As the 40th anniversary of Bronski Beat’s landmark album Age of Consent is celebrated, the latest version of their groundbreaking track Smalltown Boy features the magnificent Perfume Genius and The Knocks.
“We wanted to really keep it close to the original but just give it a little more of a modern dance floor feel,” explains Ben Ruttner from The Knocks.
“Perfume Genius already brings such a cool new element to it, so we just wanted to support his voice as much as possible while giving it a little bit of The Knocks dance pop touch. That main synth sound is so iconic so we wanted that to be the main star of the show, still.”
Bronski Beat released their debut single Smalltown Boy in 1984. The song shares the story of a young gay man who is forced to leave home with his family discovers his sexuality. A story that was all too common in the 1980s.
The song was a huge hit around the world, including being a Top10 smash here in Australia, and made lead singer Jimmy Somerville one of the most recognisable voices in pop music.
Bronski Beat’s debut album Age of Consent highlighted on its cover the different ages gay men were allowed to have sex in different countries, and engraved into the vinyl was the number for London’s Gay and Lesbian Switchboard.
“I think the song definitely carries meaning in 2024,” said JPatt of The Knocks. “That’s part of the reason we are doing the rework. The song itself is amazing, but the meaning behind it is what makes it a timeless classic. Even with all the strides the LGBTQI+ community has made in the past 40 years, there are tons of queer folk living in small towns that don’t feel seen or supported within those communities. As long as that still exists, this song will always be relevant.”
As to the song’s message of hope Mike a.k.a. Perfume Genius added, “I think I always have hope, and I think my experience is that all of my friends in the community do, too. We’re good at it. In the face of whatever. In the face of nothing. In the face of a lot. We’re good at having hope, and we’re good at building it up and finding where it is.”
