Bronski beat

Bronski beat
Jimmy Somerville, 2011
General information
Genre (s)	Synth pop , new wave
founding	1983
resolution	1995
Last occupation
singing	Jimmy Somerville
Vocals, keyboard	Steve Bronski
Singing, percussion	Larry Steinbachek († 2016)

Bronski Beat was a British synth-pop - group of the 1980s and 1990s. It consisted of Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek, who were responsible for keyboards and percussion , and singer Jimmy Somerville . All members of the group were openly gay, which was reflected in their songs, which often included political comments on homosexual issues.

history

The group was founded in 1983. The following year she released her debut single Smalltown Boy , which is about a boy who is despised by his fellow men for his homosexuality . The following single Why? dealt with the same topic, but the song was both lyrically and musically darker and harder.

In late 1984 the group released the album The Age of Consent . On the inner sleeve of the LP that was protective age represented for homosexual acts in different countries of the world. On the third single, It Ain't Necessarily So , three stories from the Old Testament are interpreted (David versus Goliath from 1. Book of Samuel , Jonah , the birth of Moses from 2. Book of Moses ). The text comes from Ira Gershwin and was published in 1935 Opera Porgy and Bess premiered. The clarinet solos were played by Richard Coles , with whom Somerville later formed The Communards . In 1985 Bronski Beat recorded a medley with Marc Almond , which was composed of the songs I Feel Love , Love to Love You Baby (both originally by Donna Summer ) and Johnny Remember Me (originally by John Leyton ).

In the same year the charity concert " Pits and Perverts " with Bronski Beat as the main act took place in the Electric Ballroom in London . The concert was organized by the group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners in the course of the miners' strike in 1984/85 to support the miners financially against Margaret Thatcher .

Somerville left the band shortly thereafter and formed The Communards with Richard Coles. The singer John Foster joined Bronski Beat, who was clearly less political and did not have such a concise voice as Somerville. The single hit That Perfect Beat was again a great success. This was followed by the less successful song C'mon! C'mon! and the album Truthdare Doubledare . After that, things calmed down for the group, which in 1989 had another Top 40 success in collaboration with the American singer Eartha Kitt .

1995 failed a comeback attempt of the band with the album Rainbow Nation , which contains remixes of old songs and new songs.

Larry Steinbachek, the group's percussionist, died of complications from cancer in December 2016 at the age of 56.

Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1984	The Age of Consent	DE10 gold (31 weeks)DE	-	CH7 (7 weeks) CH	UK4th platinum (53 weeks)UK	US36 (25 weeks) US	First published: October 8, 1984 Producer: Mike Thorne
1985	Hundreds and Thousands	-	-	-	UK24 silver (6 weeks)UK	-	First published: September 9, 1985 Producer: Mike Thorne Remix album, released as an EP in the USA
1986	Truthdare Doubledare	DE21 (9 weeks) DE	AT20 (8 weeks) AT	CH9 (5 weeks) CH	UK18 (6 weeks) UK	US147 (6 weeks) US	First published: April 28, 1986 Producer: Adam Williams

More albums

• 1995: Rainbow Nation

Compilations

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1990	The Singles Collection 1984/1990	DE4th gold (50 weeks)DE	AT10 (13 weeks) AT	CH4th platinum (25 weeks)CH	UK4 (26 weeks) UK	-	First published: November 12, 1990 Jimmy Somerville , Bronski Beat and The Communards
2002	The very best of	DE49 (1 week) DE	-	-	UK29 gold (5 weeks)UK	-	First published: September 3, 2001 Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat and The Communards

More compilations

• 2009: For a Friend: The Best Of (Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat and The Communards; 2 CDs; release: June)
• 2014: Dance & Desire: Rarities & Videos (Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat and The Communards; 2 CDs + DVD; release: November 17th)
• 2018: The Age of Remix (release: March 30, 2018)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	Dance
1984	Smalltown Boy The Age of Consent	DE3 (20 weeks) DE	-	CH2 (14 weeks) CH	UK3 silver (18 weeks)UK	US48 (16 weeks) US	Dance1 (13 weeks) Dance	First published: May 21, 1984 Authors: Jimmy Somerville, Larry Steinbachek, Steve Bronski
	Why? The Age of Consent	DE5 (16 weeks) DE	-	CH7 (9 weeks) CH	UK6th silver (12 weeks)UK	-	Dance27 (11 weeks) Dance	First published: September 10, 1984 Authors: Jimmy Somerville, Larry Steinbachek, Steve Bronski
	It Ain't Necessarily So The Age of Consent	DE31 (9 weeks) DE	-	-	UK16 (12 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: November 19, 1984 Authors: George and Ira Gershwin Original: John W. Bubbles, 1935
1985	I Feel Love (Medley) The Age of Consent	DE16 (12 weeks) DE	-	CH23 (3 weeks) CH	UK3 silver (14 weeks)UK	-	Dance20 (9 weeks) Dance	First published: April 8, 1985 with Marc Almond ; Medley including I Feel Love / Love to Love You Baby / Johnny Remember Me Authors: Donna Summer , Giorgio Moroder , Pete Bellotte, Geoffrey Goddard Originals: Donna Summer, 1977/1975 / John Leyton , 1961
	Hit That Perfect Beat Truthdare Doubledare	DE4 (15 weeks) DE	AT11 (12 weeks) AT	CH3 (10 weeks) CH	UK3 silver (14 weeks)UK	-	Dance7 (10 weeks) Dance	First published: November 18, 1985 Authors: John Foster, Larry Steinbachek, Steve Bronski
1986	C'mon! C'mon! Truthdare Doubledare	DE32 (10 weeks) DE	-	-	UK20 (7 weeks) UK	-	Dance17 (7 weeks) Dance	First published: March 17, 1986 Authors: John Foster, Larry Steinbachek, Steve Bronski
1989	Cha Cha Heels The Singles Collection 1984/1990	-	-	-	UK32 (7 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: June 19, 1989 with Eartha Kitt , author: Steve Bronski
1991	Smalltown Boy (1991 Remix) The Singles Collection 1984/1990	DE28 (9 weeks) DE	-	-	UK32 (4 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: January 21, 1991 with Jimmy Somerville , Remix: Stephen Hague

More singles

• 1985: Run from Love
• 1986: This Heart
• 1990: I'm Gonna Run Away from You
• 1991: One More Chance
• 1991: What More Can I Say?
• 1993: Why ??? (Remix)
• 1994: Smalltown Boy '94
• 1995: Kickin 'Up the Rain / Hit That Perfect Beat Boy '95
• 1995: Why '95 / Kickin 'Up the Rain
• 1995: I Luv the Nightlife / Hit That Perfect Beat Boy '95
• 1995: Megamix

swell

1. ↑ Article on gayinthe80s.com/
2. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38597071
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Chart sources: Singles Albums UK US1 US2
4. ↑ ^{a b c} gold / platinum databases: DE CH UK
5. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .

Web links

• Bronski Beat at Allmusic (English)
• Bronski Beat at Discogs (English)
• Bronski Beat at laut.de
• fan page