Jimmy Somerville / Bronski Beat / The Communards ‎– The Singles Collection 1984/1990

The eighties are not my favorite decade when it comes to pop music. Nevertheless, some great pop music was recorded during those years, some of it by Jimmy Somerville, who was lead singer of Bronski beat and, later, the Communards. Both of those groups are represented here but there are also some of Jimmy’s solo songs, too. Jimmy’s distinctive falsetto voice could not be mistaken for any other. It is worth pointing out that Jimmy was gay and this is reflected in the lyrics of many of the original songs. I’m not sure how well Jimmy’s music did in America but he was, for a while, an important singer on the British scene.
Bronski beat had six UK hits but only the first four are included here. Hit that perfect beat (a top three hit) and Come on come on are missing. Two of the others also made the top three, these being Small town boy and an unlikely medley (with Marc Almond) of I feel love (Donna Summer) and Johnny remember me (John Leyton). Why made it to number six while It ain’t necessarily so made the top twenty.
The Communards had a UK number one hit with Don’t leave me this way, a cover of a song that had been a hit in the seventies for two different singers – Thelma Houston and Harold Melvin. Harold’s version charted higher in the UK but Thelma’s version went to number one in America. I enjoy all three versions but the Communards’ version features not only Jimmy’s excellent lead singing but also excellent vocal support by Sarah Jane Morris, a singer otherwise unknown to me.