Dead Or Alive Singer Pete Burns, 57, Dies Of Heart Attack

Pete Burns

DEAD OR ALIVE singer and U.K. "Celebrity Big Brother" star PETE BURNS, who had a huge global hit with "You Spin Me Round," died of "massive cardiac arrest" at the age of 57. The cross-dressing, flamboyantly gay pop star was also noted for undergoing a series of plastic surgery operations. "I hope when I'm 80, God doesn't recognize me," he told a reporter.

In a statement on TWITTER, his manager said: "It is with the greatest sadness that we have to break the tragic news that our beloved PETE BURNS died suddenly yesterday of a massive cardiac arrest.

"He was a true visionary, a beautiful talented soul, and he will be missed by all who loved and appreciated everything he was and all of the wonderful memories that he has left us with."

BURNS admitted earlier this year he underwent more than 300 operations to fix initial "botched surgery."

BURNS appeared on "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2006, where he gained fame for his "scathing" verbal attacks on housemates

He said his obsession with changing his face started more than two decades ago at the time of his chart success with "You Spin Me Round," looking to fix a nose which was broken "in the punk days [when] somebody head butted me in LIVERPOOL," His present-day appearance was a far cry from his eyepatch-wearing rock star look in the '80s, 

VIRGIN radio host JAMIE EAST tweeted: "A true pop icon and a really, really fun fella to work and hang out with. Sleep well, buddy."

Pop critic SIMON PRICE wrote: "He was one of the last great '80s freaks to make it big before pop got boring again. RIP.'

Broadcaster and writer ROO GREEN said: "Remember when pop stars weren't media-trained to within an inch of their life? PETE BURNS was a provocative, quirky, glorious one-of-a-kind."

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