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Pete Burns Dead: Dead or Alive Singer Dies at 57

Pete Burns of Dead or Alive performs on stage at Hit Factory Live: Christmas Cracker at 02 Arena on December 21, 2012 in London, England.
Pete Burns of Dead or Alive performs on stage at Hit Factory Live: Christmas Cracker at 02 Arena on December 21, 2012 in London, England.

Dead or Alive singer Pete Burns died of cardiac arrest on Sunday, October 23, according to a statement posted on his Twitter account. He was 57.

“It is with the greatest sadness that we have to break the tragic news that [our] beloved Pete Burns of (Dead or Alive), died suddenly yesterday of a massive cardiac arrest,” the statement, written by Burns’ manager Steve Coy, reads. “All of his family and friends are devastated by the loss of our special star. He was a true visionary, a beautiful talented soul, and he will be missed by all who loved and appreciated everything he was and all of the wonderful memories [that] he is left with.”

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“We have no more words, we will make a further statement when we have had a chance to come to terms with our devastating loss,” the note continues. “He will live forever in our memories.”

Dead or Alive, which was founded by Burns in 1980, rose to mainstream success in 1985 with the release of their hit single “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).” The immortal ’80s classic was later covered by Jessica Simpson in 2006 and interpolated by Flo Rida and Kesha on their 2009 collaboration “Right Round.”

Dead or Alive in the 1980s.
Dead or Alive in the 1980s.

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The British band also famously released such tracks as “Lover Come Back (to Me),” “In Too Deep” and “Brand New Lover.”

Burns — an androgynous, gender-bending entertainer — most recently returned to the spotlight in 2006 when he appeared on the U.K.’s Celebrity Big Brother, where he finished in fifth place.

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Last month, he told the Daily Mail that he became fixated on plastic surgery years ago following an attempt to fix a previous botched procedure.

“I realized [in the 1980s] I was going to be a visual entity and that I had to look good,” Burns told the news outlet on September 14. “I had a broken nose. In the punk days, somebody head-butted me in Liverpool and it went over to one side. The number of surgeries I’ve had is probably 300. I hope when I’m 80 and I get to heaven, God doesn’t recognize me.”

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