Every now and then I get people asking for a playlist of every song mentioned in my videos: Well here's a Spotify link for this one: open.spotify.com/playlist/6bnp580X0X5KxpvMu8q78Q?si=ae6f13c0399c4f13 and the RUclips Music one: music.ruclips.net/p/PLooaZ33lSaledRpp5eiPVaVdgsVr-zDcE&si=GjljNZSzCCmwIjtm
I literally went to the laptop from to manually create this playlist. I already had Spotify open and named the list as 'WHY ARE U GAE' when I saw the comment. I am not worthy LOL.
On the morning I left my rural Pennsylvania home in 1984 at the tender age of 19, I wrote the lyrics to Smalltown Boy in a letter I left for my father. I set it on a little recessed shelf next to my parent's bed where my dad kept my deceased mother's photo, and the only crucifix in our home. Strangely enough, I took a bus to Cleveland, Ohio that morning with only a small black suitcase in hand. The opened letter remained on that shelf for the rest of his life.
@@LeHosko Agreed, and being from rural PA myself, I know how closed minded it is there. Everyone deserves to live life on their own terms and unfucked with.
I could never imagine turning my back on my son all because of who he chooses to sleep with. That's no ones business. Hope you are having a good life now, @kamen899
Jimmy Somerville truly had a brass pair to do what he did in the 80s, he had BALLS like no other. In America the first openly gay star was Jobriath who dropped in 1973, a fantastic performer who's been largely forgotten. I have a ton of respect and admiration for both of them.
This is not hyperbole. You are SO right. I remember hearing the opening line of Why for the first time, “contempt in your eyes as i turn to kiss his lips”, and was stunned. I got emotional. There was Sylvester, but that was really it. I was just walking around early today listening to “Why” on repeat and I still get choked up. That song, and Bronski Beat, in general, really let me know I wasn’t alone.
My big brother was telling me about Jobriath recently, and I'd never heard of him. He was incredibly talented, a real pioneer. Really sad how things ended for him.
As a gay teen in the 1980’s the arrival of Jimmy Somerville on the music scene was a godsend to me. Like you said, up until that time there wasn’t an openly in your face gay music artist out there. The fact he was so unapologetic about it made it so much more meaningful
Jimi Somerville and Bronski Beat did not only affect the gay community. I was a teen when the song came out, I was actually only just learning that there even was such a thing as homosexuality. While I myself have only ever fancied girls and women, seeing the video to "Smalltown Boy" touched me. I sympathized with Jimi's character and I decided to never be like the people in the video who turned away from him or were violent. These days you would say I decided to become an ally and not take part in homophobia. I wouldn't have known those words back then, but I lived my life by it, treating gay friends like I would straight ones. I am happy for the contributions those friendships are giving my life. It may that I would have turned out like that without that song, but as it was, I believe I was experiencing it as a huge influence on how I have lived and am living my life.
You just said pretty much what I wanted to write. Bronski Beat woke me up to the idea that not everyone was the same as me and that some people were attacked for being gay. I barely knew what that was in the early 80s but I was sure I didn’t want to hate anyone else just for being themselves. And Smalltown Boy remains one of the best songs of the 80s. Just the opening chords take me away to the 80s
I saw this video in 84 when I was 14 years old and living outside of Philadelphia. I remember sitting in front of the tv with tears streaming down my face. 40 years later it can still bring tears to my eyes.
I was watching this and suddenly became startled when you quoted my review of THE AGE OF CONSENT from Gay City News. Thanks so much! It's really gratifying.
This song has gained popularity with the kids on tiktok recently. GenX is making their presence loud and proud there and showing how inclusive the music and generation is.
Fantastic episode this. I'm a 54-yr-old straight man, married, with two daughters, one gay. When this song came out I was 14 (in South Africa). and it had a huge impact me regarding how I viewed/ understood the gay community. The last line of this is spot on. The song is universal. 'Human' indeed. Oh, and this is the one that got me to hit subscribe finally.
Yeah, same. I was around 9 when this came out and I guess it was my first realization of the existence of homosexuality. This just touched my heart and gave me so much empathy and understanding from early on.
I’m a heterosexual, 45 year old man. Whenever I hear smalltown boy, I cannot help but be transported into the mind of someone who is being suppressed by society from being themselves. The video for the song is also magnificent. You asked which is my fave lgbtq+ song from the 1980s? It’s smalltown boy. But truly, it’s probably my favourite song of the 80s full stop. It’s more than a song. What they did made an enormous impact way beyond the music. Many, many people should be thankful for what Jimmy did.
We Scots have a saying, we are all Jock Thomson's bairns, meaning we are all God's Children. Now, I am not religious in any way but I do appreciate the sentiment that, no matter our race, gender, or sexuality, we are all equal. And that we should respect one another as equals.
I am straight but love to dance and was 16 in 1980. Jimmy and Small town boy made such an impression.I realised the meaning of the video and always brought a tear. Sylvester, again another person who changed the world. The 80s music and the guys who were out and proud helped shape opinions too. Xxx
@billbansheeedinburgh1172 I am straight and was in HS as MTV began and exploded. Had it not existed, Bronski Beat, Communards, Jimmy Somerville's solo work and many other artists being discussed here, I would have missed and discovered much later. My fascination with synthesizers and electronic music and love of dance grooves made me a fan. Then the video with the lyrics of "Smalltown Boy" changes everything. I was also listening to all genres of music being a saxophonist and young musician. What also added to the change was working in a music store. There and at university I began meeting many in the LGBTQ community through music. Because of the research I did to perform my job better, I gained confidence and wasn't as shy away from work. This video was emotional to watch due to gay friends and customers I lost over the years.
@@ArtistSoftwareEngineer I agree, some ground breaking stuff in the 80s and yes the video expressed the song, I loved the talents of Boy George and many others, I was younger in the 80s and went to gay clubs and made many friends through dancing and hanging out.
I'm 50, born in 1974, & loved music from the year dot so to speak. I was bullied throughout school, so related hard to Smalltown Boy, living as I did in a small town in Scotland. Jimmy is one of many reasons I'm proud to be a Scot. His music was part of my childhood & teen years
Another '74 here. 50 eh? Thats a milestone. Down in Brum i can't say i was ever a fan (and still not really) but i can't deny the dudes voice is just an instant dose of being young again. All the gay stuff was over my head, i didnt know what it meant. At the time we (as in the kids in my class) where all just scared of catching AIDS from toilet seats and just being horrible to each other. "Gay" was just the one size fits all insult to hurl at anyone, but i didnt actually know what it was or meant. I was quietly a Whitesnake and Def Leapard fan. Come to think of it, its wierd that i got more mocked for my love of '80s hair metal (when people found out) than my mates did when they were talking about their love of Pet Shop Boys and all the others mentioned in the video. The '80s were a odd time. Maybe i missed it, but did the video even mention AIDs and what a massive deal that was back then?
@@jamesmaybrick2001 I was more "in the know" about how the virus spread, which didn't help my fear of injections much. A cruel prank of the time was to jab everybody with the sharp pins of Remembrance poppies, & I got jabbed multiple times
@@elaineb7065 They did that up North of the Border to? Us kids were utterly awful. I remember that thumtacks were the weapon of choice. Little Aids filled landmines on our chairs and for the really devious inder the lip of the desktops that opened. I remember my barber slightly cut my ear once and i didnt sleep for a week. If it wasn't fear of AIDs there was the constant threat of the IRA killing us andf school bomb drills to remind us. As Birmingham born and Bred, in the '80s that wasn't just a theoretical worry. we all knew and walked past the pubs that got blown up quite often. Its a wonder we are well balanced as we are (assuming we are). Still, we also had Zammo chasing the Dragon and showing all exactly how to smoke Heroin. I wouldnt have a clue wihout Grange Hill, lol.
