| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
Fan the Flame (Part 1) is the fifth studio album from dance music band Dead or Alive and was released in 1990.[2] Epic Records released Fan the Flame (Part 1) in Japan only. The album remained an exclusive in this territory until the worldwide release of the Sophisticated Boom Box MMXVI compilation box set in 2016.
The album contains a slight change in musical style for Dead or Alive, best known for Hi-NRG and dance-pop songs. Fan the Flame (Part 1) contains more mid-tempo songs and melancholy lyrical content. The male background vocals on "Total Stranger" were performed by British pop band Londonbeat and the London Community Gospel Choir provided backing vocals for "Unhappy Birthday".
The songs "Unhappy Birthday" and "Gone 2 Long" were later re-recorded as uptempo dance tracks for Dead or Alive's next album Nukleopatra.
Fan the Flame (Part 2) was recorded but never released, but it exists as the acoustic album Love, Pete, which was made available during a US personal appearance tour in 1992 and has since been widely bootlegged with the title Fan the Flame (Part 2): The Acoustic Sessions.[3][4][5][6] In his autobiography Pete Burns strongly criticizes its subsequent illegal distribution and those fans who continue to buy it.[7]
In Japan they released the singles "Your Sweetness (Is Your Weakness)" (JPN#3), "Unhappy Birthday" (JPN#14) and "Gone 2 Long" (JPN#18). The album peaked at number 27 on the Japanese Albums Chart.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Dead or Alive.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Your Sweetness (Is Your Weakness)" | 5:50 |
| 2. | "Unhappy Birthday" | 6:47 |
| 3. | "Gone 2 Long" | 5:45 |
| 4. | "Total Stranger" | 7:04 |
| 5. | "Lucky Day" | 7:55 |
| 6. | "What Have U Done (2 Make Me Change)" | 6:15 |
| 7. | "And Then I Met U" | 8:04 |
| 8. | "Blue Christmas" | 3:56 |
Personnel
- Pete Burns – Vocals
- Peter Oxendale – Keyboards
- Steve Coy – Drums, keyboards, bass guitar, guitars
- Additional personnel
- Billy Currie – Electric viola
- Tracy Ackerman – Backing vocals
- Londonbeat – Backing vocals (male)
- London Community Gospel Choir – Backing vocals (additional)
- Tim Weidner – Co-producer
- Mickey Mulligan – Engineer (additional)
References
- ^ "Dead or Alive: Fan the Flame [Japan] at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "Dead Or Alive – Fan The Flame (Part 1)". Discogs. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "Dead Or Alive – Fan The Flame (Part II) "Love Pete" (The Acoustic Session)". Discogs. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "Images for Dead Or Alive - Fan The Flame (Part II) "Love Pete" (The Acoustic Session)". Discogs. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "Career Timeline". The Right Stuff - The Official Dead Or Alive Web Site. deadoralive.net. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "Bootlegs". Dead or Alive Discography. katch.ne.jp. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ Burns, Pete; Cranna, Ian (2007). Freak unique : my autobiography. London: John Blake. pp. 129–130. ISBN 978-1-84454-438-7.