Bronski Beat’s debut The Age of Consent retrospectively reviewed – as ‘Smalltown Boy’ goes ‘viral on TikTok’
It feels very apt to revisit Bronski Beat’s debut album, The Age of Consent. The record, released in 1984, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Lead single ‘Smalltown Boy’ is also having a moment after being given the ultimate seal of approval from Gen Z by becoming a viral hit on TikTok.
Bronski debut record is a genre-defining entry in early 80s pop. The only one to be released with founding lead vocalist Jimmy Somerville, the 10-track LP is a political record filled with hi-NRG and synth-pop bangers.
Its title was a response to the UK’s then-resistance to lowering the legal age for homosexual acts, and the album explores Somerville’s personal experiences as a gay Scotsman.
The narrative of being a young gay man during this tumultuous time permeates each track. Thatcher was Prime Minister, AIDS was taking countless lives, and social attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community were hostile.
On album opener and second single, ‘Why?’, Somerville addresses this head-on: “You in your false securities / Tear up my life / Condemning me”. Lyrically, the album is more directly about the queer experience than what pop contemporaries Pet Shop Boys and Erasure were attempting at this time.
On ‘Screaming’, Somerville’s inner turmoil surrounding his sexuality reaches a head: “My freedom, my prison cell / My tempting to destroy / My fantasies, my lost control / My confusion, disillusion”. His honesty is devastating, powerfully describing the struggles faced by queer people during this grim period in history.
The layers of Somerville’s psyche are peeled back before reaching their climax on ‘Smalltown Boy’. Peaking at number three in the UK, and Top 10 internationally, this is Bronski Beat’s defining tune. Semi-autobiographical, the track deals with themes of rejection and social isolation.
“Pushed around and kicked around, always a lonely boy” croons Somerville over irresistible 80s disco production. The accompanying video directly references the lyrics, depicting Somerville fleeing his family home following a gay hate crime. One can assume this was Andrew Haigh’s reference in All of Us Strangers as Andrew Scott takes the train back to the 1980s to visit his parents.
While Somerville’s stronger records would come later, his work with Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek is essential listening. Reaching number four in the UK, number 12 in Australia, and a respectable 36 in the US, the album kickstarted a decade of outstanding music by queer artists, including Somerville himself. If the streaming numbers of ‘Smalltown Boy’ are anything to go by (more than 343 million on Spotify), Bronski Beat successfully crafted hits that have transcended the difficult period that inspired them, and continue to engage new listeners decades later.
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