Back then, I remember holding my Walkman against my ears and curling up as I was being beaten and kicked on the ground. A Little Respect by Erasure was playing and I disappeared into the music. These were more than music back then. The songs from Jimmy and Erasure became sanctuaries; sacred sonic spaces to disappear into. Even now, decades later, these bring tears to my eyes as I fall into those same spaces and am transported away. Wouldn’t be here with Jimmy, Andy and Vince. Thanks for a brilliant documentary.
Violence against the queer community was so commonplace back then, myself and every single one of my friends got battered at some point, it was pretty much a weekly occurrence. The rage is still in my blood.
Smalltown Boy is a truly heart-wrenching song. It tells a story that anyone who's ever felt like an outsider can relate to, regardless of sexuality. And it manages this, while also being an absolute banger. That's a pretty amazing feat in my opinion. Bronski Beat was only ever Bronski Beat while Jimmy Sommerville was the heart and soul of the band.
The song is about the gay experience as Jimmy felt it, but the song’s ability to connect with people outside that demographic was vitally important to its success. It’s damn catchy as a piece of music, even people who can’t speak English can love it on that level. A big pop act cannot sustain itself longterm on the pink £ alone, it needs the mass support of straight women to sell out venues / tours. Ask any promoter of arena shows in the last four decades for Kylie or Madonna or Steps or Britney etc etc act basically any big act associated with having a gay fan base
@@iwasanangryyoungman I'm going to see Debbii Dawson (from America's Got Talent) tomorrow evening. 😍 She's opening for Orville Peck, so I'm studying up on his discography, including that cover of a beloved song. 🎶❤️
I think most of us gay guys who were around in that period also miss it. There was such camaraderie between us and a real sense of community, despite a horrendous plague and laws against us. Gay culture was really blossoming.
It was the best. You had an instant family in big cities and even smaller towns where there would be one bar for gays, lesbians and friendly straights who loved the vibe.
It wasn't all that great of a community. There was "a community" tied to whatever events the bars, financed by the mafia, would have. The Mafia was the only way the bars could finance or pass the government regulations as they would run as restaurants by day and bars at night.
I hit a few years later. NYC was eerie. There were young guys like me and old men, and the rest were dying or dead, at least in New York. I wasn't gay, but i was trans. It was the only place I felt safe, not that I did not get beaten down a few times.
Wow! Thanks so much for this video. I'm a 47 y/o gay Texan and I DID NOT KNOW ANY OF THIS! I have to go back and listen to this entire discography now.
I cannot overstate the importance this song has for me. In 1984, at the age of 17, I finally began to come out as a gay man, at least to myself (it would take me another couple of years until I had worked up the nerves to come out to my parents). It was another time back then, with no internet and next to no information about homosexuality, and no prominent people being officially out. I felt very desperate and alone for a very long time, so this song of course hit a raw nerve. I also cannot overstate how much Bronski Beat helped me stay afloat during these times. Jimmy Somerville will forever be my personal hero, especially because he used his fame for much needed visibility and policital activism.
You must be mistaken! You could've have possibly connected with this as a young gay man. This is revisionist history. /s 🤦🏽♀️ I'm so glad you had that song when you needed it ❤ To feel so alone and unsupported... I can't imagine it. It's a great reminder of how important music is in our lives. It's there for us when we have no one else.
Australian straight guy here. I'll never forget seeing the film clip for 'Smalltown Boy' for the first time and thought it was like a powerful mini-feature film, not to mention how great the lyrics are in this song. It's such a masterpiece of pop -- I'm sure that it gave a lot of strength and confidence to a lot of people to be themselves, so for that, it's an even more of a classic. I still have my original 12" vinyl single. Having said that, I can't stand Jimmy Somerville's voice beyond this song. That's just me though.
Compelling message and haunting melody - but yes that comical Mickey Mouse falsetto of his kind of ruins it a little bit. Imagine how powerful this song would have been if sung in his normal voice!
@@kenster8270 At least the vocal wasn't shamelessly modulated with oversaturated auto-tune. I realize this probably was not available at the time, but just imagine. I'm not usually very fond of falsetto, to be sure, but I can conceive other performing and production strategies which might sound objectively worse. Can you imagine the lead singer of Carcass providing his flensing shrieks to this song? That would own 🏴☠ Then I am reminded of a recorded performance of Ozzy Osborne singing a Bee Gees song, which I unironically enjoyed listening to. This was mildly surprising, so now it occurs to me that I may never know if I would not prefer 'Smalltown Boy' recorded with the full goregrind cadaver KOR suite of Jeff Walker et al. on vocals 🤔☣😷
As a kid growing up in the eighties with this and other gay and queer pop music it couldn't help but have an impact. It made being gay a normal thing, if so many pop stars were gay or rumoured to be gay, not something that you should be ashamed of. Whether or not they were out or not didn't really matter. We already knew that George Michael or Marc Almond were gay anyway. Ironically of the bands mentioned in the video, the Bronski Beat for all their normalcy looks the most stereotypical early eighties gay now: the jeans, the checkered shirts, doc martens and cropped hair all scream gay.
well, I think it did - their not being out gave you a sense that it was wrong and should not be mentioned - that's why somerville was a saviour (for me also DAF were)
@@babi68 yes its why when Madonna started getting more vocal about the gay men and the aids and wearing condoms, that is was awesome. Before that you, you got the wink sometimes - but Madonna would point right at you and scream "he look, one my gay fans, aren't they amazing!" and then she did what she did for Truth or Dare/In Bed With Madonna.
That slur you use, why are you using it if you grew up when it was thrown around as an insult to gay people? It also has political connotations that has nothing to do with gay people, New Discourses just posted a video about it.
I'm not gay but this song hits so hard. It speaks to all those who don't fit in and it always reminds me of those who lived this and didn't/don't get to make it this far. I can't avoid the tears either. Thanks for putting this together.
Bronski Beat and Marc Almond singing "I Feel Love" at Montreaux 1985 is one of the best live pop performances ever committed to video and it makes me wish I was there. Jimmy Somerville is one of the all-time most distinct and greatest voices in UK pop, and committed to his principles harder than a lot of punks do to theirs.
I only came to appreciate 80's music in my mid-thirties, with a few exceptions. Listening to a compilation of songs from that decade, Small Town Boy came along and hit me like a train, making me burst into tears by both the music and the lyrics. Thank you for this insightful documentary on these great musicians.
I'm so glad this song has yet another resurgence thanks to social media. The power of music is intergenerational, and our world is far from healed. There's a reason Smalltown Boy speaks to so many people.
Meticulously researched as usual. Abba- Sex Pistols- Bronski Beat feels so satisfying to hear the thread of inspiration. Thank you for another great episode.
As a straight teenager in 1984 and a straight man now, this song spoke to me about how easy my life was and how unbelievably horrific life was for gay men. I've been an ally ever since. This song has remained one of my favourite songs of all time and one of my treasured 12" records of the time. It's a synth-pop masterpiece.
I’ve had my head in 80s music, going to goth clubs, adding to my big 80s playlist on Spotify, for about 25 years now and have never heard of Bronski Beat’s story until now. What a pivotal pioneer Jimmy Somerville is in being out on a grand scale!
These Summerville songs are part of my education about what homosexuality really was. 14-year-old straight white me kinda knew in theory what it meant, but only on a "technical" level. Together with My Beautiful Laundrette this was an education into showing that it isn't all about weird headgear and over-the-top "ooh Matron"... it is about people loving each other.
You have a wonderful talent for threading stories together and keeping them interesting and entertaining. This is another fantastic doc!! Thank you...I hope you keep them coming!! Much respect.
Mike Thorne is so correct. Smalltown Boy can easily be appreciated by anyone lost and lonely and lacking an identity at home, feeling the need to run away somewhere where they’ll find a community, friend group and such who appreciates them. Hits home for me. I’m 25 living in a provincial town in the English Midlands with progressive views and surrounded by people who by comparison don’t really feel progressive or particularly learn’ed about anything. I feel all the time like my personality belongs in a city with other like minded people but I’m too skint to move out, austerity and wage stagnation having hit young people like me so hard. So I relate to Smalltown Boy on that fundamental level, as a song about alienation. Another great video TT!
