Francesco Mellina, the photographer who later managed Dead or Alive, has recalled how he first met Pete Burns at Eric's night club in Liverpool in 1977, a meeting that led to a lasting friendship and a major record deal.
Mellina, now 73, told the ECHO that he was urged by a friend to visit Eric's with his camera. On that first night, he saw Burns, Ian McCulloch, Pete Wylie and Julian Cope all in attendance. He said: "I think because at the time, I was the only young person with a professional camera in my hands, people became curious about me, what I was doing, and I became curious about all of them, but particularly Pete."
After striking up a conversation, Mellina arranged to photograph Burns at his flat on Belvedere Road, and the pair became friends. "And from then on we became friends," he said.
From Friendship to Management
Their bond deepened as Burns began to trust Mellina with photography. "He believed that he could trust me, and so we just started going to the clubs together, we'd meet in Eric's, and then we just became friends," Mellina said. The friendship eventually turned professional when Burns asked Mellina to be his manager. "I secured them a deal with CBS Records, and, I continued to manage them for two to three years while they were signed to CBS Records," he added.
Mellina also recalled Burns's generous side, mentioning a surprise birthday gift of a Vivienne Westwood squiggle print top. He described Burns as "very, very clever" and "very well-read," noting his love of quoting Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron.
Remembering a Decade On
Burns, who died on October 23, 2016, aged 57, after suffering a cardiac arrest, fronted Dead or Alive, whose hit "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" reached number one in the UK charts in March 1985. The band sold 17 million albums and 36 million singles worldwide.
Reflecting on their time together, Mellina said: "I think of the wonderful times that we had, just making it through, starting from nothing and going up the ladder with nothing, fighting to get a record deal, the excitement of signing the deal." He added that Burns "did things his own way and people admire that."
