Pete Burns, the iconic and often controversial frontman of Dead Or Alive, lived a life as flamboyant and unconventional as his music. From an early age, Burns was encouraged to embrace his individuality, a philosophy instilled by his free-spirited mother, a Holocaust survivor. “I wasn’t put in school until I was seven years old,” Burns once shared, “because my mother thought it was more important to let me have freedom of expression.” This foundation of radical self-acceptance would shape his entire journey.
A Life Unbound by Convention
Burns’s fascination with fashion and self-expression blossomed in his teenage years. He fearlessly experimented with his look, sporting earrings and dyed hair long before it was mainstream, ultimately leading to his expulsion from school. He found joy in dressing in drag, yet fiercely resisted labels. “I’ve had two very powerful people in my life, my ex-wife Lynn, and my husband Michael, and that’s it,” he stated, adding, “Everyone’s in drag of some sorts, I don’t give a f**k about gender and drag.” For Burns, gender was merely “separated by fabric,” and he celebrated a life lived without societal constraints.
From Shop Owner to Pop Star
His foray into music was almost accidental. Running a small shop near a Liverpool club called Eric’s with his then-girlfriend and future wife, Lynn, Burns was immersed in the local music scene. An invitation to perform led to his first gig supporting Sham 69, an experience he described as “throwing a cat among the pigeons.” After performing with Nightmares in Wax, he founded Dead Or Alive in 1980, and the band quickly rose to fame with hits that climbed the British charts.
The Allure of Transformation: Over 300 Surgeries
As Burns’s star ascended, so did his obsession with his appearance. Recognizing himself as a “visual entity,” he embarked on a relentless journey of cosmetic surgeries. It began innocently enough, with a procedure to fix a broken nose. But that first taste of transformation ignited an addiction that would consume his life and finances. Over the years, Pete Burns underwent an astonishing 300-plus cosmetic surgeries, ultimately leading him to bankruptcy.
“What I’m trying to achieve with my surgery, is my own personal satisfaction. It’s narcissism,” Burns confessed to People magazine. He viewed changing his face as casually as “buying a new sofa,” famously declaring, “There was not a part of me, apart from the soles of my feet, which has not had work done. For me, plastic surgery is a matter of sanity, not vanity.”
A Tragic End to a Remarkable Life
The relentless procedures took a severe toll. Infections in his face and lips led to even more surgeries, creating a painful cycle. Just months before his passing, Burns revealed the devastating health consequences of his addiction. “As a result of all the anesthetics and antibiotics which do have side effects, I now suffer from pulmonary embolisms and blood clots in my heart, lungs, and legs,” he told the BBC.
On October 23, 2016, at the age of 57, Pete Burns tragically passed away following a massive heart attack. Despite the immense personal cost, he remained defiant and unrepentant about his choices, once quipping, “I’m not comfortable with the idea of aging, I don’t want to look like a 65-year-old. I’m not the boy next door, I’m the boy next door but one. I hope that when I’m 80 I get to heaven and God doesn’t recognize me.”
Pete Burns’s life was a testament to radical self-expression, a cautionary tale of addiction, and an unforgettable chapter in pop culture history. His legacy lives on through his music and the indelible mark he left on the world.
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