Leave in the morning with everything you own in a little black case...

Bronski Beat is the gayest band ever. Ever. And that is not a slight. The boys from London combined insightful pondering about being persecuted as a class in the 80s with socialistic views and bubbly but subversive dance-pop beats. They were truly the first stars to truly be out-of-the-closet from the start, and a big chunk of that was due to the out-of-this-world falsetto of lead singer Jimmy Somerville, who channeled soul divas of the 70’s into a totally new direction, while being accessible enough to get a top-40 rank and gold record status in the States with their debut album, Age Of Consent. Internal band turmoil after that saw the departure of Somerville, who would later front the Communards before setting off for a completely solo career. But before that, the band’s stopgap after the first album was a hodgepodge of extended mixes from AOC as well as new songs in a package called Hundreds and Thousands. Five of the ten tracks are alternate versions from their debut, and include their three English top-10 singles. “Why” is a simple anti-homophobia anthem pulsed by a breakneck-speed drum machine, while the most essential “Smalltown Boy” is the best recitation of gay youth angst and solitude and desperation that I had heard at my tender age. I guess being sixteen right when this came out deeply affected me, being the first exposure to something artistically expressing my nascent feelings that I was only figuring out myself. On the other side of the coin, Somerville’s diva tendencies come out in full force on their medley with Soft Cell member Marc Almond. This album’s version goes one better by expanding it to almost ten minutes to include Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” and “Love To Love You Baby” with “Johnny Remember Me”. Album track “Heatwave” starts things off oddly with sound effects like those in a local version of “Curves” exercise center, while “Junk” mocks the American fast-food gluttony complete with an added “commercial break” bridge. As for the other half of the CD, “Run From Love” and “Hard Rain” would have been at home on Age Of Consent with its victimized rumination, while “Infatuation/Memories” almost goes a little too long for a mood piece. “Close To The Edge” is worthy though more slight, and baffling closer “Cadillac Car” sounds like they co-opted Mike Love from the Beach Boys to write something for them in promise for apparently more coke money.

Many remix albums are meant as toss-offs, either to stop the hemorrhaging of fans waiting on an artist’s next album, or a capitalization of those same fans’ hunger for their fave band’s work. Hundreds and Thousands is more enjoyable than that, offering both extended versions of their seminal work as well as original material without too much fluff. And for the evolution of the gay music scene, Bronski Beat in any incarnation is indispensable.

Grade: B
Best Cuts: “Why”, “Smalltown Boy”, “I Feel Love Medley”
Weakest Link: “Cadillac Car”

Hundreds and Thousands hit #18 as an album on the dance club play chart in the US and #24 in the UK.
"Why" originally hit #27 dance club play and #6 in the UK.
"Smalltown Boy" originally made #48 US pop singles, #1 dance club play, and #3 in the UK.
"I Feel Love (Medley)" made #50 dance sales in the US and #3 in the UK.

Listen: "Run From Love" [click here to listen]

Buy: You can pick up a copy of Hundreds & Thousands at websites like here and here.

And now from some video goodness. First up, their initial single, "Smalltown Boy"...