JIMMY SOMERVILLE

Glaswegian Jimmy Somerville first shot to fame back in 1984 with groundbreaking band Bronski Beat. "Smalltown Boy", their debut single, made the top three in Britain and was a huge hit all over Europe. It not only introduced the world to Jimmy's unusual "falsetto squeal" as he once described it, but confronted them with a lyric addressing the isolation and rejection felt by a provincial gay youth forced into leaving town.

Although not the first pop song to deal with this topic, the chart friendly early 80's electronic dance sound and the everyday ordinariness and honesty of the three performers, made "Smalltown Boy" the biggest obviously gay record there'd ever been.

Bronski Beat went on to have several lively pop dance hits in '84 and '85 including a cover of former gay icon Donna Summer's "I Feel Love", on which they joined forces with Marc Almond.

A year of hit records across Europe and the UK, live performances, outspoken interviews and the pressures of new found fame took its toll and, something of a reluctant star, he left Bronski Beat for a rest. In a matter of months, however, he was back forming the Communards with old friend and keyboardist Richard Coles. Over the next three years the Communards enjoyed a string of hits from their two big selling albums - "Communards" ( 1986 ) and "Red" ( 1987 ).

Jimmy and Richard's material was a mixture of good old fashioned "gay" disco and more bluesy, acoustic, political and social comment songs, both of which made a strong impact in the Thatcherite 80's and perfectly reflected the two sides of Jimmy's personality as well. One moment the Communards were hurtling to the number one spot, a position they held for four weeks in September 1986, with an energetic, hedonistic cover version of the Philly soul classic "Don't Leave Me This Way", the next stunning audiences into silent awe with their touching lament for a loved one lost to Aids, "For A Friend".

At the end of '88 Richard, a former church organist, left to pursue a career in the media as a religious commentator. Jimmy then embarked on a solo career which saw him chalk up another 5 hit singles and two albums; "Read My Lips" ( 1989 ) and "The Singles Collection" ( 1990 ). These included another stirring disco cover of Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel ( Mighty Real )", which made the top five, and Francoise Hardy's "Comment Te Dire Adieu", a duet in French with June Miles Kingston. He also contributed to the Aids awareness project album "Red Hot and Blue", recording a cover of Cole Porter's "From This Moment On".

Jimmy's continued outspokenness on gay issues didn't prevent his records being played and selling in huge quantities. His honesty as a gay performer almost certainly helped to pave the way.

Since he disappeared from the charts in 1991, Jimmy deliberately took time out of his high profile celebrity existence to, as he puts it, live his life to the full as a gay man in the 90's. His subsequent solo material drew, if anything, even more than before on his personal experiences and the periods of both elation and anger he has passed through in the preceding 4 years.

Although he has dabbled in some film work, appearing in Sally Potter's "Orlando" and setting up a gay film company "Normal Films", with Isaac Julien and others, to produce "Postcards From America", which previewed at 1994's New York Film Festival, the singing voice has taken a long holiday.

"In the last few years" says Jimmy, "I've really lived life and discovered myself. I've also discovered what it's like to be a part of a peer group that's been touched by the grief and anger of Aids, which has taken away several close friends. The new songs I've written deal with these very personal experiences of life, love, sex and death."

The album "Dare To Love" was released in June '95 and is a typical rollercoaster mix of upbeat pop dance numbers and more serious songs exploring gay issues. The title track, about a man who loves a younger boy of 16 and is threatened with prison and persecution, is typically upfront and provides a topical link with his earlier material.

"It's still very much a pop album" enthuses Jimmy, "a bit of disco and some jazzy blues but basically just jolly pop, gay pop if you like. I'm not going to come out with a pile of shit about being a mature artist now," he continues, "although I am more pleased with my vocals this time round. I've got more control over them than before and I wasn't scared to let go."

The first single from "Dare To Love" was "Heartbeat", released in January 1995. It entered the UK charts at number 24 and was number one in the USA dance chart. The E-Smoove and the Armand Van Heldon mixes are still being played in clubs today. This was followed by the fabulous cover version of Susan Cadogan's 1975 top four reggae hit "Hurts So Good".

"It seemed such a great song to do," said Jimmy, "it's about putting up with anything, about being brave in the face of emotional and physical abuse and bouncing back."

"Hurts So Good" stormed into the UK charts at number fifteen and was followed by an outstanding Top Of The Pops performance. It was Europe's fourth most played record for four weeks. The next single "By Your Side" was released in late October '95 and was supported by a UK tour.