The Age of Consent (Bronski Beat album)
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''The Age of Consent'' is the debut album by
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
band
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 ...
(Steve Bronski, Larry Steinbachek and Jimmy Somerville), released on
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
on 15 October 1984. This was the only album released by the band to feature Somerville, who departed the band in 1985. A re-recorded and expanded version was released in 2017 under the name of "The Age of Reason", with Bronski, Ian Donaldson, and new singer Stephen Granville.


Background

By 1984, many European countries had reduced the
age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...
for homosexual acts to 16, but it remained at 21 in the United Kingdom, having only been partially decriminalised in 1967. Homosexuality was not ‘legalised’ in Scotland, where Somerville was born, until 1981. The wording of the legislation to decriminalise also included wording that placed restrictions such as making illegal the use of a hotel room for sex. Homosexuality was further stigmatised beyond the restrictions placed on homosexual individuals, and
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
was a danger to gay individuals. Against this background, Bronski, Steinbachek, and Somerville met in Brixton in 1983, and soon formed Bronski Beat. They signed a recording contract with London Records in 1984 after doing only nine live
gig Gig or GIG may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992) * ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993) * ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy * GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...
s. The album was produced by Mike Thorne; the recording sessions took place in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The first single, " Smalltown Boy", was recorded at The Garden studio (owned by former
Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
singer John Foxx) and mixed at Maison Rouge studio, both of them based in London. The song "Heatwave" features the tap-dancing rhythms of Caroline O'Connor. The inner sleeve of the album contains the different international ages of consent for males to engage in gay sex, but this was removed from the United States release of the album by
MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
after sales and radio play were reportedly lower than anticipated because of its inclusion.


Singles

The album produced four hit singles.


"Smalltown Boy"

The band's debut single was released in June 1984, peaking at number 3 in the UK singles chart in June, and reaching number one in Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands. It is a poetically poignant, soul searching composition addressing homophobia, loneliness and family misunderstanding. It has been described as perfectly encapsulating "the experience of being young and gay in the '80s". It was accompanied by a video of Jimmy Somerville with fellow band member friends Larry Steinbachek and Steve Bronski, who, while cruising at a public swimming pool and changing room, are attacked and
beaten up An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
by a gang of homophobes. Somerville is returned to his family by the police; he leaves home alone and has a reunion with friends Steinbachek and Bronski, travelling to a new life on a train. The band had the telephone number of the London Gay Switchboard (telephone support and information for gays and lesbians in central London) etched into the inner groove of the 12" vinyl version. Additional congas were played by John Folarin. Sleeve cover art was by Gill Whisson.


"Why?"

The follow-up single " Why?" (recorded at RPM Studios, NYC and mixed at Townhouse Studio, London) pursued a more energetic musical formula, while the lyrics focused more centrally and darkly on anti-gay prejudice. The song opened with a questioning vocal by Somerville and the shattering of breaking glass. Released in September 1984, the single made the top 10 in the UK. The promotional video opens with Steinbachek and Bronski buying artificial bombs and a small statue of
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
's ''
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
'' in a mad supermarket. At the checkout, because they are openly gay, the assistant telephones the management to enquire whether they can pay for the items. They are refused. Meanwhile, Jimmy is singing behind a counter of sausages and salamis and, seeing the dilemma in progress, starts complaining to the checkout girl. All three are arrested by "the thought police" and made to appear for trial before a puppet court and senile judge (Jimmy's father in "Smalltown Boy") The band members are sent to a workhouse. From the workhouse, Jimmy rises up into the air and confronts "God". The workers revolt, and strip the thought police of authority and clothing. The band members are placed on pedestals, before "God" transforms all three of them into statues of salt for their alleged sins. The thought-police actors who arrest the trio are the swimmer / homophobic gang-leader from the "Smalltown Boy" video and "Martin", a friend of the band whose situation in a gay relationship with a younger man actually inspired the lyrical content of the song. The video extras were mostly friends of the band; they went on strike during the video shoot, due to the excess labour endured by them in the production. The "Smalltown Boy" and "Why?" videos were directed by Bernard Rose, who also directed the original video for Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax". The song is dedicated to the memory of playwright Drew Griffiths, a victim of a homophobic murder in 1984. The sleeve cover art was by Robert McAulay.


