"Smalltown Boy", Bronski Beat & Being Openly Gay in Eighties Pop | New British Canon

1984 was a particularly flamboyant year for British Pop. “Relax” overcame its radio ban to spend five weeks at UK number one. George Michael alluded to his future solo aspirations with “Careless Whisper.” Pete Burns’ Dead Or Alive proved the combination of Hi NRG and Stock Aitken Waterman equalled chart-success. And Freddie Mercury dressed in drag for the “I Want to Break Free” video. But aside from the two core members of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, most of these men were living some kind of closeted existence.

However, also debuting in 1984 were Bronski Beat. Fronted by Jimmy Somerville, a Scottish socialist with the voice of a disco diva packed within his buzz cut 5 foot 4 frame, they were three openly **** men writing honestly about their lives. Their melancholic debut single is a synth-pop escape, from a smalltown and its small minds, with its destination simply being somewhere better, both for themselves and LGBTQ+ Pop. This is New British Canon and This is the Story of “Smalltown Boy”.

#Smalltownboy #bronskibeat #MusicDocumentary

Fact-checking by Chad Van Wagner.

00:00 Introduction
01:28 Jimmy Somerville & The Start of Bronski Beat
08:29 Creating "Smalltown Boy"
17:05 "Why?" & The Age of Consent
23:06 The Split, The Communards & Enduring Legacy

Soundtrack
Luar - Citrine (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
Jesse Gallagher - The Golden Present
Luar - Anchor (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)

Pride, Pop and Politics by Darryl W Bullock, 2022, Omnibus
Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics by Dylan Jones, 2020, Faber
The Age of Consent - Liner Notes by Paul Flynn, Mike Thorne & Jimmy Somerville, 2018, London Records
“Jimmy Somerville (Bronski Beat) - Smalltown Boy | The story behind the song” Top 2000 a gogo, Mar 2018
“Heart of the Beat” Adrian Jones, No 1 Magazine, Jun 1984
“Runaway Boys: Bronski Beat” Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, Jun 1984
“Bronski Beat: Dark Side of the Beat” Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, Sep 1984
“Jimmy The Mover” Andy Hughes, No 1 Magazine, Sep 1984
“Beat the Sex Rap” Sunie, No 1 Magazine, Oct 1984
“The Age of Consent - Review” Biba Kopf, NME, Oct 1984
“Bronski Beat: Bronski Beefs” Paolo Hewitt, NME, Nov 1984
“Consenting Adults” Tony Reed, Electronic Soundmaker & Computer Music, Dec 1984
“It Ain’t Necessarily So” Karen Swayne, No 1 Magazine, Jan 1985
“What is Bronski Beat?” Barney Hoskyns, Spin Magazine, May 1985
“AUDIO: Bronski Beat (1985)” Barney Hoskyns, Rocksbackpages, Spr 1985
“Jimmy Somerville: The Age of Dissent” Paolo Hewitt, NME, May 1985
“The Communards: Turning Pink into Red” Paul Mathur, Blitz, Oct 1985
“His Beat Goes On” Barry Walters, The Advocate, Jun 2000
“20 most fabulous“ Jimmy Somerville, The Guardian, Nov 2006
“Jimmy Somerville: 'Jesus Christ! Alan Shearer – what a little sex bomb!'” Adrian Deevoy, The Guardian, Jul 2014
“Jimmy Somerville Reveals What Inspired His New Disco Album, Why He Terrified Boy George And The Impact Of “Smalltown Boy”” Jeremy Kinser, Queerty, Oct 2014
“Jimmy Somerville interview: 'I wanted people to love me'” Laura Martin, The Independent, Feb 2015
“How Bronski Beat’s Jimmy Somerville Survived the ’80s” Max Dax, Electronic Beats, Mar 2015
“Homage Not Fromage: Jimmy Somerville Interview” John Freeman, The Quietus, Mar 2015
“Marc Almond: 'I hate the LGBT thing. There's no **** community anymore'” Brian Beacom, Scotland Herald, Oct 2017
“The Age of Consent - Review” Laura Snapes, Pitchfork, Nov 2017
“Back in bloom: how **** male pop reclaimed its star status” Brian O'Flynn, The Guardian, Oct 2018
“When Disco Entered Politics” Steve Erickson, Gay City News, Oct 2018
“The Godfathers of Pop: Steve Bronski interview” David Burke, Classic Pop, Mar 2019
“How '80s LGBTQ band Bronski Beat’s haunting ‘Smalltown Boy’ made a difference: ‘It was very bold’” Lyndsey Parker, Yahoo! Music, Jun 2019
“Smalltown Boy — Bronski Beat’s 1984 hit was a heartfelt cry for liberation” Paul David Gould, Financial Times, Sep 2019
“‘Run away, turn away’: The story of Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy” Kevin E G Perry, The Independent, Dec 2021
“Finding Our Way: Kate Wildblood on the powerful influence of Bronski Beat” Kate Wildblood, M Magazine, Feb 2022
“Interview: Jimmy Somerville, 'Even Cheesy Disco Songs Have Great Messages'” Fiona Shepherd, The List, Mar 2022
“‘I was decadent, I was stupid, I was a fool’: the dark days of Donna Summer” Daniel Dylan Wray, The Guardian, Apr 2023
“The Year Pop Came Out” Mark Lindores, Classic Pop, 2023
“Classic Album: The Age of Consent” Mark Lindores, Classic Pop, 2023


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