#9: Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat

City: Montreal, PQ
Radio Station: CKOI
Peak Month: January 1985
Peak Position in Montreal ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #48
Peak Position on Belgian Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Italian Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Netherlands Singles chart ~ #1
YouTube: “Smalltown Boy”
Lyrics: “Smalltown Boy”

James “Jimmy” Somerville was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1961. He moved to London in 1980 and attended the London Gay Teenage Group. In 1983 he co-founded Bronski Beat with Steven Forrest, the latter adopted the stage name Steve Bronski. Forrest was born in 1960 in Glasgow. Larry Steinbachek was also born in 1960, in his case in London. He worked as an electrician and was studying to be a musician prior to forming Bronski Beat. The three mates were sharing a flat in Brixton when they decided to form a group. They first performed publicly at an arts festival, September in the Pink. The trio were unhappy with the inoffensive nature of contemporary gay performers and sought to be more outspoken and political.

The band’s debut single, “Smalltown Boy”.

“Smalltown Boy” is a song cowritten by Steve Bronski, Larry Steinbacheck, and Jimmy Somerville. “Smalltown Boy” is a song about a gay teenager leaving his family and fleeing his home town. It topped the pop charts in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands, and ranked #2 in Austria and Switzerland, #3 in the UK and West Germany, #4 in Ireland, #5 in New Zealand, #8 in Australia and France, and #9 in Canada. It stalled at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was accompanied by a music video showing Somerville trying to befriend an attractive diver at a swimming pool, then being attacked by the diver’s homophobic associates, being returned to his family by the police and having to leave home.

“Smalltown Boy” climbed to #1 in Montreal, and Sherbrooke (ON), #3 in Toronto, Regina (SK), and Ottawa, #4 in Boston, #5 in Sydney (NS), #6 in Hamilton (ON), and San Francisco, #8 in Atlanta, #9 in Burnaby (BC), and Calgary, and #11 in Vancouver (BC).

The followup single to “Smalltown Boy” was “Why?”. Though “Why?” did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100, the single peaked at #1 in the UK, #2 in the Netherlands and Spain, #3 in Belgium, #5 in Italy and West Germany, #6 in Ireland, #7 in South Africa and Switzerland, #8 in France, #10 in Australia and #11 in New Zealand.

The album Age of Consent reached #4 in the Netherlands and the UK, #5 in New Zealand, #7 in Canada and Switzerland, #10 in West Germany, #11 in Italy, and #12 in Australia. A third single release from the album, “It Ain’t Necessarily So”, climbed to #16 on the UK singles chart in late 1984.

In 1985, Bronski Beat released a second album titled Hundreds & Thousands. The single release from the album was “I Feel Love”, a medley with a cover of the 1960 UK hit “Johnny Remember Me”. It peaked at #3 in the UK and Ireland, and the Top 20 in the Netherlands and West Germany.

“Smalltown Boy” had another chart run in 1991 in Ireland (#16), West Germany (#28) and the UK (#32), and in 1994 in Italy (#22).

Meanwhile, in 1985, Jimmy Somerville formed the pop duo, the Communards, with Richard Coles. The synth-pop, hi-NRG, duo had several Top Ten hits in the mid-80s. One of these was a cover of the Thelma Houston disco hit, “Don’t Leave Me This Way”. The single topped the pop charts in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. It also made the Top 5 in Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland and West Germany. The cover also made the Top Ten in Finland and France.

A second Top Ten international hit in for the Communards in 1986 was “So Cold The Night”. It was a Top Ten hit in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. As well, the single cracked the Top 20 in Austria, France and West Germany. A third Top Ten hit was the Communards’ cover of the Jackson 5 hit “Never Can Say Goodbye”. The cover made the Top Ten in Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain (#1), the UK, and West Germany. The single also made the Top 20 in Australia, South Africa and Switzerland. While the Communards were a different recording act from Bronski Beat, Jimmy Somerville was lead vocalist in both. This led to ongoing interest in the mid-80s in both acts.

When Somerville departed from Bronski Beat in 1985, he was replaced by John Foster. The third album by Bronski Beat, Truthdare Doubledare, was also released in 1985. It included “Hit That Perfect Beat”, featuring Foster on lead vocals, which climbed to #3 in Australia, Switzerland and the UK, #4 in West Germany, and #5 in Ireland, Italy and South Africa, and #11 in Austria. A followup single in 1986, “C’mon, C’mon”, peaked at #9 in Ireland, and #20 in the UK.

John Foster left Bronski Beat in 1987. In 1989, Bronski Beat teamed up with Eartha Kitt to record “Cha Cha Heels”. New Bronchi Beat vocalist Jonathan Hellyer, gave it his best in the studio with Kitt. The single reached #22 in Ireland and stalled at #32 in the UK.

More single releases followed into the 90s. But none were commercially successful. Bronski Beat split in 1995. Following the break up of the band, Steve Bronski lived in Thailand for many years, as well as Paris, France, before returning to the United Kingdom.

After the Communards split in 1988, Jimmy Somerville pursued a solo career. In 1989, he covered the Françoise Hardy (France) tune from 1968 titled “Comment Te Dire Adieu”. Somerville’s cover peaked at #14 in the UK and #3 in France. Then, in 1990, Somerville released a cover of the 1978 hit by Sylvester titled “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real”. The cover shot to #5 on the UK pop chart. Later that year, his cover of the BeeGee’s “To Love Somebody” reached #8 on the UK pop chart. Between 1989 and 2015, Somerville has released a half dozen solo albums.

In 2014, Somerville received the Tartan Clef Award from the city of Glasgow at a Scottish Music Awards ceremony. In February 2021, Jimmy Somerville released a cover of “Everything Must Change” with the proceeds going toward the UK non-profit End Youth Homelessness.

In 2016, Larry Steinbachek died after a short battle with cancer. Bronski had a stroke in 2018 which limited his mobility. He died from smoke inhalation in a fire at his home in Soho, London, on December 7, 2021. Bronski was 61.

July 14, 2025
Ray McGinnis

References:
Barney Hoskyns, “What Is Bronski Beat?,” SPIN, May 1985.
Matthew Weaver, “Steve Bronski carer says musician died in Soho flat fire,” Guardian, December 13, 2021.
“Bronski Beat keyboardist Larry Steinbachek dies at 56,” BBC, January 12, 2017.
“Where Are They Now? Jimmy Somerville,” talkaboutpopmusic.com, April 11, 2021.
“Homelessness charity launches new campaign with Jimmy Somerville,” Classicpopmag.com, February 24, 2021.
Beverley Lyons, “Tartan Clef Awards: Bronski Beat star Jimmy Somerville tells why he was proud to receive award in Glasgow 30 years after leaving,” Daily Record, December 2, 2014.
Steve Bronski, “The Beginning of Bronski Beat,” jimmysomerville.de.

CKOI 96.9-FM Montreal Top Ten | January 25, 1985