Bronski Beat

Formed in 1983, Bronski Beat was an English synthpop group founded by keyboard players Steve Bronski (born Steve Forrest on February 7, 1960) and Larry Steinbachek (born May 6, 1960) with vocalist Jimmy Somerville (born June 22, 1961). Bronski Beat combined synthpop with Hi-Energy dance music and created a commercial pop sound topped with the unique falsetto vocals of Jimmy Somerville. The trio caused controversy with their debut single “Smalltown Boy” (1984), which detailed the struggles of a young gay man and homophobia. The song was a hit single in the UK charts and sold extremely well in other countries. All three members of the group were gay, and Somerville’s lyrics dealt with LGBTQ issues, which was considered a taboo subject in some countries during this period in the 1980s. Bronski Beat’s next single, “Why”, was another huge success. Bronski Beat released their debut album, The Age of Consent, in October 1984, reaching Number 4 in the UK and the Top 40 in the US. In 1985, Bronski Beat released the remix mini-album Hundreds & Thousands, which was followed by the departure of vocalist Somerville. While their former vocalist achieved success with his next band, The Communards, Bronski Beat recruited new vocalist John Foster and achieved some success with the singles “Hit That Perfect Beat” and “C’mon, C’mon” but their album Truthdare Doubldare (1986) didn’t perform as well as expected and the group split before they could release a third album. In the early 1990s, Steve Bronski formed a new version of Bronski Beat with new vocalist Jonathan Hellyer. The group released the album Rainbow Nation in 1995 but broke up shortly after the release. In 2016, Bronski Beat returned with Bronski, Donaldson, and new vocalist Stephen Granville and released the album The Age of Reason, which featured re-recordings of old hits plus a few new songs. Original Bronski Beat member Larry Steinbachek died of cancer in December of 2016. Steve Bronski suffered a stroke in 2017, which affected his mobility. He died in a fire in his Soho, England flat on December 7, 2021.

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