Bronski Beat

Few groups in pop history have spoken as directly or as powerfully about the experiences and struggles of being gay in 1980s Britain as Bronski Beat. Their 1984 hit 'Smalltown Boy' remains one of the most hauntingly evocative songs about the constant battle of growing up in a community hostile to homosexuality and the desire to find refuge in a distant, more permissive metropolis. Keyboardists Steve Bronski, Larry Steinbackek and singer Jimmy Somerville formed the group in 1983 when they were sharing in a flat in Brixton, South London. The musical alchemy between the three was instant and they were signed to London Records after only playing nine gigs, with debut single, 'Smalltown Boy', reaching #3 in the UK chart a matter of months later. Somerville was an outspokenly political pop star and his remarkable counter-tenor provided the dazzling centrepiece of the band’s debut album, 1984’s The Age Of Consent. Somerville left the band in 1985 to form The Communards with Richard Coles, who had previously performed with Bronski Beat, and Bronski and Steinbackek recruited singer John Foster as the group’s new frontman, scoring a Top 3 hit in November that year and their second album, 1986’s Truthdare Doubledare, refined their HI-NRG sound. The band disbanded shortly afterwards and Bronski went on to from a new line up in the mid 90s, while Somerville continued to pursue a successful solo career after the dissolution of The Communards at the end of the 80s.