Thank you for making this tribute! "Smalltown Boy" was part of my own gay coming out to myself, growing up as a nerdy boy in countryside Germany in the late 90s / early naughties. ❤
There were many artists that helped a queer kid in Salt Lake City in the 80's. I was lucky to find a tribe of like minded people in a few dance clubs. Bronski Beat and the Communards were part of that soundtrack. I read the liner notes to Age of Concent over and over and the words were my life.
It's good to see this song and group get their flowers. Bronski Beat was a true original. Jimmy Somerville has a sincerity it's hard to match, and his countertenor voice is exquisite and impeccable. Smalltown Boy speaks right from the heart to the heart, especially to those who have experienced being ostracized. Every time I hear that opening wail, I feel it like it came from my own soul.
This song has helped so many people. I really spoke to me when I found it as a gay kid in the early 2000's. Great job talking about it and giving me more history behind it!
Thank you for your take on this part of my youth. In hindsight it’s still baffling to me that I felt so alone in those years while so many people all over the world had the same experiences. Most of the names you included in this take, I hold close to my heart, their music pulled me trough. Edit: favourite song: do you wanna funk by sylvester
Loved his work in recent activism on HIV/AIDS and trans rights on the internet, even featuring in Oliver Sim's 'Hideous', his coming to terms with his diagnosis, Jimmy being some sort of angel on the shoulder at the end
Smalltown Boy spoke directly to its core audience of young gay men. But its timing came just at the right moment in the spring of 1984 when the gay underground went overground and into the charts. The hi-nrg sound had been building through bands like Lime and the Bobby O productions, and songs like Searchin’ by Hazell Dean had waited a year to get into the charts. The public were ready for it, and the genius of Smalltown Boy was its universal appeal, which has given it its timeless quality.
"Hit That Perfect Beat" and "Don't Leave Me This Way" were such an important part of my baby gay days, when I finally started going out to clubs on my own; I had to hit the floor any time one of these came on. The 13-minute Gotham City Remix of "Don't Leave Me This Way" is probably my favorite extended dance remix ever.
"Smalltown Boy" is not only an emotional sledgehammer, it's also one of my absolute favorite songs of the entire decade. The perfect synthesis of minimalist post punk synth, dance pop and confessional storytelling. I'm straight but I was an alienated misfit in small town New Hampshire and I related to every word and note of this song. It may have been written from a gay perspective but it deeply touches the heart of everyone who was alienated and abused by the narrow mindedness of the people they had to grow up around. This song still chokes me up every time I hear it
“Shoot your Shot” - Divine “C Minor” - Communards “Comment te dire adieu” - Jimmy Somerville “Piano Song” - Erasure “So in Love” - KD Lang “The Crying Game - Boy George “Like Jesus to a Child” - George Michael “The Stranger” - Pete Burns / Nightmares in Wax To be honest I was a great fan of Dead or Alive. I was never closeted and my attitude matched Pete’s perfectly. As a 16 year old I wore makeup, dreads, press on nails much like Boy and Pete. Fierce and fearless. Every song Dead or Alive produced was a close match with the life I was living. Reason why I love a lot of their stuff. Pete was my hero and I guess Marilyn Manson loved him too 😉 In all fairness most of the 80’s gay bands were legends. So much talent. They made an era and were the pioneers, opening doors for millions of us ✌🏻🙂
Great video. You kind of undermined the message by saying at the end, “Smalltown Boy is great because it’s not gay, it’s universal.” Wasn’t the whole point of this whole video that Somerville, almost alone among his peers, was specifically gay?
Yeah. The song succeeds because it communicates so well, but the context was specific to ignore authorial intent is a dangerous kind of ignorance. “all lives matter”, eh, Mike?
@@010101110100 I don’t want to be too harsh, because the video is terrific. But I’m reminded of people saying to playwright/actor Harvey Fierstein about his play “Torchsong Trilogy,” “Oh, it’s not a gay play, it’s a universal play.” And he’d reply, “Um, no, it’s a gay play. I’m happy if you can find something in it that resonates with you, but it’s a gay play.” And he pointed out that queer people have had to look for themselves in straight plays forever. It’s time the straights had to do some work, too.
First time I've seen one of your videos. I lived through this. Bronski Beat & Smalltown Boy hit when I was a 16 yo closeted young gay man. You are exceptional in that every detail you got completely correct. So many other videos covering the era make mistakes. You nailed it.
Always loved small town boy as a kid but never knew its underlying story until RUclips came around. I think I loved it even more after I realised the meaning
Jimmy Somerville’s vocals just right in to your soul 💔😿❤️ When I first saw this music video I was intrigued. I didn’t quite understand the story behind it, but the heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics and voice made me notice. The more I watched it, the more I understood it. It is still such a beautiful song, and still is so powerful today❤️
Other than Jimmy Somerville, there's Andy Bell of Erasure and Patrick Fitzgerald of Kitchens of Distinction that wrote lyrics as out songwriter s. Music not making camp but, honest stories about being Gay. Thank goodness indeed!
Thanks Jimmy. You’ve impacted so many lives over the years and don’t get enough credit for it. I keep hoping you will raise your heavenly voice again with powerful words that will help young outcasts like I was helped back when I arrived in London in 1984 as a wide eyed 19 years old ballet dancer. I bumped into you, not knowing who you were, at the black cap one evening and later recognized you on television as the quiet guy sitting near me at the bar. I went back there a few times but instead of you, I was faced with none other than Lily Savage !! I’m now approaching (fast) my 60th birthday and my memories are still intact. You’ve made our young lives so much easier!❤❤❤
Your videos always introduce me to so much. A lot of the music is not what I've listened to, but the stories are always so interesting, and often very important. Thank you for this
Jimmy's courage is incredible. I wish you'd included his feature on Oliver Sim's Hideous in the influences section; Jimmy acts as the song's guardian angel on the bridge the song, which sees Oliver confronting the fear/shame he's experienced since becoming diagnosed with HIV at 17. Truly the clearest example of his influence tbh. Oliver spoke about his relationship with Jimmy in a statement about the song (which is incredible) posted below: "Early on in the making of my record, Hideous Bastard, I realised that I was writing a lot about fear and shame. I imagine that might paint a picture of a dark, "woe is me" sounding album, but in recent years I've become a firm believer that the best antidote to these feelings can be bringing them to the surface and shedding some light on them. I haven't written the record to dwell, but rather to free myself of some of the shame and fear that I’ve felt for a long time. So, I hear a lot of the music as joyous, because the experience of writing and recording it has been the complete opposite of what fear and shame have been for me. Two thirds in, having a good idea of what the record was about, I realised I’d been circling around one of the things that has probably caused me the most fear and shame. My HIV status. I've been living with HIV since I was 17 and it's played with how I've felt towards myself, and how I've assumed others have felt towards me, from that age and into my adult life. So, quite impulsively, I wrote about it on a song called 'Hideous.' I thought I could release it into the world and be done with it. After playing the song to my mum, being the protective and wise mum that she is, she gave me some of the best advice I've ever received. She suggested that I spend some time having conversations with people in my life first. Either people I hadn't told yet, or people I had told but hadn't wanted to talk much further on it. Since writing 'Hideous,' I've spent the past two years having those conversations, which was difficult and uncomfortable to start with, but has allowed me to feel a lot freer and has only strengthened my relationship with myself and with the people in my life. One of the most special relationships I've gained from this has been with Mr Jimmy Somerville. I knew for 'Hideous' I wanted a guardian angel to appear in the song and sing to me the words I needed to hear. Not only has Jimmy been such a powerful voice around HIV & AIDS for decades, but the man quite literally sounds like an angel. I reached out to him as a complete fan boy, but now consider him a real good friend. He encouraged me to do the song for myself. He taught me "glamour" is a Scottish word. And, most importantly, he reminded me to not take myself too seriously, no good comes from that! "Am I Hideous?" feels far less like a question I’m asking the world now. I know the answer. As scary as it still feels, I'm excited to share this music with you, and I hope you enjoy it. Lots of love, Oliver xx"
When I heard Smalltown Boy as a teenager I was sold. Such a great song. I wrote "Bronski Beat" on my school suitcase, as we would do with our fav groups. A classmate told me: "but they are 3 f4gs!". I remember thinking: so what? It is still my fav song of all time, 40 years later.
