Bronski Beat’s Jimmy Somerville fights to remove ‘Smalltown Boy’ from film by “anti-Trans” LGB Alliance: “I would never allow anything of mine to be used by such a group”
Bronski Beat’s Jimmy Somerville has vowed to remove ‘Smalltown Boy’ from an upcoming film by “anti-Trans” group LGB Alliance.
Since its release in 1984, the track has been regarded as a gay anthem and is credited with paving the way for other gay artists to share their experiences through music.
The lyrics and video of ‘Smalltown Boy’ drew attention to homophobia amid the AIDS epidemic, with Somerville playing a young boy outed to his family by the police and kicked out of his home. He then catches a train to London where, alongside the band’s other members, they embark on a new life in the capital – depicting a common experience for LGBTQ+ young people at the time.
Recently, news emerged that LGB Alliance are using the track in an upcoming documentary called Generation Gay.
The group, which was granted charity status in 2021, claims to “advance the interests of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals”, but have been vocal in their exclusion of trans people and their opposition of gender identity education in schools, gender recognition reform and gender-affirming healthcare.
Somerville, Bronski Beat’s surviving member, took to Instagram yesterday (November 24) to say the use of the track in the film was “unapproved”.
In a video, Somerville said: “It has come to my attention that the LGB Alliance is using ‘Small Town Boy’ in a film called Generation Gay. LGB Alliance is anti-trans. I would never allow anything of mine to be used by such a group. So we will do everything we can as soon as possible to have ‘Smalltown Boy’ removed from this film.
“How dare you? How fucking dare you? So I just want to let you know that there’s nothing to do with me, didn’t know about it, but we will do something about it,” he concluded.
Last month, the band released their own short documentary to mark the 40th anniversary of their iconic single ‘Why?’, from their debut album ‘Age Of Consent’. The track was a protest anthem against growing homophobia and highlighted the LGBTQ+ community’s resistance.
You can check it out below:
Somerville is Bronski Beat’s last surviving member after the deaths of Larry Steinbachek in 2017 and Steve Bronski in 2021.
During their time together, the pioneering synth-pop band released five albums: 1984’s ‘The Age Of Consent’, 1986’s ‘Truthdare Doubledare’, 1987’s ‘Out & About’, 1995’s ‘Rainbow Nation’ and 2017’s ‘The Age Of Reason’.
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Laura Molloy
NME
