''Sophisticated Boom Boom'' is the debut studio album by English pop band

Dead or Alive Dead or Alive most commonly refers to: * Dead or Alive (band), a British pop band * Dead or alive, a phrase on a wanted poster Dead or Alive may also refer to: Film and television * ''Dead or Alive'' (1921 film), an American silent film dir ...

, released on 20 April 1984 by Epic Records. Featuring mostly

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

and dance elements, the album contains the band's first UK Top 40 single, a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

KC and the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits " That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", " I'm Your Boogie Man ...

's " That's the Way (I Like It)". That song, along with "

Misty Circles "Misty Circles" is a song written and recorded by English pop band Dead or Alive. It was co-produced by the band and Zeus B. Held and released as the first single from Dead or Alive's debut studio album ''Sophisticated Boom Boom'' (1984). "Misty ...

", were hits on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The album was a minor success in the UK where it peaked at No. 29. The original cassette version of the album was released with three bonus tracks. In 2007, the album was re-released on CD by Cherry Red Records with seven bonus tracks. The cover photograph was taken by Peter Ashworth and was inspired by the cover of

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...

's studio album '' Lionheart'' (1978). The original title for the album was ''Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know'', but it was rejected by the label. It would later become the title of the band's third studio album.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Sophisticated Boom Boom'' liner notes. Dead or Alive * Pete Burns –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

* Mike Percy –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

* Tim Lever – keyboards * Steve Coy –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

* Wayne Hussey –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

(uncredited on album artwork) Additional musicians * Jackie Challenor –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* Lorenza Johnson – backing vocals * Mae McKenna – backing vocals * Kick Horns – horns * Caroline's Quartet – strings Production and artwork * Zeus B. Held –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

; mixer *

– producer * Tim Palmer –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

; mixer *

Chris Sheldon Chris Sheldon (born 25 September 1962) is an English record producer, particularly of rock music based in London, England. He has produced or mixed records for the Foo Fighters, Garbage, Big Country, Feeder, Therapy?, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize ...

– engineer * Peter Ashworth –

photography Photography is the visual art, art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It i ...

References

External links

* 1984 debut albums Dead or Alive (band) albums Epic Records albums {{1980s-pop-album-stub