This documentary is fantastic and it brings back so many memories. I remember listening to the first Bronski Beat album as a young gay man in college. Loving every track. Thank you for sharing the background story of Jimmy Somerville. I understand even more now why that music resonated with me so much.
It’s so difficult to know it all, even a little of the wide and deep through time. Your docs give context to veins of brilliant purpose that I’m only beginning to see all these years later. I was there for much of it, having worked in an actual record store but still, it’s all rushing right past you. Cheers to ya, and great thanks for these succinct essays. They are brilliant man.
This is one of the greatest songs of the eighties when the competition for greatness was immense. And this vid hits all the right notes. The only poor part was when some modern music was played in its awful dullness,.
One day everybody will realise that it's not about LGBTQ+ (or however many letter you want to add) it's just about love.. It doesn't matter who you love, just that you love.
I liked them all - Bronski Beat, Pet Shop Boys, Freddy Mercury, Frankie... Never was into George Michael. I never thought about their sexuality just their passion and honesty and awesome musical talent.
Great video! My sister and I spent a whole christmas break watching a VHS-tape with Jimmy Somerville singing together with the Communards and Sarah Jane Morris in a cathedral or factory or something a gazillion times.
im not even gay but smalltown boy hits really close to home. im from a pop.100 villiage and i got "pushed around and kicked around" too. i always needed to get out. no one got me, especially my father, even after puberty. people beat me up for not fitting in. even the villiage policeman said i should be shot. i noped out of there as soon as i could
I am a 56 yo hetero man. I loved JS' music from the first time I heard (Smalltown boy btw) and tried to follow him throughout his career. I knew he was gay and some songs of him talking about gay relationships but his music was so inclusive that I find myself in many of his songs. Thank you Jimmy for wonderful songs and I respect your struggle for the cause.
I think it was recently added to TikTok, so it's becoming popular again. I fucking love Smalltown Boy. I've never understood why it wasn't considered more of a banger by my generation. Probably, and I say this in all seriousness, because it wasn't one of the 80s songs featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City lol.
Rockstar rectified that by having it in Grand Theft Auto V instead. But I feel like V is not as big a hit as the 3D games were. Or at least, not meme-able. I mean, we all know the "aw, sh1t... here we go again" :)
I would politely disagree with the final take of it could be anyone's anthem. We loved this song for WHAT it stood for. An amazingly beautiful song, but we knew what it was about. STILL gives me shivers and memories. Ground breaking (we hoped) Context: from a white hetro woman.
The drummer from No Doubt wore that same cowboys T-shirt (mentioned at 15:40) on TRL before they made him change it. Carson Daly said "cool shirt." I wonder if it was a conscious reference.
I believe it was a Tom of Finland shirt and those became more popular outside gay culture due to McLaren and Westwood. Adam Ant wore one in his early years. Basically Tom = gay cowboys 👍
Smalltown Boy was such an amazing and important track. I didn't see it until the mid 90s, but it really resonated with me. I'm straight, but always felt like an outsider in plenty of other ways, and it was such an evocative song about alienation and acceptance.
You didn't had to be gay to enjoy this song. I lived in a small, mostly catholic, city. My parents weren't married, I had so many interest in things, I cannot learn there and no one to talk to. I know in 1984, that I will move to a bigger city soon, were I can have a fresh start. That's why I loved this song the first moment I heard it. The eighties had so many great music, but this is one of my top three songs. I listen regular to it for last 40 years. To use ABBA's words "Thank you for the Music" Mr. Somerville
I first heard Smalltown Boy through Orville Peck's cover, and fell in love with the original. As a queer, deeply closeted kid from a small town in Nebraska, it made me feel like there was more out there and that I wasn't the only one
I knew there was a story behind Smalltown Boy, and to some degree, what it was about... but wow. This might be one of your best videos so far. Massive kudos!
I love Bronski Beat it was so new at the time Smalltown boy is still one of my favorite songs even though I`m not gay ... Thanks for this story ! great stuff!
Absolutely comprehensive coverage of one of the most ground breaking groups of the 80s . What a great and necessary documentary. Will definitely be sharing this one . Wow !
I loved Smalltown Bou the first time I heard it, knew it had ties to the gay community, but somehow I’d never heard the story in full like this. You truly never miss with these videos!
Funny thing. I was the only punk in a small town and felt the same need to escape. This song is awesome. Glad I lived it and found my own way in the lyrics
A mate of mine went to school with Jimmy. His description of him, "A man that could start a fight in an empty room!" I see Jimmy around my town, now and again.
Thank you I would like to also mention that when act up London was set we would ask Jimmy sommervil to take part in direct actions we organised and he was always willing as someone who helped organise these actions his support was invaluable
Thank you very much for spotlighting Jimmy somerville. I love Bronski Beat, the communards and Jimmy's solo career. Next will you please do a deep dive on Marc Almond. 😃💜
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Every now and then I get people asking for a playlist of every song mentioned in my videos: Well here's a Spotify link for this one:
open.spotify.com/playlist/6bnp580X0X5KxpvMu8q78Q?si=ae6f13c0399c4f13
and the RUclips Music one:
music.ruclips.net/p/PLooaZ33lSaledRpp5eiPVaVdgsVr-zDcE&si=GjljNZSzCCmwIjtm
Very detailed video! Good job 👏🏾
I literally went to the laptop from to manually create this playlist. I already had Spotify open and named the list as 'WHY ARE U GAE' when I saw the comment. I am not worthy LOL.
Everyone is a gangsta until Smalltown Boy comes on in the club.
Nice one...😅😅
hahah and A Little Respect by Erasure!!
I'm not. I'm never gangsta.
@@tonyttt31 you miss it baby ❤
I will cry real tears and continue dancing everytime it comes on. I own it on vinyl
On the morning I left my rural Pennsylvania home in 1984 at the tender age of 19, I wrote the lyrics to Smalltown Boy in a letter I left for my father. I set it on a little recessed shelf next to my parent's bed where my dad kept my deceased mother's photo, and the only crucifix in our home. Strangely enough, I took a bus to Cleveland, Ohio that morning with only a small black suitcase in hand.
The opened letter remained on that shelf for the rest of his life.
Wow what a story, I hope you went on to have a happy life living in truth.
@@LeHosko Agreed, and being from rural PA myself, I know how closed minded it is there. Everyone deserves to live life on their own terms and unfucked with.
@@LeHosko Happily married two years ago to my love of twenty years and living our best life in a beautiful old mill loft near Providence, RI.
I could never imagine turning my back on my son all because of who he chooses to sleep with. That's no ones business.
Hope you are having a good life now, @kamen899
I love seeing/hearing about romance and happiness ❤
@@kamen899
Jimmy Somerville truly had a brass pair to do what he did in the 80s, he had BALLS like no other. In America the first openly gay star was Jobriath who dropped in 1973, a fantastic performer who's been largely forgotten. I have a ton of respect and admiration for both of them.
This is not hyperbole. You are SO right. I remember hearing the opening line of Why for the first time, “contempt in your eyes as i turn to kiss his lips”, and was stunned. I got emotional. There was Sylvester, but that was really it. I was just walking around early today listening to “Why” on repeat and I still get choked up. That song, and Bronski Beat, in general, really let me know I wasn’t alone.
My big brother was telling me about Jobriath recently, and I'd never heard of him. He was incredibly talented, a real pioneer. Really sad how things ended for him.
@@Spudcore Yes, absolutely. Jobriath reinvented himself as a cabaret singer, then died of AIDS around the time i was born.
