Jimmy Somerville (born June 22, 1961) is a Scottish pop singer. He had considerable success in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a successful solo career.

Somerville was born and raised in Glasgow and has a highly distinctive falsetto singing style. He is also a left-wing and human rights political activist.

His music has been constantly praised for containing groundbreaking social commentary, especially in its unabashed commentaries on homosexuality, that still being something of a taboo subject in the early-mid 80s.

He co-founded the synth pop group Bronski Beat in 1983, who proceeded to have a number of hits in the British charts. Their biggest hit, "Smalltown Boy", which reached number three, was considered groundbreaking because of its lyrical content regarding homophobia.

Somerville left Bronski Beat in 1985 and formed The Communards with classically trained pianist Richard Coles. They had a number of hits, including a cover version of Thelma Houston's Don't Leave Me This Way, which spent four weeks at number one in the charts, and became the biggest selling UK single of 1986. He also sang backing vocals on the Fine Young Cannibals' version of "Suspicious Minds", which was a UK Top 10 hit.

The Communards split in 1988 and Somerville launched his solo career. He had several solo hits between 1989 and 1991, also singing on the second Band Aid project at the end of 1989. After releasing his 1991 album Read My Lips (including a hit cover of Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"), Somerville left the limelight and was absent from recording for a number of years.

He returned in 1995 with an LP called Dare to Love, which included "Heartbeat", a number one hit on the U.S. dance chart. Another album, titled Manage the Damage, was released in 1999, and its companion remix album Root Beer came out a year later. Most recently, his dance-based fourth solo album, Home Again, was released in 2005.

Somerville also has an acting career, appearing in Sally Potter's 1992 film of Virginia Woolf's Orlando, in Isaac Julien's 1998 Looking for Langston, and in the "Girltown" episode of the cult science fiction television series Lexx.

Discography

Bronski Beat

• Smalltown boy, London Records 1984, single

• Why?, London Records 1984, single
• It Ain't Necessarily so, London Records 1984, single
  • The Age of Consent, Forbidden Fruit/London 1984, LP/CD
• Hundreds and Thousands, Forbidden Fruit/London 1984, LP/CD

• Run For Love, London Records/Metronome 1985, single

  • EP Sampler, Old Gold Records Ltd. 1993, LP

• The Essentials, Rhino Records 2002, CD

The Communards

• You Are My World, London Records 1985, single

• Don't Leave Me This Way, London Records 1986, single
• Disenchanted, London Records 1986, single
• So Cold The Night, London Records 1986, single
  • Communards, London Records 1986, LP/CD

• Never Can Say Goodbye, London Records 1987, single

• Tomorrow, London Records 1987, single
• For a Friend, London Records 1987, single
• You Are My World '87, London Records 1987, single
• There's More to Love, London Records 1987, single
  • Red, London Records 1987, LP/CD
• Storm Paris, London Records 1988, LP/CD
• Heaven, London Records 1993, LP/CD

Solo

• Comment Te Dire Adieu, FFRR London Records 1989, single

• You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), FFRR London Records 1989, single
• Read My Lips (Enough Is Enough), FFRR London Records 1989, single
  • Read my Lips, London Records 1989, LP/CD

• Run From Love, ''FFRR London Records 1991, single

• To Love Somebody, FFRR London Records 1991, single
• Smalltown Boy '91, FFRR London Records 1991, single
  • The Singles Collection, London Records 1991, LP/CD

• By Your Side, FFRR London Records 1995, single

• Hurt So Good, FFRR London Records 1995, double single
• Heartbeat, FFRR London Records 1995, podwójny single
• Safe In These Arms, FFRR London Records 1997, single
  • Dare to Love, London Records 1995, LP/CD

• Master Series, FFRR London Records 1996, single

• Dark Sky, GUT Records 1999, single
• Something To Live For, GUT Records 1999, single
• Lay Down, GUT Records 1999, double single
  • Manage the Damage, Gut Records 1999, CD
• Root Beer, Instinct Records 2000, CD

• Why? 2000, Almighty 2000, single

• Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You, Almighty/Atoll Musi 2001, single
  • The Very Best of Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat and The Communards, Waner Brothers/London Records 2001, CD

• It's So Good, BMG International 2004, double single

• Come On, Hablando/BMG International 2004, single
• Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Hablando/BMG International 2005, single
  • Home Again (2004), BMG International 2004, CD

See also

• Banderas – Communards offshoot featuring backing musican Sally Herbert
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

External links

• Jimmy Somerville's Official Fanpage
• Jimmy Somerville's Official Website
• Jimmy Somerville Lyrics
• Jimmy Somerville Interview

1961 births | Living people | Scottish male singers | Scottish pop singers | Glaswegians | Disco musicians | House musicians

Jimmy Somerville | Jimmy Somerville | Jimmy Somerville | Jimmy Somerville | Jimmy Somerville | Jimmy Somerville