Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy

Being gay is never easy. Each era (unfortunately) has its own difficulties and fundamentalisms against a group that simply defends its right to like a genre. Something so simple, but so complex that some people can't stand it, is the seed of many songs like this Smalltown Boy that Bronski Beat made famous in 1984.

The group was founded in London a year ago. Originally from Glasgow, Scotland, Jimmy Somerville (vocals) and Steve Bronski (keyboards) met Larry Steinbachek in the British capital, shared a flat with him and started touring; including opening for Tina Turner in 1983.

Their rapid rise to fame saw them sign to London Records, home to the Rolling Stones, the Kinks and even the Braves, and in the spring of 1984 they recorded Smalltown Boy, the trio's first single.

The song is somewhat autobiographical as it tells the story of the years of oppression gays and lesbians suffered in Scotland and how they had to leave their homeland due to misunderstanding from their relatives. This theme also touches on the terrible loneliness that one can feel [as I write this I realize that I am using the past tense, which unfortunately still occurs, although it seems to be from the Pleistocene]. The video also remained in our retinas as one of the iconic videos of the decade. Sommerville had to leave the house of his fictitious parents because he saw a boy he liked at the city pool, who was being chased by a mob (by the way, the police that brought him home were led by the director of marketing of a London record label).

However, Bronski Beat was not political enough for Somerville, so he left the group in late 1985 to form The Communard with Richard Cole. His former bandmates Bronski and Steinbachhead continued to work with young singer John John (John Foster) and had hits like Hit That Perfect Beat. The band continued through 1995 with Jonathan Hellyer as the third vocalist and some extreme Smalltown Boy remixes like 1994's.