As a gay teen in the 1980’s the arrival of Jimmy Somerville on the music scene was a godsend to me. Like you said, up until that time there wasn’t an openly in your face gay music artist out there. The fact he was so unapologetic about it made it so much more meaningful
@@kalnfornia Amen, he gave people a lot of strength. That's what's up!
Jimi Somerville and Bronski Beat did not only affect the gay community. I was a teen when the song came out, I was actually only just learning that there even was such a thing as homosexuality. While I myself have only ever fancied girls and women, seeing the video to "Smalltown Boy" touched me. I sympathized with Jimi's character and I decided to never be like the people in the video who turned away from him or were violent. These days you would say I decided to become an ally and not take part in homophobia. I wouldn't have known those words back then, but I lived my life by it, treating gay friends like I would straight ones. I am happy for the contributions those friendships are giving my life. It may that I would have turned out like that without that song, but as it was, I believe I was experiencing it as a huge influence on how I have lived and am living my life.
@@cafeplastique890 I hope I am the same as you are.
You just said pretty much what I wanted to write. Bronski Beat woke me up to the idea that not everyone was the same as me and that some people were attacked for being gay. I barely knew what that was in the early 80s but I was sure I didn’t want to hate anyone else just for being themselves.
And Smalltown Boy remains one of the best songs of the 80s. Just the opening chords take me away to the 80s
I saw this video in 84 when I was 14 years old and living outside of Philadelphia.
I remember sitting in front of the tv with tears streaming down my face.
40 years later it can still bring tears to my eyes.
Me, too. Oof!
Same.
Brother.
Same, I "Knew" what it was about, even at that young age, never forgave my Dad for taking the P*** out of a Pet Shop Boys video, too
Great video.
I was watching this and suddenly became startled when you quoted my review of THE AGE OF CONSENT from Gay City News. Thanks so much! It's really gratifying.
It is us who should be more grateful to You.
This song has gained popularity with the kids on tiktok recently. GenX is making their presence loud and proud there and showing how inclusive the music and generation is.
Kudos to you!
Fantastic episode this. I'm a 54-yr-old straight man, married, with two daughters, one gay. When this song came out I was 14 (in South Africa). and it had a huge impact me regarding how I viewed/ understood the gay community. The last line of this is spot on. The song is universal. 'Human' indeed.
Oh, and this is the one that got me to hit subscribe finally.
Yeah, same. I was around 9 when this came out and I guess it was my first realization of the existence of homosexuality. This just touched my heart and gave me so much empathy and understanding from early on.
Mooi man.
I’m a heterosexual, 45 year old man.
Whenever I hear smalltown boy, I cannot help but be transported into the mind of someone who is being suppressed by society from being themselves. The video for the song is also magnificent.
You asked which is my fave lgbtq+ song from the 1980s? It’s smalltown boy. But truly, it’s probably my favourite song of the 80s full stop. It’s more than a song.
What they did made an enormous impact way beyond the music. Many, many people should be thankful for what Jimmy did.
We Scots have a saying, we are all Jock Thomson's bairns, meaning we are all God's Children. Now, I am not religious in any way but I do appreciate the sentiment that, no matter our race, gender, or sexuality, we are all equal. And that we should respect one another as equals.
@@jackdubz4247 Empty platitudes, and their music was better when they were suppressed.
I am straight but love to dance and was 16 in 1980. Jimmy and Small town boy made such an impression.I realised the meaning of the video and always brought a tear. Sylvester, again another person who changed the world. The 80s music and the guys who were out and proud helped shape opinions too. Xxx
@billbansheeedinburgh1172 I am straight and was in HS as MTV began and exploded. Had it not existed, Bronski Beat, Communards, Jimmy Somerville's solo work and many other artists being discussed here, I would have missed and discovered much later. My fascination with synthesizers and electronic music and love of dance grooves made me a fan. Then the video with the lyrics of "Smalltown Boy" changes everything. I was also listening to all genres of music being a saxophonist and young musician. What also added to the change was working in a music store. There and at university I began meeting many in the LGBTQ community through music. Because of the research I did to perform my job better, I gained confidence and wasn't as shy away from work. This video was emotional to watch due to gay friends and customers I lost over the years.
@@ArtistSoftwareEngineer I agree, some ground breaking stuff in the 80s and yes the video expressed the song, I loved the talents of Boy George and many others, I was younger in the 80s and went to gay clubs and made many friends through dancing and hanging out.
Don’t forget about Andy Bell from erasure. He was out from day one, check out ‘hide away’ and ‘sexuality’ on the circus album.
"Chains of Love" is about Clause 28.
The one that always hit me was “It’s a Sin” by The Pet Shop Boys. It was obvious that it was about The Catholic Church’s view of being gay.
@jaredbaratta8589 You're so right!
Not sure sure it's that obvious. I'm a straight catholic boy and that song resonates with me because all the shame that the church piles on you.
I'm 50, born in 1974, & loved music from the year dot so to speak. I was bullied throughout school, so related hard to Smalltown Boy, living as I did in a small town in Scotland. Jimmy is one of many reasons I'm proud to be a Scot. His music was part of my childhood & teen years
Another '74 here. 50 eh? Thats a milestone. Down in Brum i can't say i was ever a fan (and still not really) but i can't deny the dudes voice is just an instant dose of being young again. All the gay stuff was over my head, i didnt know what it meant. At the time we (as in the kids in my class) where all just scared of catching AIDS from toilet seats and just being horrible to each other. "Gay" was just the one size fits all insult to hurl at anyone, but i didnt actually know what it was or meant. I was quietly a Whitesnake and Def Leapard fan.
Come to think of it, its wierd that i got more mocked for my love of '80s hair metal (when people found out) than my mates did when they were talking about their love of Pet Shop Boys and all the others mentioned in the video.
The '80s were a odd time. Maybe i missed it, but did the video even mention AIDs and what a massive deal that was back then?
@@jamesmaybrick2001 I was more "in the know" about how the virus spread, which didn't help my fear of injections much. A cruel prank of the time was to jab everybody with the sharp pins of Remembrance poppies, & I got jabbed multiple times
@@elaineb7065 They did that up North of the Border to? Us kids were utterly awful. I remember that thumtacks were the weapon of choice. Little Aids filled landmines on our chairs and for the really devious inder the lip of the desktops that opened. I remember my barber slightly cut my ear once and i didnt sleep for a week. If it wasn't fear of AIDs there was the constant threat of the IRA killing us andf school bomb drills to remind us. As Birmingham born and Bred, in the '80s that wasn't just a theoretical worry. we all knew and walked past the pubs that got blown up quite often. Its a wonder we are well balanced as we are (assuming we are).
Still, we also had Zammo chasing the Dragon and showing all exactly how to smoke Heroin. I wouldnt have a clue wihout Grange Hill, lol.
Back then, I remember holding my Walkman against my ears and curling up as I was being beaten and kicked on the ground. A Little Respect by Erasure was playing and I disappeared into the music.
These were more than music back then. The songs from Jimmy and Erasure became sanctuaries; sacred sonic spaces to disappear into. Even now, decades later, these bring tears to my eyes as I fall into those same spaces and am transported away.
Wouldn’t be here with Jimmy, Andy and Vince. Thanks for a brilliant documentary.
Violence against the queer community was so commonplace back then, myself and every single one of my friends got battered at some point, it was pretty much a weekly occurrence. The rage is still in my blood.
Smalltown Boy is a truly heart-wrenching song. It tells a story that anyone who's ever felt like an outsider can relate to, regardless of sexuality. And it manages this, while also being an absolute banger. That's a pretty amazing feat in my opinion. Bronski Beat was only ever Bronski Beat while Jimmy Sommerville was the heart and soul of the band.
being a mere outsider is in no WAY being the same as gay. no way.
@@bsquared4604 How dare Rebecca _"relate"_ to a song that wasn't explicitly written for her! */s* 🙄
The song is about the gay experience as Jimmy felt it, but the song’s ability to connect with people outside that demographic was vitally important to its success. It’s damn catchy as a piece of music, even people who can’t speak English can love it on that level.