"It Ain't Necessarily So"

The third single "It Ain't Necessarily So", the
George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
and
Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...
/ DuBose Heyward song (from the opera ''
Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...
'') that expresses opposition to biblical literalism, was released in November 1984 and reached the UK Top 20. The track featured Arno Hecht from The Uptown Horns on solo clarinet and the openly gay male choir from London, The Pink Singers. It was recorded at The Garden studio, London and Skyline Studios, NYC. The promotional video featured Jimmy and Larry as inmates in a
borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...
with Jimmy and "Martin" (the "thought police" actor from "Why?") having a Christmas pie-eating competition which takes place during the Christmas religious service, which Jimmy wins. Steve plays a closeted prison warden who has a keen eye for one of the other prisoners. The cover sleeve art was a parody of ''
The Wizard Of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' or ''The Wizard of Oz'' most commonly refers to: *'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', a 1900 American novel by L. Frank Baum often reprinted as ''The Wizard of Oz'' ** Wizard of Oz (character), from the Baum novel serie ...
'' with Dorothy having the head of the devil.


"I Feel Love (Medley)"

A fourth (and final) single was released before Jimmy Somerville left the band in 1985: a medley of "I Feel Love / Johnny Remember Me / Love To Love You Baby". A version of the medley had already appeared on the "Age of Consent" album, combining
Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...
's seminal disco classic " I Feel Love" with John Leyton's " Johnny Remember Me", which had topped the UK charts in 1961. For its single release, former
Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their plat ...
singer
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 ...
was enlisted to duet with Jimmy Somerville, and another
Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...
disco song, " Love to Love You Baby", was added as the intro and coda. The single also featured a new backing track that was more
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
-oriented and catchy than the original album version. As with the band's previous single, the choir providing backing vocals was The Pink Singers. Cellos were played by Beverly Lauridsen, Jesse Levy and Mark Shuman. "I Feel Love (Medley)" was released in April 1985, with sleeve cover art by Gill Whisson. It became a big hit in the UK, entering the Top 10 in its second week on chart and peaking at number 3 for two weeks.


Critical reception

''
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''s
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
, in a contemporary review, wrote that "Good politics don't have to be this monochromatic" and criticised the "narrow dynamic range that afflicts so many falsettos, even those with impeccable reasons for singing like women." The album ranked at number 12 in ''
CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
''s "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1985" list. John Dougan of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
retrospectively described the album's songs as "compelling vignettes about the vagaries of life as a gay man" and ''The Age of Consent'' as "simply a great album, period."


Track listing


Personnel

Bronski Beat * Steve Bronski - keyboards, percussion * Larry Steinbachek - keyboards, percussion * Jimmy Somerville - vocals Additional personnel *Beverly Lauridsen, Jesse Levy, Mark Shuman - cello *The Pink Singers - choir *John Folarin - congas *Horns - Uptown Horns (Crispin Cioe (alto saxophone & solo, "Love And Money"), Arno Hecht (tenor saxophone), Richard Coles (clarinet solo), "It Ain't Necessarily So"), "Hollywood" Paul Litteral (trumpet) and Bob Funk (trombone)) *Caroline O'Connor - tap dance *Kevin Glancy - backing vocals ;Technical *Recording engineers: Peter Griffiths (London), Carl Beatty (NYC) & Dominick Maita (NYC) *Mixing engineers - Harvey Goldberg and
Julian Mendelsohn Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Early life After completing school in Australia, Mendelsohn moved to the United Kingdom. He secured his first job in 1974 at Milner Sound Fulham Rd. Chelsea, run b ...
("Why?") *Recorded at The Garden (London), Skyline (NYC) & RPM (NYC) *Mixed at Maison Rouge, The Town House and Right Track Recording *Mastered by Jack Skinner (Sterling Sound, NYC) & Arun Chakraverty (The Master Room, London) *Producer - Mike Thorne


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links


Discogs.com album infoCMJ ranking
{{DEFAULTSORT:Age Of Consent, The Bronski Beat albums 1984 debut albums London Records albums Albums produced by Mike Thorne