John Waters once called the late Divine his "fearless muse."  The so-called Pope of Trash and People's Pervert noted when speaking of the documentary film about his friend's life, "Who else could convincingly turn from teenage delinquent to mugger, prostitute, unwed mother, child abuser, fashion model, nightclub entertainer, murderess and jailbird, all in the same movie?"  Indeed, Divine's career was an extraordinary, and extraordinarily unlikely, one.  Divine's musical side has been celebrated by Hot Shot on this deluxe, double-disc set Shoot Your Shot: The Divine Anthology featuring original hits, remixes, B-sides and more.

Baltimore natives Harris Glenn Milstead and John Waters had forged a bond in the city's countercultural scene in the 1960s when Milstead was cast in Waters' 1966 short film Roman Candles.  The director christened the actor Divine, and his drag roles in each of Waters' films became more and more lewdly outrageous, culminating in 1972's Pink Flamingos, billed as "An Exercise in Poor Taste."  Portraying the "filthiest woman alive," Divine engaged in any number of off-color acts, most notably eating feces.  But beneath all of the outsized gross-out depravity, Divine fearlessly pushed the envelope of gender identity, sexuality and personal freedom with a confident, strong persona that exuded self-love.  It's no wonder Divine was recognized as The Drag Queen of the Century although that label alone (like most labels) doesn't do justice to the whole story.

If it took until 1988's Hairspray to push Divine (and Waters, for that matter) into the true commercial mainstream, the star broke barriers earlier in the decade to become a successful recording artist.  Divine charted seven hit singles in the United Kingdom, two in the United States, and still more in Australia, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland - quite an unbelievable journey for a drag performer-actor from the Baltimore art underground.  Shoot Your Shot chronicles Divine's transformation from cult cinema hero to Hi-NRG dance star via recordings issued between 1982 and 1991 (after Divine's death in 1988, aged just 42.)

Divine's most memorable songs are all here including "Native Love (Step by Step)," produced and written by the team of Bobby Orlando and Mark Bauman, which made it to No. 21 on the U.S. Dance chart in addition to gaining popularity in the Netherlands.  The collection takes its title from Orlando's "Shoot Your Shot," another U.S. Top 40 Dance hit; another Orlando composition, "Love Reaction," was inspired by New Order's "Blue Monday" and became Divine's first single to chart on the U.K. countdown.  Following his work with Orlando, Divine teamed with the trio of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman and continued to notch hits with boldly affirmative tracks like "You Think You're a Man" and "I'm So Beautiful."  Divine would go on to cover Sam Cooke ("Twistin' the Night Away") and The Four Seasons ("Walk Like a Man," of course) with proud abandon.  Though there are naturally numerous camp elements, many of Divine's dance/disco songs as heard on Shoot Your Shot exude sincerity and openness.

Producers Wayne A. Dickson and Malcolm McKenzie have packaged Shoot Your Shot with typical lavishness.  The digipak boasts a full-color 16-page booklet containing Levis Omelasz's informative appreciation of Divine in the context of his own era and the present day, as well as his pioneering and still-relevant role in LGBTQ culture.  Nick Robbins has remastered both discs.  Divine didn't live long enough to savor the success of Hairspray, not to mention how its transformation into an ultra-commercial Broadway musical has empowered young people since.  (In a move Divine would certainly have enjoyed, Whoopi Goldberg reportedly quipped when sending flowers to his funeral, "See what happens when you get good reviews?")  Shoot Your Shot: The Divine Anthology joins Cherry Pop's previous reissue of Maid in England as an enjoyable celebration of the star's floor-filling musical adventures.

NOTE: Early pressings of Shoot Your Shot were reportedly marred by skips and errors in playback.  Please send an email to infonet@cherryred.co.uk if you purchased one of these discs and need a replacement disc.

Divine, Shoot Your Shot: The Divine Anthology (Hot Shot HSRXD 014, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Native Love (Step by Step) (O Records OR-717, 1982)
2. Shoot Your Shot (O Records OR-722, 1982)
3. Shake It Up (Break Records 308313 (Netherlands), 1983)
4. Love Reaction (Break Records 308327 (Netherlands), 1983)
5. T-Shirts and Tight Blue Jeans (Break Records 308445 (Netherlands), 1984)
6. You Think You're a Man (Proto Records ENA(T)-118 (U.K.), 1984)
7. I'm So Beautiful (Single Remix) (Proto Records ENA(T)-121 (U.K.), 1984)
8. Show Me Around (Proto Records ENA(T)-121 (U.K.), 1984)
9. Walk Like a Man/Man Talk (Proto Records ENA(T)-125 (U.K.), 1985)
10. Twistin' the Night Away (Proto Records ENA(T)-127 (U.K.), 1985)
11. Hard Magic (Proto Records ENA(T)-131 (U.K.), 1984)
12. Little Baby (In Recordings INRT-4 (U.K.), 1987)
13. Hey You! (Dance Trax Records 12-D-TRAX-911-A (U.K.), 1987)
14. Shout It Out (O/Hot Recordings HTO-1202, 1989)

CD 2

1. Jungle Jezebel (O Records OLP-2, 1982)
2. Kick Your Butt (O Records OLP-2, 1982)
3. Alphabet Rap (O Records OLP-2, 1982)
4. Native Love (Step by Step) (Suite) (Break Records 308208 (Netherlands), 1982)
5. Shoot Your Shot (Special Jump Edit by Ed Smit) (Break Records 308208 (Netherlands), 1982)
6. Shake It Up (Alternative Mix) (Proto Records ENA-118 (U.K.), 1984)
7. You Think You're a Man (Radio Mix) (Proto Records ENA-118 (U.K.), 1984)
8. I'm So Beautiful (12-Inch Mix) (Proto Records ENA(T)-121 (U.K.), 1984)
9. Divine Madness (Design DEST 7 (U.K.), 1984)
10. Give It Up (Proto Records ENA(T)-118 (U.K.), 1984)
11. Psychedelic Shack (O/Hot Recordings HTCL-16, 1991)
12. You Think You're A...Medley (Proto Records ENA(T)-132 (U.K.), 1985)
13. Native Love (Step by Step) (Alternative Version) (Proto Records ENA(T)-132 (U.K.), 1985)