| "Smalltown Boy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Bronski Beat | ||||
| from the album The 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" on YouTube | ||||
"Smalltown Boy" is the debut single by the British synth-pop band Bronski Beat, released in May 1984. It was included on their debut album, The Age of Consent. The lyrics describe a young man who is forced to leave home. "Smalltown Boy" is a gay anthem and is associated with the rise of British gay culture in the 1980s. In 2022, Rolling Stone named it the 163rd-greatest dance song.
- ^ "New Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 19 May 1984. p. 14. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ Vivinetto, Gina (9 March 2015). "Pop Icon Jimmy Somerville: A Career Overview". The Advocate. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ MarkWilson (18 May 2011). "Emilie Simon Releases "Smalltown Boy"". AltSounds. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ Walters, Barry (20 June 2000). "His beat goes on". The Advocate. p. 115. ISSN 0001-8996.
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"
- ^ a b Adam Block (9 December 1986). "A Clarion Call from England's Communards: Syl's New "Attraction"" (PDF). The Advocate. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
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.
- ^ "Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat". BBC. Retrieved 23 December 2022.