You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" is a song by British band Dead or Alive on their 1985 album Youthquake. Released as a single in 1984, it reached No. 1 in the UK in March 1985, taking 17 weeks to get there. It was the first UK No. 1 hit by the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio. On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at No. 11 on 17 August of that year.[5] In 2003, Q ranked the song at number 981 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever",[6] Blender listed it at number 289 on its ranking of "Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" in 2005[7] and in 2015, it was voted by the British public as the nation's 17th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[8] Musician and actor Gary Kemp described the song as "one of the best white dance records of all time."[9]

For the 1979 Roxy Music song "Spin Me Round", see Manifesto (Roxy Music album).

"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"
Single by Dead or Alive
from the album Youthquake
B-side"Misty Circles"
Released1984
Genre
Length
  • 3:19 (original)
  • 8:00 (Murder mix)
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Dead or Alive singles chronology
"That's the Way (I Like It)"
(1984)		 "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"
(1984)		 "Lover Come Back to Me"
(1985)
Music video
"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" on YouTube
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

The video, which features a disco ball, waving gold flags and an evocation of the six-armed Vishnu, was directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton.

Background and composition

Dead or Alive's vocalist Pete Burns stated in his autobiography that he composed "You Spin Me Round" by using two existing songs as inspiration for creating something new:

How did I write "Spin Me"? I listened to Luther Vandross's 'I Wanted Your Love'. It's not the same chord structure, but then that's the way I make music – I hear something and I sing another tune over it. I didn't sit and study the Luther Vandross album – I heard the song and it locked. [...] I'm trying to structure the music and I know what I want. [...] It's like do this, do this, do this - and suddenly it hits. I don't want to do Luther Vandross's song, but I can still sing the same pattern over it. And there was another record, by Little Nell, called "See You 'Round Like A Record". [...] So I had those two, Van Dross [sic] and Little Nell and – bingo! – done deal.

— Pete Burns, Freak Unique (2007)

According to Burns, the record company was unenthusiastic about "You Spin Me Round", to such an extent that Burns had to take out a £2,500 loan to record it, then once it had been recorded "the record company said it was awful. It was unanimous – it was awful, it was rubbish." Burns stated that the band had to fund production of the song's video themselves.[10]

The strings were based on Richard Wagner's classical piece "Ride of the Valkyries".[11]

Interviewed for BBC Radio 4's The Reunion: The Hit Factory, in April 2015, Burns said that the confrontational attitude of the producers was met with an equally confrontational attitude from the band and that this led to "quite a bad vibe" for the entirety of the studio time, describing the experience as "a time of intense friction".[12]

Re-releases

A remix version of "You Spin Me Round" was released in 2003 at the same time Dead or Alive's greatest hits album Evolution was released. The song reached no. 23 in the UK Singles Chart. The original 1984 recording was re-released on 30 January 2006 because of lead singer Pete Burns's controversial time as a contestant on television series Celebrity Big Brother and reached no. 5.

Earlier remixes were in 1996 and 1997 (some are included on the US, European and Australian releases of Nukleopatra). In 1999 these mixes were issued in the US as a 2-CD set. The first disc held seven mixes of "You Spin Me Round" while disc two has five mixes of "Sex Drive". In 2000, new mixes appeared on Fragile and in 2001, on Unbreakable: The Fragile Remixes. No videos were made for these.

Chart performance

The song has been re-released three times since its original release in 1984. Each time of its release, it achieved success, but failed to match the success of the original. However, after lead-singer Pete Burns's appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, the single was re-released and managed a Top 5 peak on the UK Singles Chart in 2006.

According to Burns, 12-inch singles comprised over 70% of the original sales of You Spin Me Round, and because these were regarded by the record label as promotional tools rather than sales, the band had to threaten legal action against the label before they received the royalties on them.[13]

Dope version
"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"
Single by Dope
from the album Felons and Revolutionaries
Released2000
Length2:43
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Dope singles chronology
"Everything Sucks"
(1999)		 "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"
(2000)		 "Now or Never"
(2001)

Nu metal band Dope covered the song on their 1999 album Felons and Revolutionaries; the cover also appeared on the soundtrack for the film American Psycho.[54] The band's version became their first chart entry on any Billboard chart, reaching no. 37 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[55]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"2:43

Chart positions
Chart (2000) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[55] 37

Jessica Simpson version

Jessica Simpson's version of the song was released as a promo single from her fifth studio album A Public Affair in 2006. Her version of the song failed to break into the Billboard Hot 100 (though it did reach no. 20 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles). Simpson's version has new lyrics and only preserves the chorus of the song.

