(Getty)
Despite their 2006 divorce, Pete Burns’ ex-wife believed the couple were “soul mates.” That’s Lynne Corlett said about the late-Dead or Alive singer in 2006. On October 24, Burns died in England after suffering a heart attack. He’s best remembered for his hit 1980s song “You Spin Me Round.” Corlett and Burns were married in 1980 and remained close despite the singer’s new relationship with Michael Simpson.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Burns Said Previously That He Preferred Being Married to a Woman
Pete Burns and Michael Simpson in 2006. (Getty)
In a 2008 interview with the Daily Mail, Burns, after his divorce from Corlett, said that he preferred being married to a woman. That piece came amid a diatribe from Burns about the perils of gay marriage. He spoke about how he and Corlett had been together for 28 years and that he remained close despite their split. Burns said, “We’re still really, really close. It’s not about sexuality, it’s about the person.” While about gay marriage, Burns said, “I view marriage as a sacred institution. I think two men naturally are predators. Gay relationships are a commercial break, not a whole movie.”
Burns described their love saying, “I look at these marriages between big stars like Sadie Frost and Jude Law and wonder how they expect any relationship to last when they spend most of their time thousands of miles apart. Lynne is a massive part of my life – she always has been and always will be. When I go abroad touring, she comes with me.”
2. Corlett Works as a Hairdresser in South London
Corlett said in a 2006 interview with the Daily Mirror about her marriage to Burns that she was working as a hairdresser in South London. Corlett told the newspaper that the couple met while living in Liverpool and Burns came in looking for a job. The Mirror says the couple were married in August 1980, five years before he became an international sensation with “You Spin Me Round.”
On Burns’ IMDb profile, it says that the couple met each other in 1976 when she was 15 and that Corlett didn’t like Burns initially, calling him “unpleasant.”
Burns once said that their wedding day was the happiest day of his life saying, “August 8th, 1980. That was the day Lynne and I got married. The only thing that spoiled it was that the man in the registry office had to go and make a feeble joke by asking which one of us was the bride.”
3. Burns Said Previously That He & Corlett Were ‘Social Outcasts’ in Their Home City of Liverpool
Burns once said that he and Corlett were “social outcasts” while growing up in Liverpool in the 1970s. In an interview with the Liverpool Echo, Burns said, “My ex-wife Lynne and I were the social outcasts of the city. We were ostracized by everyone. We didn’t fit in. Well, it was us and (Frankie Goes to Hollywood keyboard player) Paul Rutherford. The three of us stuck together because no-one else would speak to us.”
4. She Says Her Father Always Wanted a Son-in-Law Who He Go & Watch Soccer With
Hey Pete Burns Fans, does Lynne’s dress look familiar? t.co/ab8ZXjnhal
Corlett said in 1984that her parents refused to take Burns seriously as her romantic partner. She talked about her father’s impression of Burns saying, “At first my parents thought he was just a gay friend of mine, they thought he was really sweet and very nice. But they didn’t like it when they found out that we were serious. I think my dad always wanted to have a son-in-law who he could go and watch football with.”
5. Burns Once Participated in an Episode of Wife Swap During His Second Marriage
Burns participated in an episode of the reality show, Wife Swap in 2006, in the fallout of his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother. At the time of his appearance, Burns and Corlett had split and the singer was with Michael Simpson. Simpson and Burns swapped with former Liverpool defender, Neil Ruddock and his wife Leah Newman.