Dead Or Alive

Dead Or Alive was a British goth/pop band from Liverpool, England, who were previously called Nightmares In Wax. The group found success in the 1980s and had seven Top 40 UK singles and three Top 30 UK albums. They were the first group to have a number one single under the production team of Stock Aitken Waterman. Dead or Alive, which has variously included Pete Burns (vocalist), Wayne Hussey (guitarist), Mike Percy (bassist), Steve Coy (drummer) and Timothy Lever (various instruments), have released seven studio albums and five compilation albums, and became popular in Japan.

In 1977 Pete Burns formed a band with contemporaries Julian Cope, Pete Wylie, and Phil Hurst, calling themselves The Mystery Girls. They played only one gig (opening for Sham 69 at Eric's in Liverpool in November 1977) before disintegrating. Burns returned in spring 1979 with a new band, Nightmares In Wax (original name: 'Rainbows Over Nagasaki'), featuring a gothic post-punk sound, with backing from keyboardist Martin Healy, guitarist Mick Reid (ex-Crash Course and Glass Torpedoes), drummer Paul Hornby (ex 051 and Pink Military), and bassist Walter Ogden. Nightmares in Wax played their first gig at Eric's in June 1979, and were signed to the associated Eric's Records label, although their only recording, a three-track 7" EP entitled Birth of a Nation, was released in March 1980 by Inevitable Records. (read more on wikipedia)

Links To Peel
In May 1980, after several line-up changes since the start of the year, and before they were to record a radio session for John Peel a year later, Burns changed the name of the band to Dead or Alive. The band did two sessions for Peel's show and went through several different line-up changes over the next three years while recording a series of independent singles. Burns' eccentric and androgynous appearance began attracting attention, often leading to comparisons with Culture Club and its lead singer Boy George, whose group was a favourite by Peel, who admitted liking them, but rarely played their material on his shows, due to their commercial success.

Sessions
1. Recorded: 1981-02-04. Broadcast: 17 February 1981. Repeated: 04 March 1981, 16 March 1981 2. Recorded: 1982-03-01. Broadcast: 18 March 1982. Repeated: 15 April 1982
 * Nowhere To Nowhere / Running Wild / Flowers / Number 11
 * Misty Circles (Part 1) / Misty Circles (Part 2) / Number 12 / Untitled

Other Shows Played
1980 1981 1982
 * 12 March 1980: Black Leather (single) Inevitable (under the name of Nightmares In Wax)
 * 10 March 1981: I'm Falling (7") Inevitable Music
 * 18 May 1981: 'Number Eleven (7 inch)' (Inevitable) (JP: 'Chartbound sound! Well, not really, but one can dream.)
 * 25 May 1981: Number Eleven (7") Inevitable
 * 21 July 1981: Number Eleven (7") Inevitable
 * 09 February 1982: It's Been Hours Now (12") Black Eyes


 * 02 March 1982: It's Been Hours Now (12") Black Eyes
 * 23 August 1982: The Stranger (7") Black Eye

1983 TOTP
 * 07 September 1982: unknown
 * Mostly Peel Mid Sep 1983: What I Want (Dance Mix) (12") Epic
 * 07 March 1985 (TOTP): You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) (#01)
 * 25 December 1985 (TOTP): You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)