James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961)[1] is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the synth-pop groups Bronski Beat and the Communards, and has also had a solo career.[2] He is known in particular for his powerful and soulful countertenor/falsetto singing voice. Many of his songs, such as "Smalltown Boy", contain political commentary on gay-related issues.[3]
In 1983, Somerville co-founded the synthpop group Bronski Beat,[1][7] which had several hits in the British charts. Their biggest hit was "Smalltown Boy", which reached No. 3 in the UK charts.[1] In the music video Somerville plays the song's titular character, who leaves his hostile hometown for the friendlier city, reflecting Somerville's own experiences when he moved to London.[6]
In November 1990, Somerville's greatest-hits album The Singles Collection 1984/1990 (which featured his hits with Bronski Beat and The Communards in addition to his own material) was released; it reached number 4 on the UK Album Chart. It included a reggae cover of the Bee Gees' hit song "To Love Somebody", which also reached the UK Top 10. Also in 1990, Somerville contributed the song "From This Moment On" to the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue produced by the Red Hot Organization, the proceeds from which benefited AIDS research.
In 1991, Somerville provided backing vocals to a track called "Why Aren't You in Love With Me?" from the album Ripe by Communards offshoot band Banderas. The Banderas duo, Caroline Buckley and Sally Herbert, had previously been part of Somerville's backing band. After this, he disappeared from the limelight for several years. He returned in 1995 with the album Dare to Love, which included "Heartbeat" (a UK Top 30 hit and a No. 1 hit on the US dance chart), "Hurt So Good" and "By Your Side", though commercial success was now beginning to elude him and his contract with London Records to which he had been signed for over a decade came to an end.
"I don't think it's fair to tell your audience that you're gay, but that you're not going to acknowledge it in your primary form of creative expression. It's an unfortunate manipulation of honesty that collects gay dollars without an even exchange. But my intention is not to help people live in oblivion. It is to be honest. And that is far more important that [syc] gold-selling records"
—Somerville interviewed by Billboard weeks before launching Dare to Love.[9]
A new single, "Dark Sky", was released in 1997 and peaked at No. 66 in the UK. In the same year he provided vocals on "The Number One Song in Heaven" for the Sparks album Plagiarism with production by Tony Visconti. His third album, entitled Manage The Damage, was released in 1999 via Gut Records, but failed to chart. A companion remix album, Root Beer, came out in 2000. His dance-orientated fourth solo album, Home Again, was released in 2004, again not charting.
May 2009 saw the release of Somerville's Suddenly Last Summer album, which contained acoustic interpretations of other people's songs. The album was initially only available as a digital download but in May 2010 was made available in a limited edition (3,000 copies) CD/DVD in the UK. In late 2010, Somerville released a dance EP called Bright Thing.
2010's EP Bright Thing was the first of a series of three, with Somerville releasing Momentum in 2011 and Solent in 2012, with long-term collaborator John Winfield.
Somerville at the Skarpa club in Warsaw, Poland, June 2006
Somerville released a disco-inspired album called Homage in 2015.[5][10] Singles were "Back to Me" followed by "Travesty". The emphasis in recording the album was on achieving the musical authenticity of original disco which Somerville grew up listening to. He stated: "I've finally made the disco album I always wanted to and never thought I could."[11]
In February 2021, Somerville teamed up with producer Sally Herbert (formerly of 1990s duo Banderas and also part of The Communards' backing band) to record a cover of "Everything Must Change" by Benard Ighner as a charity record for End Youth Homelessness, a network of projects which includes Centrepoint in London and a number of other homeless charity organisations around the UK.[13][14]
↑ R.SH Gold was an annual music show (1998 – 2000), held in Northern Germany by Radio Schleswig-Holstein, a state private station. The event that took place at the Ostseehalle in Kiel, the radio's base, awarded the most successful local artists of the past year, based on their top positions on the R.SH Nordparade chart (founded in the region in 1996). The 4th ceremony featuring Somerville was held on 16 February 1991, while broadcast the 28th via RTL Plus.[20]
Bronski Beat were a British synth-pop band formed in 1983 in London, England. The initial lineup, which recorded the majority of their hits, consisted of Jimmy Somerville (vocals), Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek. Simon Davolls contributed backing vocals to many songs.
The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. They consisted of Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles. They are most famous for their cover versions of "Don't Leave Me This Way", originally by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass, and of the Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye".
"Smalltown Boy" is the debut single by the British synth-pop band Bronski Beat, released in May 1984. The lyrics describe a young gay man who is forced to leave home.
The Age of Consent is the debut album by synth-pop band Bronski Beat, released on London Records in October 1984. This was the only album released by the band to feature Somerville, who departed the band in 1985.
Banderas were a British music duo of the early 1990s who were signed to London Records. The band was an offshoot of Jimmy Somerville's band The Communards, and featured two of his female backing musicians, Scottish vocalist Caroline Buckley and English violinist/keyboardist Sally Herbert.
