Pete Burns “superfans” have revealed what they miss most about the singer.
The Birkenhead-born songwriter died in 2016, aged 57, after suffering a cardiac arrest. The news was announced on his official Twitter account and it wasn’t long before tributes flooded in.
Too many up and down the country, The Dead or Alive star was known as a pop culture icon and applauded for his androgyny. However, for those from Merseyside, Pete is remembered for walking around the city wearing outrageous black PVC outfits which were complemented by contact lenses and human bones in his hair.
READ MORE: 'Pete Burns and his music helped me grieve for my mum'
Although already famous and much loved by his fans, the music legend, who was born in Port Sunlight, became something of a national treasure when he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006 and came fifth. For the likes of Gage Gosling, from St Helens, this was the first time he was “mesmerised” by the singer being on his TV screen.
He told the ECHO : “What I miss most about Pete is his sense of humour. He was one of a kind and no one will ever be the same as him. He was so quick-witted and a down-to-earth person. What attracted me first of all about Pete was his look as I had never seen a person like him before. His voice was something that I have never heard before either. He was so amazingly talented, and one of a kind.
“Pete gave me the confidence to speak my mind, and say what I was really feeling and this helped me a lot through my high school years, I used to get bullied quite badly. He gave me the strength to stand up for myself.”
Echoing a similar sentiment is Sarahi Aleman, from Mansfield, Texas. She told the ECHO : “His whole being is what I miss. I mean Pete Burns is all I knew growing up. From ages seven to 11, he was my blueprint for how I viewed gorgeous human beings. He was beautiful, smart and witty. I'll always keep him close with his laughter.”
Sarahi first became a fan of Pete after hearing one of his songs being played on repeat by her sister when she was just six years old. She “immediately wanted more” but for the time being “held on tight” to the song she had.
She said: “I got super excited when it would come up on my sister's radio from time to time. At that age, you don’t really know what’s going on but you keep those flashes of good times vivid in your mind, well at least I did. Like Pete said ‘I'm not like the other boys’ but in my case, it’s 'I'm not like the other kids'. His voice is what attracted me initially but when I was messing around with YouTube one day I saw the faces, smirks and pure diva attitude that was being displayed on my screen and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Sarahi, who claims to never “skip a single song” when Pete’s CD comes on, still has a newspaper which announced Pete’s death in 2016 as well as other collectable items including a Love Pete cassette and his discography on vinyl. Sarahi is in the midst of trying to start her own band as a result of Pete’s inspiration.
She added: “I was 11 years old when he died and I remember watching the news with my mum and seeing his story being shown in Spanish news which was surprising to me. It made me feel weird in my heart but it didn't really hit me like a freight train until now. When schools got shut because of Covid-19, I had endless hours to listen to him and get to know more of the little piece that he left displayed on our TV screens. To me, he's like a baby you want to keep making laugh because of those cute endless giggles and gut laughs.”
Whereas for Jamilya Sultanova, from Kazakhstan, Central Asia, it was Pete's “unusual appearance” that caught her attention. She said: “I was impressed by his unusual appearance and behaviour during his performances. The first time I saw him on YouTube, it was the concert song You Spin Me Round.”
Pete was known for his androgynous and gender-bending looks. He once said his upbringing by Francis and Eva Burns came with “an incredible amount of freedom and creativity,” as reported by the Daily Star. Pete first went under the knife during the prime of his career. At the time he was married to his stylist Lynne Corlett, whom he got hitched to in 1978, seven years before he reached ultimate fame.
During the height of his fame, he decided he wanted surgery, but the operation wasn't a success and left his nose crooked, which in turn meant he couldn't wear sunglasses. Despite his first procedure leaving him botched, Pete wasn't put off and decided to try to correct it and change his appearance further.
Before his death, the star appeared on Channel 5's Celebrity Botched Up Bodies and revealed he had in fact gone under the knife around 300 times. Whilst on the show he compared himself to "Frankenstein" before opening up about the way in which the slew of surgical procedures impacted his health.
Jamilya, a 37-year-old, whose favourite song is Candles in the Rain, added: “He inspired me by his beauty and music which were very impressive as well as his voice. It’s nice to know that others understand me and that there are other people in the world who share my taste and love for Pete.”
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