1984 - It Ain't Necessarily So

'Why?' was about their best...

'Why?' was about their best...
Why?

I like 'Smalltown Boy' best... :)

Why?


Why not!  :D

1984 - Smalltown Boy 

1991 - Smalltown Boy <remix>

How much difference is there between these records?

'Why' gets my pick as well


1984 - Smalltown Boy 

1991 - Smalltown Boy <remix>

How much difference is there between these records?



The 1991 remix was a more mellow version that did not feature the heavy synth drums as heard in the first one

'Why' gets my pick as well

The 1991 remix was a more mellow version that did not feature the heavy synth drums as heard in the first one
I must know one version of this better than the other one.

I must know one version of this better than the other one.


Perhaps the original.  That synth drum is hard to forget LOL

Perhaps the original.  That synth drum is hard to forget LOL
I will bear it in mind next time I hear the song.

I must know one version of this better than the other one.


The remix was used to promote the 1990 'best of' album, but the version on that album was the original...

But despite both tracks being on their first album, the version of 'It Ain't Neccessarily So' was remixed for the single, while 'I Feel Love' was a complete re-recording...

My vote to the dancehall classic "Why?"... awesome tune that gets me on the dance floor everytime! :)

Gotta go for "Why" here, too.

Does anyone remember the thread where we went through great songs ruined by their lyrics?  I cited Why as a case in point.  First time I heard it, I was amazed; I'd never heard so many layers of keyboard thrown on top of each other like that; it was something that would have been absolutely impossible for a human keyboardist (or even two or three working together) to pull off without a small army of sequencers.

And just as I was thinking that I hoped whoever did this awesome track doesn't screw it up by trying to sing over it, I heard the first couple of lines... and absolutely cringed.  I might have been able to slip the first line past 'em, but that second line had me hoping the song was about domestic abuse :)  Talk about a letdown - here's a guaranteed floorfilller, and no DJ will ever be able to spin it (remember, it was 1984) to an even remotely-straight audience.  Dammit!

Fortunately, 80-90% of the song is instrumental, and with a little clever editing/fading, what the audience doesn't know won't hurt them.

The canonical album/radio mix is on 1984's Age of Consent, the canonical 12" mix is 7:45 on 12" vinyl and/or the 1985 album (or 1995 re-release) of Hundreds and Thousands.  There was an updated (more euro/mellow) remix on 1994's Rainbownation, and a mid-80s-sounding version (with the customary Hot Tracks phasing effects) on Hot Tracks, The Edge, Vol. 1 the Hot Tracks remix service.

Anyways, there are a lot of remixes, most of which are well worth tracking down.  Ditto for Hit That Perfect Beat.  If you're reading a thread about Bronski Beat, there's really not much in the lyrics that'll surprise you at this point anyways :)

I voted for "Smalltown Boy", the original version.  I also like "Why" and "Hit That Perfect Beat".


The canonical album/radio mix is on 1984's Age of Consent, the canonical 12" mix is 7:45 on 12" vinyl and/or the 1985 album (or 1995 re-release) of Hundreds and Thousands.  There was an updated (more euro/mellow) remix on 1994's Rainbownation, and a mid-80s-sounding version (with the customary Hot Tracks phasing effects) on Hot Tracks, The Edge, Vol. 1 the Hot Tracks remix service.


I may still have the 12" of "Why".  The Hot Tracks mix is structured better IMO and that's the version I use if I'm going to drop it in a set.

I can't decide between the first four!  They all remind me of Saturday nights at Sammy's nightclub in town.


Talk about a letdown - here's a guaranteed floorfilller, and no DJ will ever be able to spin it (remember, it was 1984) to an even remotely-straight audience.  Dammit!




It was a floor filler in the UK.  :-\\

I can't decide between the first four!  They all remind me of Saturday nights at Sammy's nightclub in town.

It was a floor filler in the UK.  :-\\


Lower drinking age?  The less attention paid to the lyrics, more people on the floor!

Lower drinking age?  The less attention paid to the lyrics, more people on the floor!


We all knew what he was singing about.  Didn't make any difference to me and my friends anyway.

Other - Don't Leave Me This Way...or is that the Communards  ???

Other - Don't Leave Me This Way...or is that the Communards  ???


That is The Communards.  And one that also reminds me of clubbing.

That is The Communards.  And one that also reminds me of clubbing.


...and one that can be played in even the straightest of venues :)

The original soul/funk by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes in 1975 stands up pretty well today. 

Thelma Houston started the disco/techno ball rolling in 1976 with a disco version (I'll also plug the 9:26 Hot Tracks version with funky phase effects and an extended instrumental loop that's almost indistinguishable from a live jam session).

Then came the 80s/hi-NRG mixes -- which is where the Jeanie Tracy (aka Jeannie Tracy)'s 1985 cover comes into play. The Communards came in almost simultaneously with their version in 1986.

(And as usual, there are dozens of remixes of all of them... too many to count, and lots of them are buried on random compilations/remix service/white label releases)

The common thread between them all was probably Sylvester.  As an performer, producer, musical genius and all-around epitome of everything that was right (and wrong) with disco, he was performing around the time Thelma Houston did her mid-70s version, he produced Jeanie Tracy's 1986 cover, and - himself afflicted with AIDS - would have had no problem with helping out a Bronski brotha make a buck with something a little more commercial-friendly (or at least with the double meaning much more deeply buried) than their usual fare.

Bad news is that Sylvester's been gone for 20 years.  Good news is that out of all this poking around bio and discography sites, I've discovered that Jeanie is not only alive and well, she's still recording dance music. 

Bronski Beat was briefly back on the radio in the mid-late 00s through samples by two Swedish artists.  They were really well done.

The first one was 'Tell Me Why' by Supermode that sampled the music from 'Smalltown Boy' and the lyrics of 'Why?' and reached #13 in the UK in 2006
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTDeEJyCmNA

Then in 2008, the artist known as September sampled 'Smalltown Boy' for her song 'Cry For You' and took it to #5 in the UK and #33 in Canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qux6PhqbBBU&ob=av2n

'Smalltown Boy' was one of my favorite songs during that time preriod 1984 to 1985. It still sounds good today.

Tell me whyyyyyyyyy!!!  My favorite of the handful of tracks that I enjoy from the band.

I like 'Smalltown Boy' best... :)

That is the only one I know from them, so I voted for it.

Smalltown Boy. Cmon its just awesome.

There was also another effort from them (sans Somerville) in the early 90s - a cover of Tami Lynn's 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You'...

Mostly excluded from BB compilations because of it's utter crapness!

There was also another effort from them (sans Somerville) in the early 90s - a cover of Tami Lynn's 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You'...

Mostly excluded from BB compilations because of it's utter crapness!


Can't say as that is one I know.  I must seek that one out

I feel like the 12" Smalltown Boy is vastly better than the shortened version. Something about the opening of that song gives me chills!