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Youthquake (album)

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Youthquake
Studio album by
Dead or Alive
Released3 May 1985 (1985-05-03)
Recorded1984–1985
Genre
Length36:50
LabelEpic
ProducerStock Aitken Waterman
Dead or Alive chronology
Sophisticated Boom Boom
(1984) 		Youthquake
(1985) 		Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know
(1986)
Singles from Youthquake
  1. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"
    Released: 5 November 1984[4]
  2. "Lover Come Back to Me"
    Released: 9 April 1985
  3. "In Too Deep"
    Released: June 1985
  4. "My Heart Goes Bang (Get Me to the Doctor)"
    Released: September 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Rolling Stone(unfavourable)[3]
Smash Hits[5]

Youthquake is the second studio album by the English pop band Dead or Alive, released on 3 May 1985 by Epic Records. The album was their commercial breakthrough in Europe and the United States, due to its lead single "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", which was a No. 1 hit on the UK singles chart and a Top 20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. Additional single releases from the album included "Lover Come Back to Me", "In Too Deep" and "My Heart Goes Bang (Get Me to the Doctor)".

This was Dead or Alive's first collaboration with the Stock Aitken Waterman production team. The recording was marked by tension and clashes between band and producers, which engineer Phil Harding alleges almost escalated to violence.[6] Youthquake was re-released in the UK on compact disc in 1994, with the two bonus tracks that were previously included on the original CD[Notes 1] and cassette versions of the album.

The album peaked at No. 9 on the UK Albums Chart[7] and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 100,000 copies.[8] It also peaked at No. 31 on the US Billboard 200[9] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales over 500,000.[10] In Canada, the album peaked at No. 8 and was certified platinum.[11] The album cover was taken by Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer Mario Testino.

Critical reception

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Upon its release the album received a mixed reception. Smash Hits Ian Cranna gave the album a favourable 8 out 10 rating, but criticised the album's production which he found too often relegated the songs and the vocals to the background in favour of "emotionless, clattering computer rhythms. Played loud, virtually track could be a dancefloor favourite or potential hit: played at home, it takes ages for the songs to come through their unsympathetic surroundings."[5]

In an unfavourable review for Rolling Stone, Rob Tannenbaum wrote: "With layers of sleek sequencers and static percussion invoking the locked dance groove of disco, Youthquake maintains a high energy pace best suited for aerobics. Because without the dynamic production or provocative lyrics or even plain old good singing that recommend the best of its peers, this LP is like a night at Area – initially entertaining, occasionally sexy, but very suddenly a bore."[3]

Track listing

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Original cassette, UK CD and 1994 CD track listing
No.TitleLength
1."You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"3:20
2."I Wanna Be a Toy"3:57
3."DJ Hit That Button"3:27
4."In Too Deep"4:09
5."Big Daddy of the Rhythm"3:24
6."You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Performance Mix)7:25
7."Cake and Eat It"4:41
8."Lover Come Back to Me"3:07
9."My Heart Goes Bang"3:10
10."It's Been a Long Time"8:02
11."Lover Come Back to Me" (Extended Mix)5:24
  • The original vinyl, original US CD, and original Japan CD releases are 9 tracks only, omitting tracks 6 (remix) and 11 (extended mix).

Personnel

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Dead or Alive

Production and artwork

Chart performance

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Chart performance for Youthquake
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[12] 17
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[13] 8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 37
Finnish Albums Chart[15] 26
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 43
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 31
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 29
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 9
US Billboard 200[21] 31

Certifications

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Certifications for Youthquake
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[8] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[10] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

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  1. ^ Original European CD copies were manufactured in Japan and were un-barcoded.

References

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  1. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Dead or Alive: Youthquake > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  2. ^ Harrington, Jim (2015). "Dead or Alive - "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 542.
  3. ^ a b c Tannenbaum, Rob (29 August 1985). "Dead or Alive: Youthquake". Rolling Stone. No. RS 455. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 19 November 2008.
  4. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 3 November 1984. p. 28.
  5. ^ a b Cranna, Ian (22 May 1985). "Albums Reviews". Smash Hits. London, England: EMAP: 20.
  6. ^ "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 3: You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Youthquake". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  8. ^ a b "British album certifications – Dead or Alive – Youthquake". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Youthquake > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  10. ^ a b "American album certifications – Dead or Alive – Youthquake". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Canadian album certifications – Dead or Alive – Youthquake". Music Canada. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  12. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 85. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0562". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Dead or Alive – Youthquake" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Artistit DE - DIA" (in Finnish). Suomen listalevyt. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Dead or Alive – Youthquake" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Charts.nz – Dead or Alive – Youthquake". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Dead or Alive – Youthquake". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Dead or Alive – Youthquake". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Dead or Alive Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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