Here is my first out-and-out pop band for the 1000 Songs archive.

Growing up, Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) dominated chart music.

I think it made me literally hate music as a child. 80s pop was oppressive weird and scary for me.

In hindsight, though, I think that childhood hatred ended up being a good thing. You need to know what’s bad to find out what’s good. I am thankful now that SAW were such great and prolific purveyors of garbage (and yes, I’ve deliberately used the Americanism there).

The catalyst that turned their fabricated sewer system on, however, was actually just a good song.

It came from Dead or Alive. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)".

You Spin Me Round by Dead or Alive

You know when you spin round like a record? Yeah that. Spinning round like a record. Right round. Not half way round. Right round.

Anyway...

It was SAW’s first UK Number 1, arguably kicking off their entire chart deluge.

Frontman Pete Burns was unique. Back when he worked at Probe Records in Liverpool, he used to terrify customers from behind the counter, famously refusing to sell records to shoppers if he didn't like their clothes or deemed them unworthy of the music.

Burns was never going to let the machine control him.

His authenticity directly countered their clean production. The result is high-energy synth-pop perfection. From the dramatic, operatic synth intro to the galloping hi-hats and Pete’s booming, theatrical vocal delivery, it bridges the fierce, menacing edge of post-punk with unadulterated joy.

More importantly, it has an edge that SAW simply couldn't polish away.

So, it’s included in 1000 Songs because it proves that even within the ultra-manufactured pop machine of the 1980s, genuine eccentricity and an undeniable hook is all you need.