But this was 1984; three years before Reagan said "AIDS" for the first time, only six years after Harvey Milk was murdered, and the UK had just elected the first member of parliament to come out of the closet.
And into this fray comes this song with a narrative that gave voice to those facing intense fear, rejection, bullying and loneliness:
On a sad and lonely face
Mother will never understand
Why you had to leave
For the love that you need
Then, in 2006 the iconic and catchy tune was given a fresh life by Supermode - the very underrated combination of Steve Angello and Axwell before their Swedish House Mafia days - who overlaid the best hooks of the song along with vocals from another Bronski Beat track "Why?" If you heard Axwell or Steve Angello play any sets since 2006, very likely you heard a bit of this song:
Now, to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the song, Jimmy Somerville re-recorded a beautifully soulful acoustic version:
And for good measure, here's the Spotify playlist of the entire Bronski Beat album "Age of Consent". 30 years later this timeless album of early gay synth-pop is still being emulated by young gay musicians worldwide:
UPDATE: Extra bonus video of Jimmy Somerville stumbling into a duet with an unsuspecting busker singing Smalltown Boy:
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