Jimmy Somerville

Early life

Born on 22 June 1961, James William Somerville grew up in Ruchill, a neighbourhood of northern Glasgow. In 1980, he moved to London, where he lived in squats. He immersed himself in gay culture, and attended the London Gay Teenage Group.

Career

Bronski Beat (1983–1985)

In 1983, Somerville co-founded the synth-pop group Bronski Beat, which had several hits in the British charts. Their biggest hit was "Smalltown Boy", which peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. In the music video Somerville plays the song's titular character, who leaves his hostile hometown for the friendlier city, reflecting Somerville's own experiences when he moved to London.

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 leaving his family and fleeing his home town, was a hit, peaking at No 3 in the UK Singles Chart, and topping charts in Belgium and the Netherlands.{{cite book

The follow-up single, "Why?", adopted a hi-NRG sound and was more lyrically focused on anti-gay prejudice. It also achieved Top 10 status in the UK, reaching 6, and was another Top 10 hit for the band in Australia, Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands. At the end of 1984, the trio released an album titled The Age of Consent. The inner sleeve listed the varying ages of consent for consensual gay sex in different nations around the world. At the time, the age of consent for sexual acts between men in the UK was 21 compared with 16 for heterosexual acts, with several other countries having more liberal laws on gay sex. The album peaked at 4 in the UK Albums Chart, 36 in the U.S., and 12 in Australia.

The Communards and solo (1985–1991)

Somerville left Bronski Beat in 1985 and formed The Communards with classically-trained pianist Richard Coles, who later became a Church of England vicar and broadcaster. They had several hits, including a cover version of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' "Don't Leave Me This Way", which spent four weeks at No. 1 in the UK charts and became the biggest-selling single of 1986 in the UK. He also sang backing vocals on Fine Young Cannibals' version of "Suspicious Minds", which was a UK Top 10 hit.

The Communards split in 1988; Somerville began a solo career the following year. He released his debut solo album Read My Lips in November 1989, which contained three UK Top 30 hits, including a hit cover of Sylvester's disco song "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" and a cover of "Comment te dire adieu?", a duet with June Miles-Kingston, which reached number 14 in the UK Singles chart. He also sang on the second Band Aid project at the end of 1989.

In November 1990, Somerville's greatest-hits album The Singles Collection 1984/1990 (which featured his hits with Bronski Beat and The Communards in addition to his own material) was released; it reached number 4 on the UK Album Chart. It included a reggae cover of the Bee Gees' hit song "To Love Somebody", which also reached the UK Top 10. Also in 1990, Somerville contributed the song "From This Moment On" to the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue produced by the Red Hot Organization, the proceeds from which benefited AIDS research.

''Dare to Love'' and other works (1991–1997)

In 1991, Somerville provided backing vocals to a track called "Why Aren't You in Love With Me?" from the album Ripe by Communards offshoot band Banderas. The Banderas duo, Caroline Buckley and Sally Herbert, had previously been part of Somerville's backing band. After this, he disappeared from the limelight for several years. He returned in 1995 with the album Dare to Love, which included "Heartbeat" (a UK Top 30 hit and a No. 1 hit on the US dance chart), "Hurt So Good" and "By Your Side", though commercial success was now beginning to elude him and his contract with London Records to which he had been signed for over a decade came to an end.

''Manage the Damage'' and recent activity (1997–present)

A new single, "Dark Sky", was released in 1997 and peaked at No. 66 in the UK. In the same year he provided vocals on "The Number One Song in Heaven" for the Sparks album Plagiarism with production by Tony Visconti. His third album, entitled Manage The Damage, was released in 1999 via Gut Records, but failed to chart. A companion remix album, Root Beer, came out in 2000. His dance-orientated fourth solo album, Home Again, was released in 2004, again not charting.

In May 2009, Somerville release the Suddenly Last Summer album, which contained acoustic interpretations of other people's songs. The album was initially only available as a digital download but in May 2010 was made available in a limited edition (3,000 copies) CD/DVD in the UK. In late 2010, Somerville released a dance EP called Bright Thing. 2010's EP Bright Thing was the first of a series of three, with Somerville releasing Momentum in 2011 and Solent in 2012, with long-term collaborator John Winfield.

Somerville released a disco-inspired album called Homage in 2015. Singles were "Back to Me" followed by "Travesty". The emphasis in recording the album was on achieving the musical authenticity of original disco which Somerville grew up listening to. He stated: "I've finally made the disco album I always wanted to and never thought I could."

