Bronski Beat were a popular British synthpop trio who achieved success in the mid-1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit "Smalltown Boy". All members of the group were openly gay and their songs reflected this, often containing political commentary on gay-related issues. At the height of their popularity the band consisted of singer Jimmy Somerville backed by Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek, both of whom played keyboards and percussion. Somerville went on to have success as lead singer of The Communards and as a solo artist.

History

1983–85: Early years and The Age of Consent

Bronski Beat formed in 1983 when Somerville, Steinbachek, and Bronski shared a three-bedroom flat at Lancaster House in Brixton.

Bronski Beat signed a recording contract with London Records in 1984 after doing only nine live gigs. The band's debut single, "Smalltown Boy" (about a gay teenager deserting his family and fleeing his hometown) was a hit, peaking at No 3 in the UK Singles Chart, and topping charts in Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The single was accompanied by a promotional video directed by Bernard Rose, showing Somerville trying to befriend an attractive diver at a swimming pool, then being attacked by the diver's homophobic mates, being returned to his family by the police and having to leave home. (The police officer was played by Colin Bell, then the marketing manager of London Records). "Smalltown Boy" reached #48 in the U.S. chart and peaked at #7 in Australia. The single featured backing vocals from session singer Kevin Glancy.

"I Feel Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer from her fifth studio album I Remember Yesterday (1977). It reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. Giorgio Moroder, the song's producer, was an early adaptor of electronic sequencers, teutonic melody and four-four beats. The song became popular in High Energy and gay discos, while earlier disco hits were based on soft string and assuring female vocals, "I Feel Love" is formed on a hard kick drum and progressive bass lines seminal in the development of modern electronic dance music.

Production

Before "I Feel Love", most disco recordings had been backed by acoustic orchestras although all-electronic music had been produced for decades. Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte's innovative production of this disco-style song, recorded with an entirely synthesized backing track, utilizing a Moog synthesizer, spawned imitators in the disco genre, and was influential in the development of techno. Moroder went to work on the song with Bellotte in his Musicland studio in Munich. "We wanted to conclude with a futuristic song," he said, "and I decided that it had to be done with a synthesizer."

Aishah and The Fan Club, better known as The Fan Club or just Fan Club, were a New Zealand-based singing group in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group released their first album Sensation in 1988, which spawned three top-20 singles in the New Zealand and Malaysian charts, namely "Sensation", "Paradise" and "Call Me".

Their second album, titled Respect the Beat, also produced three hit singles, including "I Feel Love" and "I Never Gave Up on You", and the band's only single to make the US Billboard Hot 100 Charts - "Don't Let Me Fall Alone". The remixes for this song were among the most played dance tunes in clubs at the time.

The group was formed while Wan Aishah binti Wan Ariffin was in New Zealand studying in the late 1980s. She was spotted by the other members of the group, and asked to join the band. Besides Aishah who sang lead vocals, the other members included Paul Moss on guitar and programming, Dave Larsen on drums, Glenn Peters on bass, Malcolm Smith on keyboards, and Hazri Yutim on second keyboard/synthesiser. Malcolm and Paul were also the main songwriters for the group.

"I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)" is a single by the Dead Weather from their third studio album, Dodge and Burn. The song was first released on the streaming service Tidal, but was made available to download when pre-ordering the album on August 21. "I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)" and its B-side, "Cop and Go," were released exclusively in physical format through Third Man Records' subscription service, The Vault, as a 7-inch vinyl single in September 2015.

The music video for the "I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)" was nominated for the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Music Video.

Personnel

References