with a perfect canvas of stupendous warrior disco pop for a force such as Burns. They far outweigh the forgettable moments.

The album has its flaws, and everyone involved may have PTSD from making it. But, as this reissue suggests, it really was a moment when Dead Or Alive’s potential was realised.

Ian Wade

Order Dead Or Alive’s Youthquake deluxe 4CD boxset here

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