Editing Bronski Beat (section)

===1983–1985: early years and ''The Age of Consent''===
{{see also|The Age of Consent (album)}}
Bronski Beat formed in 1983 when Jimmy Somerville, Steve Bronski (both from [[Glasgow]])<ref name="bronski21">[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/dec/09/steve-bronski-co-founder-of-bronski-beat-has-died Steve Bronski: co-founder of Bronski Beat dies aged 61], Laura Snapes, The Guardian, 9 December 2021</ref> and Larry Steinbachek (from [[Southend-on-Sea|Southend]], [[Essex]])<ref name="steinbachek-death"/> shared a three-bedroom flat at Lancaster House in [[Brixton]], London. Steinbachek had heard Somerville singing during the making of ''[[Framed Youth: The Revenge of the Teenage Perverts]]'' and suggested they make some music. 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.<ref name="Spinmay85">{{cite journal|last=Hoskyns|first=Barney|date=May 1985|title=What is Bronski Beat?|journal=Spin|page=41|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ugCQfxwym0C&pg=PA41}}</ref><!-- cites para -->

Bronski Beat signed a [[recording contract]] with [[London Records]] in 1984 after doing only nine live [[concert|gigs]]. The band's debut single, "[[Smalltown Boy]]", about a gay teenager leaving his family and fleeing his home town, was a hit, peaking at No 3 in the [[UK Singles Chart]], and topping charts in Belgium and the Netherlands.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th

| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 79}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://top30-2.radio2.be/#/song-info/1150 |title= Smalltown Boy - BRONSKI BEAT |work= VRT |publisher= Top30-2.radio2.be |language= nl |access-date= 22 July 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120409063716/http://top30-2.radio2.be/#/song-info/1150 |archive-date= 9 April 2012 |df= dmy-all }} {{lang|nl|Hoogste notering in de top 30}} : 1</ref><ref>"[http://www.top40.nl/zoeken?search=Bronski+Beat+-+Smalltown+Boy Nederlandse Top 40 – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy search results]" (in Dutch) [[Dutch Top 40]]. Retrieved 20 December 2013.</ref><ref>"[http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Bronski+Beat&titel=Smalltown+Boy&cat=s Dutchcharts.nl – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy]" (in Dutch). [[Single Top 100|Mega Single Top 100]]. Retrieved 20 December 2013.</ref> The single was accompanied by a promotional [[music video|video]] directed by [[Bernard Rose (director)|Bernard Rose]], 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. (The police officer was played by Colin Bell, then the marketing manager of [[London Records]].) "Smalltown Boy" reached 48 in the U.S. [[record chart|chart]] and peaked at 8 in Australia.<ref name="auchart">{{Cite book|title=[[Kent Music Report|Australian Chart Book 1970–1992]] |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |publisher=Australian Chart Book |location=[[St Ives, New South Wales|St Ives, NSW]] |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>

The follow-up single, "[[Why? (Bronski Beat song)|Why?]]", adopted a [[hi-NRG]] sound and was more lyrically focused on anti-gay [[prejudice]]. It also achieved [[Top 40|Top 10]] status in the UK, reaching 6,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> and was another Top 10 hit for the band in Australia, Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands.

At the end of 1984, the trio released an album titled ''[[The Age of Consent (album)|The Age of Consent]]''. The inner sleeve listed the varying [[age of consent|ages of consent]] for consensual gay sex in different nations around the world. At the time, the age of consent for sexual acts between men in the UK was 21 compared with 16 for heterosexual acts, with several other countries having more liberal laws on gay sex. The album peaked at 4 in the [[UK Albums Chart]],<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> 36 in the U.S., and 12 in Australia.

Around the same time, the band headlined "Pits and Perverts", a concert at the [[Electric Ballroom]] in London to raise funds for the [[Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners]] campaign.<ref>{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Lucy|author-link=Lucy Robinson (historian)|title=Gay men and the left in post-war Britain: how the personal got political|publisher=[[Manchester University Press]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7190-7434-9}}</ref> This event is featured in the film ''[[Pride (2014 film)|Pride]]''.

The third single, released before Christmas 1984, was a revival of "[[It Ain't Necessarily So]]", the [[George Gershwin|George]] and [[Ira Gershwin]] classic (from ''[[Porgy and Bess]]''). The song questions the accuracy of biblical tales. It also reached the UK Top 20.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/>

In 1985, the trio joined up with [[Marc Almond]] to record a version of [[Donna Summer]]'s "[[I Feel Love]]". The full version was actually a [[Medley (music)|medley]] that also incorporated snippets of Summer's "[[Love to Love You Baby (song)|Love to Love You Baby]]" and [[John Leyton]]'s "[[Johnny Remember Me]]". It was a big success, reaching 3 in the UK and equalling the chart achievement of "Smalltown Boy".<ref name="charts">{{cite web|url= http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/21709/bronski-beat/ |title= OfficialCharts.com |website= [[OfficialCharts.com]] |access-date= 10 January 2016}}</ref> Although the original had been one of Marc Almond's all-time favourite songs, he had never read the lyrics and thus incorrectly sang "What’ll it be, what’ll it be, you and me" instead of "Falling free, falling free, falling free" on the finished record.

The band and their producer Mike Thorne had gone back into the studio in early 1985 to record a new single, "Run from Love", and PolyGram (London Records' parent company at that time) had pressed a number of promo singles and 12" versions of the song and sent them to radio and record stores in the UK. However, the single was shelved as tensions in the band, both personal and political, resulted in Somerville leaving Bronski Beat in the summer of that year.

"Run from Love" was subsequently released in [[remix]] form on the Bronski Beat album ''[[Hundreds & Thousands (album)|Hundreds & Thousands]]'', a collection of mostly remixes (LP) and [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]] (as bonus tracks on the CD version) as well as the hit "I Feel Love". Somerville went on to form [[the Communards]] with [[Richard Coles]] while the remaining members of Bronski Beat searched for a new vocalist.