We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Steve Bronski. Steve was a founding member of the influential British trio Bronski Beat, responsible for chart hits such as ‘Smalltown Boy’, ‘Why’ and ‘Hit That Perfect Beat’. Steve will be missed by all who worked with him at Bucks – our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

Bandmate Jimmy Somerville has described Steve as ‘…a talented and a very melodic man. Working with him on songs and the one song that changed our lives and touched so many other lives, was a fun and exciting time. Thanks for the melody Steve’.

The group began when Bronski and Steinbachek met Somerville through a documentary called Framed Youth - Revenge of the Teenage Perverts, which was made for an LGBTQ arts festival. ‘Smalltown Boy’, their debut single, was a synth-pop classic, and reached number three in the charts. It was particularly ground-breaking for many fans who related to its story of a young, gay man leaving his home town for the freedom of the big city. Their debut album Age of Consent followed in 1984. The title referred to the difference in the legal ages for gay and straight sex, and the sleeve listed the ages of consent for countries around the world. "When you saw it written down, the discrimination was astonishing," Somerville later said. "We printed the number of the Gay Switchboards across Britain on the record sleeve and they were swamped as a result."… Read More via BBC

‘In 2017, Bronski spearheaded the recording of a revamped version of The Age of Consent titled The Age of Reason, with vocalist Stephen Granville. “We should be living in an age of reason,” Bronski told Pennyblack Music. “The trans community should not live in fear, and gay kids should not be bullied. We have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go.”…Read More via The Guardian