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 to leave town.Although it wasn't the first pop song to deal with this topic, the chart friendly, electronic dance sound and the everyday ordinariness and honesty of the three performers, made "Smalltown Boy" the biggest gay record there had ever been.Bronski Beat went on to have several uptempo 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 the UK and Europe, live performances, outspoken interviews and the pressures of new found fame took it's toll and, something of a reluctant star, Jimmy 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 chart topping 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. One moment the Communards were hurtling to the number one spot, (a position they held for six 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".In 1989 Jimmy 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 outspokeness 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.After disappearing from the charts in 1991, Jimmy deliberately took time out of his high profile celebrity existence to live his life a little, out of the limelight. His subsequent new solo album "Dare to Love" drew on his personal experiences during that period and covered love, elation and anger. It was a mixture of pop/dance tracks mixed with some more serious songs.One of the singles from Dare To Love was "Heartbeat", The E-Smoove and the Armand Van Heldon mixes of which are still being played in clubs today. The track reached no. 1 in the US dance charts. Jimmy embarked on a UK and European tour with a full live band to support the album and continued to perform live PA's around the world
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