A big pop act cannot sustain itself longterm on the pink £ alone, it needs the mass support of straight women to sell out venues / tours. Ask any promoter of arena shows in the last four decades for Kylie or Madonna or Steps or Britney etc etc act basically any big act associated with having a gay fan base
Funny that you uploaded this video today because Jimmy just posted a video on his Instagram singing Small town boy celebrating the 40th anniversary.
I bet Jimmy must be proud of Smalltown Boy’s legacy…see Orville Peck’s treatment of said song.
They should do a duet
@@iwasanangryyoungman I'm going to see Debbii Dawson (from America's Got Talent) tomorrow evening. 😍 She's opening for Orville Peck, so I'm studying up on his discography, including that cover of a beloved song. 🎶❤️
23:07 they made a movie about Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners. It is called "Pride" and it is very moving and inspiring, a great watch!
I think most of us gay guys who were around in that period also miss it. There was such camaraderie between us and a real sense of community, despite a horrendous plague and laws against us. Gay culture was really blossoming.
It was the best. You had an instant family in big cities and even smaller towns where there would be one bar for gays, lesbians and friendly straights who loved the vibe.
It wasn't all that great of a community. There was "a community" tied to whatever events the bars, financed by the mafia, would have. The Mafia was the only way the bars could finance or pass the government regulations as they would run as restaurants by day and bars at night.
I hit a few years later. NYC was eerie. There were young guys like me and old men, and the rest were dying or dead, at least in New York. I wasn't gay, but i was trans. It was the only place I felt safe, not that I did not get beaten down a few times.
Wow! Thanks so much for this video. I'm a 47 y/o gay Texan and I DID NOT KNOW ANY OF THIS!
I have to go back and listen to this entire discography now.
Ever heard of Romanovsky & Phillips? Go check them out.
@@sebzematikWhy exactly are you recommending this?
@@Eon-Nova They've dealt with being gay in the early 80s as well. And they're fun!
I cannot overstate the importance this song has for me. In 1984, at the age of 17, I finally began to come out as a gay man, at least to myself (it would take me another couple of years until I had worked up the nerves to come out to my parents). It was another time back then, with no internet and next to no information about homosexuality, and no prominent people being officially out. I felt very desperate and alone for a very long time, so this song of course hit a raw nerve. I also cannot overstate how much Bronski Beat helped me stay afloat during these times. Jimmy Somerville will forever be my personal hero, especially because he used his fame for much needed visibility and policital activism.
You must be mistaken! You could've have possibly connected with this as a young gay man. This is revisionist history. /s 🤦🏽♀️
I'm so glad you had that song when you needed it ❤ To feel so alone and unsupported... I can't imagine it. It's a great reminder of how important music is in our lives. It's there for us when we have no one else.
Well said my friend, well said!!!
Even if I'm not into the band you are covering, your docs are so well done I watch them all.
Australian straight guy here. I'll never forget seeing the film clip for 'Smalltown Boy' for the first time and thought it was like a powerful mini-feature film, not to mention how great the lyrics are in this song. It's such a masterpiece of pop -- I'm sure that it gave a lot of strength and confidence to a lot of people to be themselves, so for that, it's an even more of a classic. I still have my original 12" vinyl single.
Having said that, I can't stand Jimmy Somerville's voice beyond this song. That's just me though.
Compelling message and haunting melody - but yes that comical Mickey Mouse falsetto of his kind of ruins it a little bit. Imagine how powerful this song would have been if sung in his normal voice!
The keyboards are really evocative for me. It's a great song, deservedly a classic piece of synthpop.
@@kenster8270 At least the vocal wasn't shamelessly modulated with oversaturated auto-tune. I realize this probably was not available at the time, but just imagine. I'm not usually very fond of falsetto, to be sure, but I can conceive other performing and production strategies which might sound objectively worse. Can you imagine the lead singer of Carcass providing his flensing shrieks to this song? That would own 🏴☠
Then I am reminded of a recorded performance of Ozzy Osborne singing a Bee Gees song, which I unironically enjoyed listening to. This was mildly surprising, so now it occurs to me that I may never know if I would not prefer 'Smalltown Boy' recorded with the full goregrind cadaver KOR suite of Jeff Walker et al. on vocals 🤔☣😷
As a kid growing up in the eighties with this and other gay and queer pop music it couldn't help but have an impact. It made being gay a normal thing, if so many pop stars were gay or rumoured to be gay, not something that you should be ashamed of. Whether or not they were out or not didn't really matter. We already knew that George Michael or Marc Almond were gay anyway.
Ironically of the bands mentioned in the video, the Bronski Beat for all their normalcy looks the most stereotypical early eighties gay now: the jeans, the checkered shirts, doc martens and cropped hair all scream gay.
well, I think it did - their not being out gave you a sense that it was wrong and should not be mentioned - that's why somerville was a saviour (for me also DAF were)
@@babi68 yes its why when Madonna started getting more vocal about the gay men and the aids and wearing condoms, that is was awesome. Before that you, you got the wink sometimes - but Madonna would point right at you and scream "he look, one my gay fans, aren't they amazing!" and then she did what she did for Truth or Dare/In Bed With Madonna.
I heard a good saying about George Micheal [Faith era] "So 'Straight' - he's GAY" like, it's such a put on, costume
That slur you use, why are you using it if you grew up when it was thrown around as an insult to gay people? It also has political connotations that has nothing to do with gay people, New Discourses just posted a video about it.
@@lainiwakura1776 Neither queer nor gay is a slur. HTH.
I'm not gay but this song hits so hard. It speaks to all those who don't fit in and it always reminds me of those who lived this and didn't/don't get to make it this far. I can't avoid the tears either. Thanks for putting this together.
Bronski Beat and Marc Almond singing "I Feel Love" at Montreaux 1985 is one of the best live pop performances ever committed to video and it makes me wish I was there. Jimmy Somerville is one of the all-time most distinct and greatest voices in UK pop, and committed to his principles harder than a lot of punks do to theirs.
I only came to appreciate 80's music in my mid-thirties, with a few exceptions.
Listening to a compilation of songs from that decade, Small Town Boy came along and hit me like a train, making me burst into tears by both the music and the lyrics.
Thank you for this insightful documentary on these great musicians.
“We’ve all been “alone on the platform” at some time in our lives” God, that really got to me. Magnificent song.
I'm so glad this song has yet another resurgence thanks to social media. The power of music is intergenerational, and our world is far from healed. There's a reason Smalltown Boy speaks to so many people.
Meticulously researched as usual. Abba- Sex Pistols- Bronski Beat feels so satisfying to hear the thread of inspiration. Thank you for another great episode.
As a straight teenager in 1984 and a straight man now, this song spoke to me about how easy my life was and how unbelievably horrific life was for gay men. I've been an ally ever since. This song has remained one of my favourite songs of all time and one of my treasured 12" records of the time. It's a synth-pop masterpiece.
I’ve had my head in 80s music, going to goth clubs, adding to my big 80s playlist on Spotify, for about 25 years now and have never heard of Bronski Beat’s story until now. What a pivotal pioneer Jimmy Somerville is in being out on a grand scale!
These Summerville songs are part of my education about what homosexuality really was. 14-year-old straight white me kinda knew in theory what it meant, but only on a "technical" level. Together with My Beautiful Laundrette this was an education into showing that it isn't all about weird headgear and over-the-top "ooh Matron"... it is about people loving each other.
100% same. ❤
I really loved "My Beautifull Launerette" as a teenage girl.
If it’s about people loving each other why was there an aids crisis? What’s going up an ally way with a random guy got to do with love?
You have a wonderful talent for threading stories together and keeping them interesting and entertaining. This is another fantastic doc!! Thank you...I hope you keep them coming!! Much respect.
Mike Thorne is so correct.
Smalltown Boy can easily be appreciated by anyone lost and lonely and lacking an identity at home, feeling the need to run away somewhere where they’ll find a community, friend group and such who appreciates them.
