Larry Steinbachek (6 May 1960 – 7 December 2016) was an English-singer songwriter, director and composer best known for his time as part of

Bronski Beat Bronski Beat were a British synthpop trio which achieved success in the mid-1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit "Smalltown Boy", from their debut album '' The Age of Consent''. "Smalltown Boy" was their only US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 s ...

with

Jimmy Somerville James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and soul ...

and

Steve Bronski Steven William Forrest (7 February 1960 – 7 December 2021) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, best known for his time as a member of synth pop band Bronski Beat, with Jimmy Somerville and Larry Steinbachek. Career He was a co-founder and keyb ...

Early life

Steinbachek was born in London on 6 May 1960. He worked as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

and was studying to be a musician prior to forming Bronski Beat with Jimmy Somerville and Steve Bronski.

Career

Steinbachek joined Bronski Beat in 1983 and was one of the song writers for most of the band's songs such as "

Smalltown Boy "Smalltown Boy" is a song by British synth-pop band Bronski Beat, released in May 1984 as the first single from their debut album, ''The Age of Consent (album), The Age of Consent'' (1984). The song was a big commercial success, reaching numbe ...

", " Why?" and " Hit That Perfect Beat". He and the band also collaborated with

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...

on a medley cover of both "

I Feel Love "I Feel Love" is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, ''I Remember Yesterday'' (1977). The album concept was to have ...

" and " Johnny, Remember Me". Somerville left the band in 1987 to form

The Communards The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. The duo consisted of Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles. They are most famous for their cover versions of "Don't Leave Me This Way", originally by Harold Melvin & the Blue N ...

with

Richard Coles Richard Keith Robert Coles (born 26 March 1962) is an English writer, radio presenter and Church of England clergyman who was the vicar of Finedon in Northamptonshire from 2011 to 2022. He first came to prominence as the multi-instrumentalist ...

who also worked with Bronski Beat. Steinbachek and Bronski were then joined by both John Foster (who sang on "Hit That Perfect Beat") and Jonathan Hellyer (who sang on "I Love Nightlife"). In 1995, Steinbachek left the band and was replaced by

Ian Donaldson Ian Donaldson is a Scottish singer and writer. Donaldson's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of new wave band H2O, which released two UK Top 40 hits in 1983 with the ...

. After leaving Bronski Beat, Steinbachek moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and then back to England. He worked as a composer and theatre director until his death. He was involved in the 2015 movie, '' Chappie'' where he was one of the composers of the soundtrack. He co-wrote "Beat Boy" with former-Bronski Beat member Steve Bronski and it was sung by the alternative hip hop group,

Die Antwoord Die Antwoord (, Afrikaans for "The Answer") is a South African alternative hip hop group formed in Cape Town in 2008. The group comprises rappers Watkin Tudor "Ninja" Jones and Anri "Yolandi Visser" du Toit, a male/female duo, and producers H ...

. He also became the musical director for

Michael Laub Michael Laub (born 1953, in Belgium) is an avant-garde stage director and contemporary dance choreographer. His work has notably been shown at the Venice Biennale of 1984, the Festival d'Avignon of 2005, the Burgtheater in 2011, and several times ...

's theatre company, Remote Control Productions, in 1995 following his departure from Bronski Beat.

Personal life and death

Steinbachek had a sister, Louise Jones. He was openly gay and, like the other members of Bronski Beat, wrote about the politics around

gay culture Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including '' ...

and the oppression in the 1980s towards gay people. He was good friends with Steve Bronski and Jimmy Somerville. He died in 2016 after a short battle with cancer at the age of 56. His fellow band member, Steve Bronski, died on the same date in 2021 from smoke inhalation.

References

1960 births 2016 deaths 20th-century English LGBT people 20th-century English male singers 21st-century English LGBT people 21st-century English male singers Bronski Beat members Deaths from cancer in England Gay singers LGBT people from London English LGBT singers Musicians from London English gay musicians {{Bronski Beat