When one thinks of Bronski Beat, it is always invariably “Smalltown Boy” that comes to mind. And with it, the video depicting Jimmy Somerville doing just as the song says and leaving in the morning with everything he owns in a little black case to ride the train to a town that will presumably be more accepting of his sexuality at a time when to be gay was to essentially be viewed as diseased. The keyboard, one might argue, is the very backbone of what Bronski Beat was all about: being fanciful, unafraid and willing to experiment. With said instrument helmed by Larry Steinbachek, now dead at the age of 56, Bronski Beat rose to the top on the laurels of this single.
All repressed emotions and stolen glances, the video features Somerville flashing back to his past, as well as scenes of himself at a community pool where his yearning for a certain fellow swimmer (though Somerville leaning against the rail fully clothed infers he has no intention of swimming) reaches the sort of fever pitch one expects to result in a splooge. Encouraging him to pursue the object of his affection are his friends (played by bandmates Steinbachek and Steve Bronski), Somerville takes a chance on love in a way that George Michael probably should have in every Wham! video. But then again, when one sees what happens to Somerville after taking said chance, it’s no wonder Michael waited so long to come out.
The depiction of Somerville getting beaten to a pulp by a gang led by the very man he tried to pursue at the pool is a testament to the fortitude and courage it took during this time period to be honest about one’s sexuality. But Bronski Beat didn’t stop here with its political message, soon after releasing their debut album, The Age of Consent (not to be confused with the New Order single, “Age of Consent”). Controversial for a title that referred to the ages in different countries that gay men were legally acknowledged for being capable of having consensual sex with another man, Bronski Beat was a trailblazing force to be reckoned with for the gay community in the 80s. With the death of Larry Steinbachek, thus, comes the demise of one of the decade’s foremost catalysts for change and activism.
