Smalltown Boy
Smalltown Boy is a song by British group Bronski Beat. The synth - pop ballad written by Jimmy Somerville, Larry and Steve Bronski Steinbachek, was released in June 1984 as a single and meant to number three on the UK Top 40 the first top - ten hit for Bronski Beat.
Words and Music
The text is about a boy who leaves home after he has been known to his homosexuality and feels misunderstood by his parents. This Bronski Beat chose the perspective of an outsider, who reports partially on the fate of the protagonist and partly speaks to him about his fate. The story has autobiographical elements, because Jimmy Somerville himself had his home city of Glasgow turned his back, because he had no longer felt comfortable there because of his homosexuality.
A characteristic feature of the song is the catchy melody of the introduction, which is accompanied by the gentle voice of the narrator. These increases in a ghostly wailing, and only after a second repetition of the single- issue begin the actual verses. The song is inspired by Giorgio Moroder's " robot beats ". To Smalltown Boy two music videos were filmed. The version for the English market was homosexual connotations, while the version waived for the U.S. market on these elements and explicitly presented heterosexual.
Publication
The single was released in June 1984 as a single in a 3min 58s long version with the Memories B-side. It reached number three on the charts in the Netherlands and Belgium as well as number one in Germany and the UK. In Canada, the song with the gold record and in the UK was awarded silver. There were other versions of the song, including a maxi with around nine minutes in length. On the debut album, released in the fall of Bronski Beat The Age of Consent Album Version one of more than five minutes playing time was included. 1991 appeared a remix of the song reached # 32 in the UK Top 40.