Chart (2007) Peak
position
US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100[56] 20
US Billboard Pop 100[57] 95

Other cover versions

Danzel and Gigi D'Agostino[58] have also done remixes. Danzel's version peaked at no. 32 in Belgium.[59]

Flo Rida featuring Kesha's 2009 single "Right Round" interpolates elements of the song.[60][61][62]

Track listing
1985, Epic – 49-05208; 1989, Epic – 49H69181[63]
  1. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Murder Mix) – 8:00
  2. "Misty Circles" (Extended Version) – 9:10
1997, Epic – 49-78588[63]
  1. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Murder Mix) – 8:00
  2. "Brand New Lover" – 9:10
1999, Cleopatra – CLP 0533-2[64]
  • CD1
  1. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Sugar Pumpers Radio Edit) – 3:38
  2. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Cleopatra Radio Edit) – 4:13
  3. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Marc Antonine Radio Edit) – 3:21
  4. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Sugar Pumpers Extended Mix) – 5:11
  5. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Sugar Pumpers Pumpin Mix) – 7:05
  6. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Vicious Mix) – 8:10
  7. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Marc Antonine Club Mix) – 7:00
  • CD2
  1. "Sex Drive" (Radio Edit) – 2:52
  2. "Sex Drive" (Scream Driven Edit) – 3:54
  3. "Sex Drive" (Dead or Alive Original Mix) – 6:39
  4. "Sex Drive" (Scream Driven Mix) – 6:59
  5. "Sex Drive" (Pee Wee Remix) – 5:56
2003, Epic 673578 2[33]
  1. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Metro 7" Edit) – 3:46
  2. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Metro 12" Extended Mix) – 6:55
  3. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Punx Soundcheck Vs Princess Julia) – 5:47
  4. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Original 7" Mix) – 3:16
2006, Epic 82876 806212[65]
  1. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Original 7" Mix) – 3:16
  2. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Performance Mix) – 7:27
  3. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Metro 7" Edit) – 3:46
  4. Video: "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" – 3:44

See also

References
  1. Barron, Lee (2010). "Camp Transitions: Genre Adaptation and the Hi-NRG/Dance Cover Version". In Plasketes, George (ed.). Play it Again: Cover Songs in Popular Music. Ashgate Publishing. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-7546-6809-1.
  2. Ankeny, Jason. "Dead or Alive – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  3. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (1996). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-6797-5574-6. Stock-Aitken-Waterman, the British schlock-disco maestros who took the trance-like beats of '80s synth-pop to their dancefloor extreme, most famously on Dead or Alive's drag opus "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)."
  4. Pini, Gary (11 November 2011). "Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" Is Our Music Video of the Day". Paper. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  5. "The Hot 100". Billboard. 17 August 1985. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  6. "Q – 1001 best songs ever (2003)". Muzieklijstjes.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  7. "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: 251-300". Blender. October 2005. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008.
  8. Westbrook, Caroline (25 July 2015). "The Nation's Favourite 80s Number One: 12 more classic 80s chart-toppers which didn't make the cut". Metro. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  9. Stanley, Bob (25 October 2016). "Pete Burns: too abrasive to be a national treasure, his talent made him immortal". New Statesman. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  10. Burns, Pete (2007). Freak Unique: My Autobiography. John Blake Publishing. pp. 95–97. ISBN 978-1-8445-4438-7.
  11. Dimery, Robert (2011). 1001 Songs: You Must Hear Before You Die. Cassell Illustrated. ISBN 978-1-8440-3684-4. You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"—with its whirlwind groove, new wave vocals, and string arrangements modeled on Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"—was a slam-dunk choice for the first single.
  12. "The Reunion: The Hit Factory". BBC Online. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  13. Arena, James (2017). Europe's Stars of '80s Dance Pop: 32 International Music Legends Discuss Their Careers. McFarland & Company. pp. 24–35. ISBN 978-1-4766-7142-0.
  14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 85. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. "Austriancharts.at – Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  16. "Ultratop.be – Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  17. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0560." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  18. "Lescharts.com – Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  19. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  20. "Discography – Singles". Mikestockmusic.com. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  21. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  23. "Charts.nz – Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  24. "Norwegiancharts.com – Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". VG-lista. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  25. "YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) – Dead Or Alive". LP3. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  26. "Swisscharts.com – Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  27. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  28. "Dead or Alive – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  29. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending AUGUST 24, 1985". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012.
  30. "Offiziellecharts.de – Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  31. "Australian-charts.com – Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) ('96 Remix)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  32. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  33. "Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round 2003". Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  34. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Dead or Alive". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  35. "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 29 May 2003". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  36. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  37. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  38. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You Spin Me Round". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  39. "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 23 February 2006". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  40. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  41. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  42. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  43. "Jaaroverzichten 1985" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  44. "RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43 no. 16. 28 December 1985. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  45. "Jahrescharts – 1985". Offiziellecharts.de. GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  46. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  47. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1985" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  48. "End of Year Charts 1985". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  49. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1985" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  50. "Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 24 January 1987. p. 24.
  51. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2006". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  52. "Canadian single certifications – Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". Music Canada.
  53. "British single certifications – Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  54. Mathis, Derrick. "Original Soundtrack – American Psycho". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  55. "Dope – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  56. ""Right Round" No.1 on Hot 100". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  57. "A Public Affair – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  58. Birchmeier, Jason. "Gigi D'Agostino – Tecno Fes, Vol. 2". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  59. "Ultratop.be – Danzel – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  60. "Album Review: Flo Rida". MTV. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  61. Weiss, Jeff (30 March 2009). "Album review: Flo Rida's 'R.O.O.T.S.'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  62. Fennessey, Sean (18 May 2010). "Surveying the Dr. Luke Moment: A Critical Look At Lazers, Glitter, and the Un-Sexing of America's Pop Stars". The Village Voice. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  63. Popoff, Martin (2010). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records 1948–1991 (7th ed.). Krause. p. 327. ISBN 978-1-4402-1131-7.
  64. You Spin Me Round / Sex Drive (liner notes). Dead or Alive. Cleopatra. 1999. Retrieved 3 October 2016.CS1 maint: others (link)
  65. "Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Round 2006". Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.