"Why?" is a single by British synth-pop band Bronski Beat and appeared on their 1984 album The Age of Consent.
"Read My Lips" is a song written and performed by Scottish singer-songwriter Jimmy Somerville from his 1989 début solo album Read My Lips. The song discusses the need for increased funding to fight HIV/AIDS.
"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" is a 1978 song by American disco/R&B singer Sylvester. It was written by James Wirrick and Sylvester, and released by Fantasy Records as the second single from the singer's fourth album, Step II (1978). The song was already a largely popular dance club hit in late 1978, as the B-side of his previous single "Dance (Disco Heat)", before it was officially being released in December. It rose to the number one position on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Music critic Robert Christgau has said the song is "one of those surges of sustained, stylized energy that is disco's great gift to pop music".
"Heartbeat" is a song by Scottish pop singer-songwriter Jimmy Somerville, formerly the lead vocalist of the bands Bronski Beat and Communards. Released in January 1995 by London Records as the first single from his second solo album, Dare to Love (1995), it peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart in February of that year and reached number in his native Scotland. The song also topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play for one week in April 1995, becoming Somerville's first and only solo number one on that chart. Backing vocals on the song are performed by American dance music singers Shawn Christopher and Yvonne Gage. The accompanying music video for "Heartbeat" was filmed in black-and-white.
The Very Best Of is a compilation album covering Scottish pop singer Jimmy Somerville's career in Bronski Beat, The Communards and as a solo artist. It was released in 2001 and reached number 29 in the UK Albums Chart.
For a Friend: The Best Of is a 34-track, double disc greatest hits compilation and career retrospective by Jimmy Somerville, featuring his work as a solo artist, as well as with Bronski Beat and The Communards.
Red is the second album by British synth-pop duo the Communards, released on 5 October 1987 by London Records in the United Kingdom and MCA Records in the United States. It reached number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and number 93 on the US Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum in the UK. Red features the singles "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Tomorrow", "There's More to Love Than Boy Meets Girl" and "For a Friend".
Scottish recording artist Jimmy Somerville has entered the music industry as the frontman of the synth-pop act, known as Bronski Beat. Alongside, he would score an early international success with a series of top-ten hits, such as "Smalltown Boy", "Why?" and "I Feel Love Medley"; all taken from the trio's debut album, The Age of Consent (1984), as well the remix equivalent, Hundreds & Thousands (1985). A similar status enjoyed the follow-up hit singles: "Don't Leave Me This Way", "So Cold the Night" and "Never Can Say Goodbye"; these though, were recorded for the eponymous set of his later duo Communards (1986), or its Red successor (1987) yet. The singer's own full-length debut would see its eventual results at the very end of the 1980s, marking the ending of his former bands' years, or rather the beginning of his solo era since.
The discography of the British pop music group Bronski Beat contains albums, singles, and videos. They were a synthpop trio which achieved success in the mid-1980s.
Read My Lips is the 1989 debut solo album by Jimmy Somerville, former lead singer of the successful synthpop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards. The album was released through London Records and peaked at number 29 on the UK Albums Chart. It has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.
"By Your Side" is a song from Scottish singer-songwriter Jimmy Somerville, released as the third and final single from his 1995 album, Dare to Love. The song was written and produced by Matt Rowe, Somerville and Richard Stannard.
Larry Steinbachek was an English-singer songwriter, director and composer best known for his time as part of Bronski Beat with Jimmy Somerville and Steve Bronski.
Steven William Forrest was a Scottish singer-songwriter, best known for his time as a member of synth-pop band Bronski Beat, with Jimmy Somerville and Larry Steinbachek.
Discography for the 1980s pop duo The Communards.
The Singles Collection 1984/1990 is a compilation album covering Scottish pop singer Jimmy Somerville's career in the bands Bronski Beat, The Communards and as a solo artist. It was released in 1990. In Italy, the album was marketed under the alternate title, 1984/1990 Greatest Hits.
↑ "Musikdatenbank – Musiker Jimmy Somerville". Radio Swiss Pop (in German). SRG SSR. radioswisspop.ch. Retrieved 6 June 2023. RSH-Gold, 1991: Kategorie „Kraftrille des Jahres" – Lied: To Love Somebody (see section 'Auszeichnungen')
↑ "R.SH-Gold (Die Show der Goldpreisträger)". Fernsehserien (in German). imfernsehen GmbH & Co. KG. 28 February 1991. fernsehserien.de. Retrieved 6 June 2023. (see the 4th ceremony from 1991)
↑ Hegarty, Tasha (30 November 2014). "Idlewild and Prince among winners at Scottish Music Awards". Digital Spy. Hearst UK. digitalspy.com. Retrieved 6 June 2023. The 16th annual Scottish Music Awards took place on Saturday [...] The ceremony was held at Glasgow's Old Fruitmarket, as the Tartan Clefs were handed out to some of Scotland's most celebrated acts. The Special Recognition Award was given to Bronski Beat's Jimmy Somerville for his contribution to Scottish music. (see paragraphs 1 – 3)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
