| "Smalltown Boy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Bronski Beat | ||||
| from the album The Age of Consent | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 25 May 1984 (UK) [1] | |||
| Studio | The Garden (London) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | London | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Mike Thorne | |||
| Bronski Beat singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Smalltown Boy" on YouTube | ||||
"Smalltown Boy" is the debut single by British synth-pop band Bronski Beat, released in May 1984 from their debut album The Age of Consent . The lyrics describe a young gay man who is forced to leave home.
"Smalltown Boy" features "ominous" discordant notes, an "electro-pop pulse", and falsetto vocals. [7] The lyrics describe a young gay man who is bullied and decides to leave home. [7] In the Financial Times , David Gould wrote that it combines the hi-NRG tempo of 1980s gay clubs with "plaintive" lyrics. [7]
According to the Bronski Beat member Larry Steinbachek, "Smalltown Boy" emerged from an attempt to cover the 1977 Sex Pistols song "Pretty Vacant" using an octave pattern sequenced on a Roland MC-202 synthesiser. [8]
The "Smalltown Boy" music video was directed by Bernard Rose, who directed the video for "Relax", by another openly gay band, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the previous year. [9] Rose said Bronski Beat felt "Relax" was too mainstream and upbeat, and wanted to convey a more serious message. [9] The Independent described the "Smalltown Boy" video as "stark" and "grounded". [10]
In the video, Somerville is the victim of a homophobic attack and is rejected by his parents. He leaves home and takes a train to London, joined by the other members of Bronski Beat. [10] Rose said the video depicted a common experience for gay people and that Bronski Beat wanted to draw attention to homophobia. [9]
Spin said "Smalltown Boy" "fashioned a young man's bitter memories of being driven away from home, alienated from his family, and persecuted by his friends, into a sweetly moving pop song". [11]
"Smalltown Boy" reached number three in the UK and [12] number one in the Netherlands and Belgium. [13] [14] It reached the top 10 in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and West Germany. It reached number 48 in the US pop chart and was a number one US dance hit. [15] After the success, Bronski Beat released their debut album, The Age of Consent . [7]
A remix by Stephen Hague was released on 24 December 1990. [16] Jimmy Somerville, released a new version, "Smalltown Boy Reprise" (2014), for its 30th anniversary. [17]
In 2022, Rolling Stone named "Smalltown Boy" the 163rd-greatest dance song. [18] Time Out ranked it number 12 in their list of the "50 Best Gay Songs to Celebrate Pride All Year Long in 2022", writing that it "takes the pain of rejection and makes it danceable". [19] Reviewing the Age of Consent reissue for Pitchfork in 2017, Laura Snapes wrote that "'Smalltown Boy' remains a perfect song. It is nimble and crushing, forlorn and relieved, frail yet determined." [20] Somerville said he was embarrassed by the song for many years, as he felt his lyrics were inferior. [21]
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Credits sourced from Electronic Soundmaker and Sound on Sound. [8] [22]
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Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada) [56] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| France | — | 300,000 [49] |
| Italy (FIMI) [57] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [58] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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.
James William Somerville 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. 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.
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".
"I Feel Love" is a song by the American singer Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, I Remember Yesterday (1977). The album concept was to have each track evoke a different musical decade; for "I Feel Love", the team aimed to create a futuristic mood, employing a Moog synthesizer.
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.
"Tell Me Why" is a song produced by Swedish DJs Steve Angello and Axwell under the name "Supermode". The song interpolates two Bronski Beat songs from their album The Age of Consent. The music is sampled from the song "Smalltown Boy", and the lyrics are taken from the song "Why?". The vocals are reconstructed and performed by Hal Ritson. It is used for the Sofology advert in December 2015.
"Hit That Perfect Beat" is a song by British synth-pop band Bronski Beat from their second album, Truthdare Doubledare (1986). It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart in January 1986 and entered the top 10 in several European countries, Australia, and South Africa.
"Why?" is a single by British synth-pop band Bronski Beat and appeared on their 1984 album The Age of Consent.
"To Love Somebody" is a song written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Produced by Robert Stigwood, it was the second single released by the Bee Gees from their international debut album, Bee Gees 1st, in 1967. The single reached No. 17 in the United States and No. 41 in the United Kingdom. The song's B-side was "Close Another Door". The single was reissued in 1980 on RSO Records with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" as its flipside. The song ranked at number 94 on NME magazine's "100 Best Tracks of the Sixties". It was a minor hit in the UK and France. It reached the top 20 in the US. It reached the top 10 in Canada.
"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.
Hundreds & Thousands is a remix album by Bronski Beat released in 1985.
"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.
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.
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.
"I Can Change" is the fourth single by American singer-songwriter Brandon Flowers from his second studio album, The Desired Effect.
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.
As Bronski Beat's falsetto leader, Somerville made gay politics a hot pop topic with such hi-NRG dance floor staples as "Why?" and "Smalltown Boy"
The trio had met as friends and performed as a hoot, but their first single, "Smalltown Boy" (an autobiographical tale of a gay youth fleeing homophobia for the tolerance of the big city), became a Hi-NRG disco fave on both sides of the Atlantic.
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