Hits home for me. I’m 25 living in a provincial town in the English Midlands with progressive views and surrounded by people who by comparison don’t really feel progressive or particularly learn’ed about anything. I feel all the time like my personality belongs in a city with other like minded people but I’m too skint to move out, austerity and wage stagnation having hit young people like me so hard. So I relate to Smalltown Boy on that fundamental level, as a song about alienation.
Another great video TT!
Thank you for making this tribute! "Smalltown Boy" was part of my own gay coming out to myself, growing up as a nerdy boy in countryside Germany in the late 90s / early naughties. ❤
Jimmy Somerville is one of the most amazing singers I have ever seen live. 👍
I am a simple man, I see a new Trash Theory video so I like and watch.
There were many artists that helped a queer kid in Salt Lake City in the 80's. I was lucky to find a tribe of like minded people in a few dance clubs. Bronski Beat and the Communards were part of that soundtrack. I read the liner notes to Age of Concent over and over and the words were my life.
It's good to see this song and group get their flowers. Bronski Beat was a true original. Jimmy Somerville has a sincerity it's hard to match, and his countertenor voice is exquisite and impeccable. Smalltown Boy speaks right from the heart to the heart, especially to those who have experienced being ostracized. Every time I hear that opening wail, I feel it like it came from my own soul.
This song has helped so many people. I really spoke to me when I found it as a gay kid in the early 2000's. Great job talking about it and giving me more history behind it!
Small Town Boy is absolutely one of my favourite singles of all time - 12" extended version for the full experience. Great video as ever :-)
Thank you for your take on this part of my youth. In hindsight it’s still baffling to me that I felt so alone in those years while so many people all over the world had the same experiences. Most of the names you included in this take, I hold close to my heart, their music pulled me trough.
Edit: favourite song: do you wanna funk by sylvester
Loved his work in recent activism on HIV/AIDS and trans rights on the internet, even featuring in Oliver Sim's 'Hideous', his coming to terms with his diagnosis, Jimmy being some sort of angel on the shoulder at the end
Smalltown Boy spoke directly to its core audience of young gay men. But its timing came just at the right moment in the spring of 1984 when the gay underground went overground and into the charts. The hi-nrg sound had been building through bands like Lime and the Bobby O productions, and songs like Searchin’ by Hazell Dean had waited a year to get into the charts. The public were ready for it, and the genius of Smalltown Boy was its universal appeal, which has given it its timeless quality.
"Hit That Perfect Beat" and "Don't Leave Me This Way" were such an important part of my baby gay days, when I finally started going out to clubs on my own; I had to hit the floor any time one of these came on. The 13-minute Gotham City Remix of "Don't Leave Me This Way" is probably my favorite extended dance remix ever.
Yes! Mine too! Especially when the violins start...
Beautiful tribute to an utter classic
"Smalltown Boy" is not only an emotional sledgehammer, it's also one of my absolute favorite songs of the entire decade. The perfect synthesis of minimalist post punk synth, dance pop and confessional storytelling. I'm straight but I was an alienated misfit in small town New Hampshire and I related to every word and note of this song. It may have been written from a gay perspective but it deeply touches the heart of everyone who was alienated and abused by the narrow mindedness of the people they had to grow up around. This song still chokes me up every time I hear it
“Shoot your Shot” - Divine
“C Minor” - Communards
“Comment te dire adieu” - Jimmy Somerville
“Piano Song” - Erasure
“So in Love” - KD Lang
“The Crying Game - Boy George
“Like Jesus to a Child” - George Michael
“The Stranger” - Pete Burns / Nightmares in Wax
To be honest I was a great fan of Dead or Alive. I was never closeted and my attitude matched Pete’s perfectly. As a 16 year old I wore makeup, dreads, press on nails much like Boy and Pete. Fierce and fearless.
Every song Dead or Alive produced was a close match with the life I was living. Reason why I love a lot of their stuff. Pete was my hero and I guess Marilyn Manson loved him too 😉
In all fairness most of the 80’s gay bands were legends. So much talent. They made an era and were the pioneers, opening doors for millions of us ✌🏻🙂
Great video. You kind of undermined the message by saying at the end, “Smalltown Boy is great because it’s not gay, it’s universal.” Wasn’t the whole point of this whole video that Somerville, almost alone among his peers, was specifically gay?
Yeah. The song succeeds because it communicates so well, but the context was specific to ignore authorial intent is a dangerous kind of ignorance. “all lives matter”, eh, Mike?
@@010101110100 I don’t want to be too harsh, because the video is terrific. But I’m reminded of people saying to playwright/actor Harvey Fierstein about his play “Torchsong Trilogy,” “Oh, it’s not a gay play, it’s a universal play.” And he’d reply, “Um, no, it’s a gay play. I’m happy if you can find something in it that resonates with you, but it’s a gay play.” And he pointed out that queer people have had to look for themselves in straight plays forever. It’s time the straights had to do some work, too.
I'm old, so The Kinks 'Lola' is always my favourite. But from the 80s nothing beats Smalltown Boy. It's so human.
This song has been so important for boys born around 1970 all over the world.
This episode premiered on the EXACT 40th anniversary of the single release. Nice timing, TT.
First time I've seen one of your videos. I lived through this. Bronski Beat & Smalltown Boy hit when I was a 16 yo closeted young gay man. You are exceptional in that every detail you got completely correct. So many other videos covering the era make mistakes. You nailed it.
Always loved small town boy as a kid but never knew its underlying story until RUclips came around.
I think I loved it even more after I realised the meaning
Jimmy Somerville’s vocals just right in to your soul 💔😿❤️
When I first saw this music video I was intrigued.
I didn’t quite understand the story behind it, but the heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics and voice made me notice. The more I watched it, the more I understood it.
It is still such a beautiful song, and still is so powerful today❤️
Other than Jimmy Somerville, there's Andy Bell of Erasure and Patrick Fitzgerald of Kitchens of Distinction that wrote lyrics as out songwriter s. Music not making camp but, honest stories about being Gay. Thank goodness indeed!
One of the greatest channels on RUclips, every episode is just awesome, thank you for making these.
Thanks Jimmy. You’ve impacted so many lives over the years and don’t get enough credit for it. I keep hoping you will raise your heavenly voice again with powerful words that will help young outcasts like I was helped back when I arrived in London in 1984 as a wide eyed 19 years old ballet dancer.
I bumped into you, not knowing who you were, at the black cap one evening and later recognized you on television as the quiet guy sitting near me at the bar. I went back there a few times but instead of you, I was faced with none other than Lily Savage !!
I’m now approaching (fast) my 60th birthday and my memories are still intact. You’ve made our young lives so much easier!❤❤❤
Your videos always introduce me to so much.
A lot of the music is not what I've listened to, but the stories are always so interesting, and often very important.
Thank you for this
Jimmy's courage is incredible.
I wish you'd included his feature on Oliver Sim's Hideous in the influences section; Jimmy acts as the song's guardian angel on the bridge the song, which sees Oliver confronting the fear/shame he's experienced since becoming diagnosed with HIV at 17. Truly the clearest example of his influence tbh.
Oliver spoke about his relationship with Jimmy in a statement about the song (which is incredible) posted below:
"Early on in the making of my record, Hideous Bastard, I realised that I was writing a lot about fear and shame.
I imagine that might paint a picture of a dark, "woe is me" sounding album, but in recent years I've become a firm believer that the best antidote to these feelings can be bringing them to the surface and shedding some light on them.
I haven't written the record to dwell, but rather to free myself of some of the shame and fear that I’ve felt for a long time. So, I hear a lot of the music as joyous, because the experience of writing and recording it has been the complete opposite of what fear and shame have been for me. Two thirds in, having a good idea of what the record was about, I realised I’d been circling around one of the things that has probably caused me the most fear and shame. My HIV status. I've been living with HIV since I was 17 and it's played with how I've felt towards myself, and how I've assumed others have felt towards me, from that age and into my adult life.
