| "Smalltown Boy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_single_coverart.jpg) | ||||
| Single byBronski Beat | ||||
| from the albumThe Age of Consent | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 25 May 1984 (UK)[1] | |||
| Studio | The Garden (London) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | London | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Mike Thorne | |||
| Bronski Beat singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Smalltown Boy" onYouTube | ||||
"Smalltown Boy" is the debut single by the Britishsynth-pop bandBronski Beat, released in May 1984 byLondon Recordings. It was included on their debut album,The Age of Consent (1984). The lyrics describe a young man who decides to leave home because "the love that you need will never be found" there; the story in the song's music video is that he makes this decision after beinggaybashed. "Smalltown Boy" is regarded as agay anthem and is associated with the rise of Britishgay culture in the 1980s. The music video was directed byBernard Rose and filmed in East London. In 2022,Rolling Stone named it the 163rd-greatest dance song. There were made many remixes and samples from this song like Tell me Why recorded by Supermode (Steve Angello andAxwell & Ingrosso),Meduza and Gotta Believe performed by Damian Grace and Jordan Force.
"Smalltown Boy" features "ominous" discordant notes, an "electro-pop pulse", andfalsetto vocals.[7] According to the Bronski Beat memberLarry Steinbachek, it emerged from an attempt to cover the 1977Sex Pistols song "Pretty Vacant" using anoctave patternsequenced on aRoland MC-202 synthesiser.[8]
The lyrics describe a young man who is bullied and decides to leave home.[7] In theFinancial Times, David Gould wrote that it combines thehi-NRG tempo of 1980sgay clubs with "plaintive" lyrics.[7] Ian Wade, the author of1984: The Year Pop Went Queer, interpreted the line "the love that you need will never be found at home" as a rebuke to the "family values" culture that demonised homosexuality at the time.[9] The singer,Jimmy Somerville, said he was embarrassed by the song for many years, as he felt his lyrics were inferior.[10]
The music video for "Smalltown Boy" was directed byBernard Rose, who had directed the video for "Relax", by another openly gay band,Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the previous year.[11] Rose said Bronski Beat felt "Relax" was too mainstream and upbeat, and wanted to convey a more serious message.[11] TheIndependent described the "Smalltown Boy" video as "stark" and "grounded".[12] The original concept was to base the video on acottaging scene, but this was vetoed by theLondon Recordings executive Colin Bell.[9] The video was filmed at a leisure centre inEast London.[9]
In the video, a boy (played by Somerville) makes a pass at a man and isgay-bashed. As a policeman explains the incident to the boy's parents (outing him in the process), his mother breaks down and his father becomes angry to the point of almost striking the boy, who then resolves to leave his "small town" for London. As he leaves, his father gives him money but refuses to shake hands. On the train the boy is joined by other members of Bronski Beat. They smile and laugh as they disembark in London to start their new life.[12][9]
Rose said the video depicted a common experience for gay people and that Bronski Beat wanted to draw attention to homophobia.[11] Wade likened it to the films ofMike Leigh andKen Loach.[9] Bell said it created opportunities for later videos with gay themes by artists such asPet Shop Boys andGeorge Michael.[9]
Bell was unafraid to market "Smalltown Boy" as a gay record, and said "that was the point".[9] According to Bell, the first time it was played in a gay club,Heaven, in London, the "response was extraordinary" and the audience slowed down to listen.[9] Reviewing the single on release,Spin said it "fashioned a young man's bitter memories of being driven away from home, alienated from his family, and persecuted by his friends, into a sweetly moving pop song".[13]
"Smalltown Boy" reached number three on theUK singles chart[14] and number one in the Netherlands and Belgium.[15][16] It reached the top 10 in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and West Germany. It reached number 48 in the US pop chart and was a number-one US dance hit.[17] After the success, Bronski Beat released their debut album,The Age of Consent.[7]
"Smalltown Boy" is associated with the rise of Britishgay culture in the 1980s, alongside hits by the closetedGeorge Michael and the openly gayFrankie Goes to Hollywood.[9] Writing in theObserver for its 40th anniversary, Paul Flynn wrote:"'Smalltown Boy' documents in empathetic, kitchen-sink detail the feelings of rejecting one archaic value system and moving to the big gay city to find your own... [It has] resisted fossilisation."[9] He concluded that it "can still make reasonable claims to being the British nationalanthem of gay", and counted it among the work of other major figures in British gay history, such asOscar Wilde,Joe Orton,Derek Jarman andPeter Tatchell.[9]
Reviewing theAge of Consent reissue forPitchfork in 2017, Laura Snapes wrote that"'Smalltown Boy' remains a perfect song. It is nimble and crushing, forlorn and relieved, frail yet determined."[18] In 2022,Rolling Stone named it the 163rd-greatest dance song,[19] andTime Out ranked it number 12 in its list of the "50 Best Gay Songs to Celebrate Pride All Year Long in 2022", writing that it "takes the pain of rejection and makes it danceable".[20] In 2023,Rolling Stone named "Smalltown Boy" the 38th most inspirational LGBTQ song.[21] In 2024, Wade said it was still popular with young people: "There are still some kids who are terrified in their own homes. For the teenager wondering whether they'll get fucked or stabbed by the person they chose to look at across the classroom, 'Smalltown Boy' still means something."[9] Bell said "Smalltown Boy" was the record he was proudest of signing.[9]
A remix byStephen Hague was released on 24 December 1990.[22] For the song's 30th anniversary in 2014, Somerville released a new version, "Smalltown Boy Reprise".[23] A series of remixes were issued for the 40th anniversary in 2024, and the song became popular on the social media serviceTikTok.[9] It remains part of British gay culture, and posters with its lyrics were posted across London for the 2024Pride event.[9]
"Smalltown Boy" was sampled by the German bandReal McCoy in their 1994 song "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)".[24] The Swedish DJsSteve Angello andAxwell, as Supermode, sampled "Smalltown Boy" in their 2006 track "Tell Me Why".[25] The German industrial metal bandOomph! paid homage to "Smalltown Boy" in their 2012 song"Kleinstadtboy".[26] In 2015, the American singerBrandon Flowers sampled "Smalltown Boy" in his song "I Can Change",[27] and the Belgian singerKate Ryan released a cover.[24] In 2020 the queer country music artistOrville Peck released a cover of "Smalltown Boy" as a single.[28]
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Credits sourced fromElectronic Soundmaker andSound on Sound.[8][29]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[64] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| France | — | 300,000[57] |
| Italy (FIMI)[65] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[66] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
As Bronski Beat's falsetto leader, Somerville made gay politics a hot pop topic with such hi-NRG dance floor staples as "Why?" and "Smalltown Boy"
The trio had met as friends and performed as a hoot, but their first single, "Smalltown Boy" (an autobiographical tale of a gay youth fleeing homophobia for the tolerance of the big city), became a Hi-NRG disco fave on both sides of the Atlantic.
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