He has also had an acting career, appearing in Sally Potter's 1992 film of Virginia Woolf's Orlando, in Isaac Julien's 1989 Looking for Langston, and in an episode of the cult science fiction television series Lexx ("Girltown").

In February 2021, Somerville teamed up with producer Sally Herbert (formerly of 1990s duo Banderas and also part of The Communards' backing band) to record a cover of "Everything Must Change" by Benard Ighner as a charity record for End Youth Homelessness, a network of projects which includes Centrepoint in London and a number of other homeless charity organisations around the UK.

Discography

Main article: Jimmy Somerville discography

; Studio albums

• Read My Lips (1989)
• Dare to Love (1995)
• Manage the Damage (1999)
• Home Again (2004)
• Suddenly Last Summer (2009)
• Homage (2015) ; with Bronski Beat
• The Age of Consent (1984)

; with The Communards

• Communards (1986)
• Red (1987)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

References

1. Smith, Christopher. (11 April 2019). "Where Are They Now? Jimmy Somerville".
2. "Smalltown Boy - BRONSKI BEAT". Top30-2.radio2.be.
3. "[http://www.top40.nl/zoeken?search=Bronski+Beat+-+Smalltown+Boy Nederlandse Top 40 – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy search results]" (in Dutch) [[Dutch Top 40]]. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
4. Mega Single Top 100]]. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
5. Kent, David. (1993). "[[Kent Music Report". Australian Chart Book.
6. "Don't Leave Me This Way by The Communards".
7. "Communards Chart History".
8. (12 October 1985). "COMMUNARDS".
9. Walters, Barry. (20 June 2000). "His beat goes on – singer Jimmy Somerville". [[The Advocate (magazine).
10. [https://madamesoho.com/2015/11/17/exclusive-interview-with-jimmy-somerville-a-huge-part-of-sohos-culture-and-history-has-gone-its-been-wiped-off-the-map/ Exclusive interview with Jimmy Somerville: 'A huge part of Soho's culture and history has gone – it's been wiped off the map], Ray Kinsella, Madame Soho, 17 November 2015
11. (3 March 2015). "Jimmy Somerville on loving his new album, Homage". The Scotsman.
12. Williams, Clifford. (2021). "London Gay Teenage Group in LGBTarchive". The Book Guild Ltd.
13. "Jimmy Somerville official biography".
14. Williams, Clifford. (2021). "London Gay Teenage Group in LGBTarchive". The Book Guild Ltd.
15. "Smalltown Boy - BRONSKI BEAT". Top30-2.radio2.be.
16. "[http://www.top40.nl/zoeken?search=Bronski+Beat+-+Smalltown+Boy Nederlandse Top 40 – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy search results]" (in Dutch) [[Dutch Top 40]]. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
17. Mega Single Top 100]]. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
18. Stanford, Peter. (10 January 2010). "Revved Up: Richard Coles, a Very Modern Vicar". [[The Independent]].
19. [[Larry Flick]]. (1995-03-04). "Sommerville's Back In A 'Heartbeat' {{!}} Single Leads Off London's 'Dare To Love'". [[Penske Media Corporation.
20. Martin, Laura. (28 February 2015). "Jimmy Somerville Interview: "I Wanted People To Love Me"".
21. "Homage (Limited Edition)".
22. "Lexx: The Dark Zone Stories Girltown (TV Episode 2000) - Full Cast and Crew". IMDb.
23. "Jimmy Somerville Supports Plight of Youth Homelessness with Nina Simone Cover {{!}} LBBOnline".
24. (24 February 2021). "Homelessness charity launches new campaign with Jimmy Somerville".
25. "British Film Institute Awards (UK) > 1984 Awards". IMDb.
26. (11 February 1985). "Brit Awards > History > 1985". [[British Phonographic Industry.
27. (9 February 1987). "Brit Awards > History > 1987". BPI.
28. Fielder, Hugh. (22 December 1990). "Programmers Debate The Brits: 'Not Enough' New Talent". Léon ten Hengel.
29. "Musikdatenbank – Musiker Jimmy Somerville". [[SRG SSR]].
30. (28 February 1991). "R.SH-Gold (Die Show der Goldpreisträger)". imfernsehen GmbH & Co. KG.
31. Lyons, Beverley. (2 December 2014). "Tartan Clef Awards: Bronski Beat star Jimmy Somerville tells why he was proud to receive award in Glasgow 30 years after leaving". [[Reach plc]].
32. Hegarty, Tasha. (30 November 2014). "Idlewild and Prince among winners at Scottish Music Awards". Hearst UK.
33. "2014 Queerties > Categories". Q.Digital.