So, quite impulsively, I wrote about it on a song called 'Hideous.' I thought I could release it into the world and be done with it. After playing the song to my mum, being the protective and wise mum that she is, she gave me some of the best advice I've ever received. She suggested that I spend some time having conversations with people in my life first. Either people I hadn't told yet, or people I had told but hadn't wanted to talk much further on it. Since writing 'Hideous,' I've spent the past two years having those conversations, which was difficult and uncomfortable to start with, but has allowed me to feel a lot freer and has only strengthened my relationship with myself and with the people in my life.
One of the most special relationships I've gained from this has been with Mr Jimmy Somerville. I knew for 'Hideous' I wanted a guardian angel to appear in the song and sing to me the words I needed to hear. Not only has Jimmy been such a powerful voice around HIV & AIDS for decades, but the man quite literally sounds like an angel. I reached out to him as a complete fan boy, but now consider him a real good friend. He encouraged me to do the song for myself. He taught me "glamour" is a Scottish word. And, most importantly, he reminded me to not take myself too seriously, no good comes from that!
"Am I Hideous?" feels far less like a question I’m asking the world now. I know the answer. As scary as it still feels, I'm excited to share this music with you, and I hope you enjoy it. Lots of love, Oliver xx"
When I heard Smalltown Boy as a teenager I was sold. Such a great song. I wrote "Bronski Beat" on my school suitcase, as we would do with our fav groups. A classmate told me: "but they are 3 f4gs!". I remember thinking: so what? It is still my fav song of all time, 40 years later.
One of the best videos of all time. Truly ground breaking.
This documentary is fantastic and it brings back so many memories. I remember listening to the first Bronski Beat album as a young gay man in college. Loving every track. Thank you for sharing the background story of Jimmy Somerville. I understand even more now why that music resonated with me so much.
It’s so difficult to know it all, even a little of the wide and deep through time. Your docs give context to veins of brilliant purpose that I’m only beginning to see all these years later. I was there for much of it, having worked in an actual record store but still, it’s all rushing right past you. Cheers to ya, and great thanks for these succinct essays. They are brilliant man.
This is one of the greatest songs of the eighties when the competition for greatness was immense. And this vid hits all the right notes. The only poor part was when some modern music was played in its awful dullness,.
Magic. Reverend Richard Coles the other half of the duo. Still active on social. Such an important moment for so many people including me
One day everybody will realise that it's not about LGBTQ+ (or however many letter you want to add) it's just about love.. It doesn't matter who you love, just that you love.
I liked them all - Bronski Beat, Pet Shop Boys, Freddy Mercury, Frankie... Never was into George Michael. I never thought about their sexuality just their passion and honesty and awesome musical talent.
Great video! My sister and I spent a whole christmas break watching a VHS-tape with Jimmy Somerville singing together with the Communards and Sarah Jane Morris in a cathedral or factory or something a gazillion times.
im not even gay but smalltown boy hits really close to home. im from a pop.100 villiage and i got "pushed around and kicked around" too. i always needed to get out. no one got me, especially my father, even after puberty. people beat me up for not fitting in. even the villiage policeman said i should be shot. i noped out of there as soon as i could
Guys, Smalltown Boy isn’t about being an unpopular nerd in the middle of nowhere, it’s a bit more specific than that lmao
OMG the memories came flooding back. Thank you - that was wonderful.
I am a 56 yo hetero man. I loved JS' music from the first time I heard (Smalltown boy btw) and tried to follow him throughout his career. I knew he was gay and some songs of him talking about gay relationships but his music was so inclusive that I find myself in many of his songs. Thank you Jimmy for wonderful songs and I respect your struggle for the cause.
This is a fab little documentary and so well researched - loads of sources in the description. Think ive found my new fave channel!
I think it was recently added to TikTok, so it's becoming popular again. I fucking love Smalltown Boy. I've never understood why it wasn't considered more of a banger by my generation. Probably, and I say this in all seriousness, because it wasn't one of the 80s songs featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City lol.
Rockstar rectified that by having it in Grand Theft Auto V instead. But I feel like V is not as big a hit as the 3D games were. Or at least, not meme-able. I mean, we all know the "aw, sh1t... here we go again" :)
I would politely disagree with the final take of it could be anyone's anthem. We loved this song for WHAT it stood for. An amazingly beautiful song, but we knew what it was about. STILL gives me shivers and memories. Ground breaking (we hoped)
Context: from a white hetro woman.
The drummer from No Doubt wore that same cowboys T-shirt (mentioned at 15:40) on TRL before they made him change it. Carson Daly said "cool shirt." I wonder if it was a conscious reference.
I believe it was a Tom of Finland shirt and those became more popular outside gay culture due to McLaren and Westwood. Adam Ant wore one in his early years.
Basically Tom = gay cowboys 👍
There's photos of Depeche Mode members in the same shirt.
Another fantastic documentary, thanks. I truly hope these get preserved for future generations after RUclips is long gone.
Smalltown Boy was such an amazing and important track. I didn't see it until the mid 90s, but it really resonated with me. I'm straight, but always felt like an outsider in plenty of other ways, and it was such an evocative song about alienation and acceptance.
You didn't had to be gay to enjoy this song. I lived in a small, mostly catholic, city. My parents weren't married, I had so many interest in things, I cannot learn there and no one to talk to. I know in 1984, that I will move to a bigger city soon, were I can have a fresh start. That's why I loved this song the first moment I heard it. The eighties had so many great music, but this is one of my top three songs. I listen regular to it for last 40 years. To use ABBA's words "Thank you for the Music" Mr. Somerville
I first heard Smalltown Boy through Orville Peck's cover, and fell in love with the original. As a queer, deeply closeted kid from a small town in Nebraska, it made me feel like there was more out there and that I wasn't the only one
I knew there was a story behind Smalltown Boy, and to some degree, what it was about... but wow. This might be one of your best videos so far. Massive kudos!
Trash Theory, You're the best! I subscribed because I love your content!
If this is you first one you are in for a lot of treats.
I love Bronski Beat it was so new at the time Smalltown boy is still one of my favorite songs even though I`m not gay ...
Thanks for this story ! great stuff!
Small town Boy hasn't aged; it still hits the nerve. There's several metal bands have covered this classic, as a gay metal fan, it speaks volumes.
Absolutely comprehensive coverage of one of the most ground breaking groups of the 80s . What a great and necessary documentary. Will definitely be sharing this one . Wow !
It was small town boy in 1984 that had me packing my bags and leaving home. ❤best thing I ever did
Every time I hear For A Friend I end up a blubbering wreak, one of the most gorgeous songs ever.
Going to have to revisit Bronski's Age of Consent album.
Orville Peck's cover is soo good. Captures the original feeling but for country. Its wonderful
"For a Friend" is a favourite even though it makes me cry.
I loved Smalltown Bou the first time I heard it, knew it had ties to the gay community, but somehow I’d never heard the story in full like this. You truly never miss with these videos!
I really like how you present your material and link all of these songs and your writing. You also have a great narration voice.
Marc almond sang with coil on 1984 who were openly gay on the album of scatology and horse rotovator
Funny thing. I was the only punk in a small town and felt the same need to escape.
This song is awesome. Glad I lived it and found my own way in the lyrics
And he STILL has that voice !!
I always stop and listen (with my eyes closed) when I hear Frankie's version of "the power of love" 😊
A mate of mine went to school with Jimmy. His description of him, "A man that could start a fight in an empty room!"
I see Jimmy around my town, now and again.
Thank you
I would like to also mention that when act up London was set we would ask Jimmy sommervil to take part in direct actions we organised and he was always willing as someone who helped organise these actions his support was invaluable
Thank you very much for spotlighting Jimmy somerville. I love Bronski Beat, the communards and Jimmy's solo career. Next will you please do a deep dive on Marc Almond. 😃💜
Summerville's backup vocals on FYC's Suspicious Minds made the song.
💯%.
Huge fan. I listen to Smalltown Boy and his other stuff to this day. I'm very happy that MTV in the States played the video and introduced it to me.