Rating: ***

If there’s been one positive to 2020 it’s that Dead or Alive’s post-’80s work is finally getting the recognition it deserves – and new box set Invincible unifies a string of coloured vinyl releases in one stunning 9CD collection. 

The set comprises 103 tracks across five individual album sets: Fan The Flame (Part 1), Nukleopatra, Fragile, Unbreakable (The Fragile Remixes) and Spin Drive – which includes a combination of 25 tracks and mixes of You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) and Sex Drive.

The first four albums are issued as 2 CD sets, including 60 additional mixes, including acapella and instrumental versions of previously released tracks, plus recordings for U2, Madonna and Prince tribute albums. 

Also included is one new track, My Love’s On The Line, which was first performed live in Japan in 1990 and has finally been issued after the master tape for which was discovered last year in Steve Coy’s archive. 

What’s striking about the set is the wealth of music that’s featured – 103 tracks, no less – from a series of albums, originally released between 1990 – 2001 (post Stock Aitken Waterman), that have gone woefully underrated for far too long. Nukleopatra and Fragile, of course, were originally only issued in Japan, with international editions coming years later. 

But the public perception of the Pete Burns-led group is far from an indication of the quality of the records, each of which is a distinct sound of its own – wholly conceptual in the case of Fan The Flame – and contains tracks that rival the group’s biggest hits. 

Of course, new music isn’t the focus of this collection, but the appeal of Invincible is having pretty much every song, edit and mix from Dead or Alive’s latter years in one delicious package. This is no flimsy, token reissue – the music is housed in a lush slipcase, featuring all 9 discs and a 28-page hardback book, documenting the story of the iconic, Hi-NRG group in words and photos. 

In fact, the quality only makes us wish each album had been given the individual reissue treatment – as with the recent vinyl releases – especially since the Sophisticated Boom Box release, aside from being ridiculously expensive now, didn’t include the original artwork. 

The music on Invincible is, of course, divine and, while it doesn’t offer much that’s new in terms of configuration or exclusives, we have to credit any release that shines a spotlight on Dead or Alive’s latter years. 

Let’s be honest – Invincible is a collection that even hardcore fans could probably do without (although the book makes up for some of the expense). For casual listeners, it’s stylish appearance and low price point make the collection the perfect investment in Dead or Alive’s post-’80s output – which, while not their most commercially successful, arguably produced some of the group’s best work ever.