I left in 1983. AIDS had arrived and, to me, gay sex equalled death. It would take a long time to deal with those feelings of shame, guilt and fear. Thank you Catholic Church!"

SONGWRITER "Donna Summer/Geoffrey Goddard/Giorgio Moroder/Jimmy Somerville With Bronski Beat/Pete Bellotte" More subversive are Bronski Beat’s songs about desire, each delivered in a distinct feminine mode. “Ain’t Necessarily So” is a cover of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess song about doubting the bible—the implication here obviously being its statements on homosexuality—reinterpreted as a slice of sophisticated percolation more akin to fellow 1984 breakout star Sade than gritty British synth-pop. “Heatwave” finds Somerville playing at being Peggy Lee (another of his childhood obsessions), updating “Fever” as a steamy come-on fit for the beaches of Fire Island or Venice. It sounds a million miles from London’s dank clubs and Glasgow’s damp streets, a sheer fantasy that makes Somerville an agent of lust, rejecting yearning diva worship with its nose pressed up against the glass. Anyway, that album [ 3000 Feet High] led to a trip to London and a chance to write a song with Jimmy. It wasn't a huge hit or anything, but when I listen to it now it makes me smile so much. Jimmy's powerful falsetto ranges from silky, funky and low, through to screaming diva. I love that song and video so much. Jimmy was such a trailblazer. He was the first visibly gay pop artist singing about gay stuff I was really aware of. Plus, he loved synthesisers and beats too! More would come later but at the time it was pretty mind blowing."

2CD deluxe • Vinyl picture disc • PINK gatefold vinyl • exclusives

Named as a riff on Roxy Music, Bronski Beat played their first gig at the gay benefit September in the Pink in fall 1983, and performed just eight more times before being signed by London Records in 1984. Producer Trevor Horn and journalist Paul Morley’s Zang Tuum Tumb had also offered them the treatment that Frankie Goes to Hollywood got when Bronski said no. “Morley’s idea was to have us wear and market t-shirts that basically said that we were gay, because they’d have words like ‘QUEER’ or ‘POOF’ printed on them,” said Somerville, who was uninterested in controversy or reductiveness. For Bronski Beat, singing candidly about their sexuality wasn’t a means of provocation, but drawing attention to the still-very-real oppression that pervaded public life under Margaret Thatcher’s government. They valued activism over agitprop, and knew that the personal was political, qualities that made their first two singles their most urgent and enduring. On 12 January 2017, it was revealed that Steinbachek had died the previous month after a short battle with cancer, with his family and friends at his bedside. He was 56. [6] Bronski died on 7 December 2021, at the age of 61, in a Central London flat fire. [16] [17] Members [ edit ]

About 1982 I was still listening to disco. But, above this bar, there was an organisation called Icebreakers, which was a kind of a support group for young gay men and lesbians, and everyone would go to this bar, but it wasn't disco that was being played," Somerville told RN's The Music Show in 2006. Nederlandse Top 40 – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 20 December 2013.

Credits (23)

Fortunately, by 2004 I was out, proud and enjoying my sexuality with pride. Smalltown boy no more."

a b Steve Bronski: co-founder of Bronski Beat dies aged 61, Laura Snapes, The Guardian, 9 December 2021 b7GcJ9lI6RhAl_M.69Eft83DXFo_CPfDo1v3lg6EeIzuSuGP.88EpuEP3lcHEC6ZSMSnMJp3Bykn8uwfuE55ZKO3kfD1vuEWBImuS4e The artwork for the album has been fully restored. With the original files long since lost, the record label London turned to Bruce Gill, whose father created the original designs, and along with his Dad redrew the album text and worked on a new layout for CD, vinyl and picture disc. Also, Jimmy Somerville, producer Mike Thorne and Paul Flynn all contribute to new sleeve notes. As the sole surviving founding member of Bronski Beat, Jimmy Somerville is the keeper of an important legacy.Dutchcharts.nl – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 December 2013. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Bronski Beat founder Steve Bronski dies at 61". BBC News. 9 December 2021 . Retrieved 29 April 2023. a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. We've always been the kind of people who are very honest about our sexuality," the band's Larry Steinbachek told Countdown in 1984.