10 July 2025

You never cried to them, just to your soul

Thursday music corner: Bronski Beat were a British synth-pop band formed in London by keyboardist Steve Bronski, vocalist Jimmy Somerville and keyboardist and percussionist Larry Steinbachek in 1983. The band released three studio albums during their most prominent phase until 1995. Their debut, 1984's The Age of Consent, was their most popular, reaching number 4 in the UK album charts, and charting in the top 10 in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and New Zealand. Singer Jimmy Somerville left the band in 1985 to join the Communards and later pursued a successful solo career.

Smalltown Boy was Bronski Beat's first single, and concerned a young man leaving home for London after being gay-bashed and receiving an unsympathetic reaction from his parents. Written by the band, it became a major smash across Europe, reaching number 3 in the UK pop charts, topping the charts in Italy and the Netherlands, and hitting the top five in Germany, Ireland and Switzerland. It also charted at number 5 in New Zealand and number 8 in Australia.

Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (1984) 


See also:
Music: Bronski Beat - Hit That Perfect Beat (1985)
Music: Communards - Don't Leave Me This Way (Thelma Houston cover, top-selling UK single of the year, 1986)
Music: Jimmy Somerville - You Make Me Feel Mighty Real (Sylvester cover, 1989)

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