Steve Bronski has died aged 61.
The star formed the group Bronski Beat in 1983 with singer Jimmy Somerville and Larry Steinbachek, with the former confirming his passing.
He tweeted: “Sad to hear Steve Bronski has died. He was a talented and a very melodic man.
Sad to hear Steve Bronski has died. He was a talented and a very melodic man. Working with him on songs and the one song that changed our lives and touched so many other lives, was a fun and exciting time. Thanks for the melody Steve. Jimmy x pic.twitter.com/VfxbtZu1Nx
— Jimmy Somerville (@JimmySomerville) December 9, 2021
“Working with him on songs and the one song that changed our lives and touched so many other lives, was a fun and exciting time.
“Thanks for the melody Steve.”
The trio formed when Bronski and Steinbachek met Somerville through the ‘Framed Youth – Revenge of the Teenage Perverts’ documentary, which was made for an LGBTQ arts festival.
Debut single Smalltown Boy became an instant synth-pop classic, reaching No. 3 in the charts, and their debut album, ‘Age of Consent’, followed in 1984. Its title was a reference to the difference in the legal ages for gay and straight sex.
Somerville left to form The Communards, but Bronski Beat continued and returned to the UK Top 10 with Hit That Perfect Beat in 1985.
In 2017, a revitalised line-up – with Bronski as the only remaining original member – released their first new album in 22 years.
Steinbachek died in 2017.
