Some stars never tried to blend in. They made their own rules, dressed the way they wanted and lived out loud. Pete Burns, the singer behind Dead or Alive’s famous hit You Spin Me Round (Like a Record), was one of them.
One sunny afternoon in London, photographers spotted him out for a walk with a friend. At 56, he had swapped his darker hair for a striking platinum blonde look. He wore a tight pink vest, black shorts, boots and a tan cross body bag, and he looked completely relaxed.
Even an ordinary stroll turned into a little moment of theater. At one point he stopped to pull up his shorts, showing off detailed tattoos, from small stars running down his legs to a large butterfly on his thigh. For Pete, his body had always been a way to express himself.
The photos also brought back attention to his famous cosmetic transformation. Over the years he was very open about the many procedures he had and the serious problems some of them caused. He never pretended to be perfect, and many fans respected his honesty.
As expected, social media was full of comments about his appearance, just as it had been after an earlier appearance on a Celebrity Big Brother spin off show. Some people were worried, others were critical, and many simply could not stop talking about him.
Pete answered in his own way. He thanked his loyal fans online and made it clear that the opinions of strangers did not bother him at all.
Sadly, Pete Burns passed away in 2016, at the age of 57. But his music, his fearless style and his attitude still live on, and You Spin Me Round is still played at parties around the world.
Looking back at that sunny London walk, it is easy to see why he was impossible to ignore. He spent his whole life being exactly who he wanted to be.
