Dead Or Alive's core members and essential element are Pete Burns and Steve Coy, who hail from Liverpool but now work out of London. Their combined creative genius has produced seventeen years' worth of hit singles, six albums that have gone gold and multi-platinum worldwide, and a visual statement that has kept tongues wagging for nearly two decades. In Japan, one of their biggest markets, they once commanded a million dollars for three shows and forced Michael Jackson to reschedule his Japanese dates so as not to conflict with the equally popular DOA tour. One Japanese daily even trumpeted, FORGET MADONNA, WE'VE GOT PETE BURNS.

The band's strength lies in their solid, lasting product and devoted, ever-expanding fanbase. Unlike the one-hit wonders that clog the charts until flushed away, Dead Or Alive are always developing and progressing. Their artistic philosophy might be summed up as "Been there and done that, now let's move on." Today Burns and Coy are taking themselves to newer heights as the world's only Glam Rock dance band.

Dead Or Alive was created in 1980 by Pete Burns, whose track record included heading the Mystery Girls and Nightmares In Wax. The band enjoyed considerable success in the U.K. independent circuit for four years, and finally took their outrageous act international by signing with Epic Records in 1984. Their debut album, SOPHISTICATED BOOM-BOOM, included DOA's first Top 40 single, a remake of the Seventies hit "That's The Way (I Like It)".

Press and public interest in the band were high when they ventured into the studio in the summer of 1984 to produce YOUTHQUAKE, the album that is still a dance music cornerstone. Newcomer production team Stock-Aitken-Watermann (SAW) joined Pete and Steve in creating a dance phenomenon. The first single, "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" took the number one spot in most countries and even broke into the American Top Ten. Subsequent releases from YOUTHQUAKE: "Lover Come Back To Me", "In Too Deep", and "My Heart Goes Bang" became critical successes and club standards.

DOA released a third album, MAD, BAD, AND DANGEROUS TO KNOW, in 1986. "Brand New Lover", "Hooked On Love", and "Something In My House", all lifted from that record, increased the demand for a world tour, and the band obliged. In Japan they sold out major venues like Jo Hall and the Budokan, and America hailed Dead Or Alive as one of the greatest dance acts to hit the U.S. shores in a long time.

The band reached a turning point in their career in 1988. SAW, whose production juggernaut had been built on the success of their work with DOA, were now churning out one tune after another that were all depressingly similar. Pete and Steve anticipated an eventual backlash. They decided to go their own way and produce themselves. News of their independent move led cynical producers to forecast and even hope for their downfall.

NUDE, the next album, was a huge victory for Dead Or Alive. It spawned the hit single "Turn Around and Count To Ten", which captured the number one spot in Japan for a staggering seventeen weeks. Two more tracks, "Come Home With Me Baby" and "Baby Don't Say Goodbye" set fire to dance charts everyone and led to another large-scale tour of Japan. Even the 45,000 seater Tokyo Dome was filled to overflowing by eager fans. Japan acknowledged DOA's massive popularity by awarding them the Japan Grand Prix Award for album of the year.

In 1990, Pete and Steve limited their involvement with Epic, put out another album (FAN THE FLAME PART ONE), and took some time off from an exhausting six year schedule of recording and touring. But their creative talents did not lie fallow during this comparatively quiet period: in 1994 they released NUKLEOPATRA.

This latest album took dance music to a higher and wilder energy level and, true to formula, was packed with potential hits. The track listing included the pulsating title tune, a rocking remake of the Bowie classic "Rebel Rebel", a revamped and revisited "You Spin Me Round", the club smash "Sex Drive", and the Blondie hit "Picture This". It was the best time fans had had yet on CD, and sales rocketed into the hundreds of thousands range.

Much of DOA's success can be attributed to the visual image of Pete Burns. His aggressive, enigmatic androgyny inspired and shocked the public in the early Eighties, as well as spawned a succession of imitators of varying talent. He was one of the first artists to appreciate the power of video, and no other performer save Madonna and Marilyn Manson has caused such controversy on the MTV circuit. He has written some of the most wickedly humorous lyrics ever set to a dance beat, and his onstage persona is a show in itself. In many ways Pete is Madonna' s counterpart. He has gone through a series of successful re-inventions in his long career, yet never lost his most intriguing elements: mystery, secret sexuality, and dark humor.

Steve Coy, a prolific keyboard player, drummer, producer, and songwriter, brings stability and professionalism to Dead Or Alive. His creativity in the studio and successful managing of the group's business affairs has strengthened DOA's independence to a degree that their contemporaries can only envy.

Pete and Steve both feel that the best is yet to come. If NUKLEOPATRA is far from the pinnacle of their achievements, then they promise a long career of keeping the charts afire. Narrow minds can consider themselves warned.