Bronski Beat
Bronski Beat was a popular British synth pop trio of the 1980s. At the height of its popularity, the band consisted of distinctive singer Jimmy Somerville (born in Glasgow, Scotland on 22 June 1961), backed by Steve Bronski (born Steven Forrest, 7 February 1960, in Scunthorpe, England) and Larry Steinbachek (born Lawrence Cole 6 May 1960 in London), both of whom played keyboards and percussion.
Their music is characterized by Somerville's soulful counter-tenor voice and quirky synthesizer accompaniment.
Bronski Beat formed in 1983 when Somerville, Steinbachek and Bronski shared a three bed roomed flat, Lancaster House, in Brixton, south west London. Apparently the band's name was "God Forbid" before Bronski Beat was suggested by Bronski, as a pun on the group name of Roxy Music and the main character from the Günter Grass novel, The Tin Drum.
Bronski Beat signed a recording contract with London Records in 1984 after only doing nine live gigs. The band's arresting debut single, "Smalltown Boy", the tale of a boy who was cast away by his family for being gay, was a huge hit, peaking at #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The single was accompanied by a memorable promotional video of Somerville eagerly trying to make friends at a swimming pool then being attacked by a homophobic gang and being returned to his family by the police and having to leave home. (The police officer was played by Colin Bell, the then marketing manager of London Records). "Smalltown Boy" reached #48 in the US charts and peaked at #7 in Australia. It is now widely considered a 1980's classic, in addition to being a gay anthem.
"Smalltown Boy" established the trio as an outlet for gay issues – all three members are gay – and the follow-up single, "Why?", while focusing on a faster energetic musical formula, was more lyrically focused on anti-gay prejudice. It also achieved Top 10 status in the UK, reaching #6, and was a Top 10 hit for the band in Australia.
At the end of 1984, the trio released an album which was provocatively titled The Age of Consent. The inner sleeve listed the varying ages of consent for consensual male homosexual activity in different nations around the world. At the time, the age of consent for gay men in the UK was 21. The LP hit #4 in the UK album chart, #36 in the US and #12 in Australia.
A third single was released amid controversy before Christmas 1984: a revival of "It Ain't Necessarily So", the George and Ira Gershwin classic (from Porgy and Bess) which questions the authenticity of Biblical tales. It also reached the UK Top 20.
In 1985, the trio joined up with Marc Almond to record a version of the Donna Summer classic "I Feel Love". The full version was actually a medley, also incorporating snippets of Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" and John Leyton's "Johnny Remember Me". It was a huge success, reaching #3 in the UK, equalling the chart achievement of "Smalltown Boy", and was memorably described by one critic as "the gayest record ever made". Although the original had been one of Marc Almond's all-time favourite songs, he had never read the lyrics and thus incorrectly sang "What'll it be, what'll it be, you and me" instead of "Falling free, falling free, falling free".
Shortly before the remix album Hundreds and Thousands was released, Somerville quit the band, stating he wanted a career which was "more political". Somerville went on to form The Communards with Richard Coles.
Bronski Beat recruited John Foster as lead singer. A single, "Hit That Perfect Beat", was released in January 1986, reaching #3 in the UK. It repeated this success in the Australian charts and was also featured in the film, Letter to Brezhnev. A second single, "C'mon C'mon", also charted in the UK Top 20 and an album Truthdare Doubledare was released in May 1986, peaked at #18.
Foster left the band in 1987.
In 1989 Jonathan Hellyer became lead singer and extensively toured the U.S.A. and Europe with Steve and back-up vocalist, Annie Conway, and had one minor hit with the song "Cha Cha Heels", a one off collaboration sung by American actress and singer, Eartha Kitt, which was originally written for movie and recording star Divine, anticipating to record the song before his untimely death in 1988.
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