ABSOLUTE. has remixed Bronski Beat’s classic synth-pop smash Smalltown Boy for its 40th anniversary.
Originally released on May 25, 1984, Smalltown Boy launched the group into the charts with an LGBTQ+ narrative centred on themes of rejection, pain and escape, delivered by Jimmy Somerville’s soaring falsetto vocals.
To mark the track’s milestone, ABSOLUTE. – aka London-based BJ and producer Ant McGinley – has added a trance-edge to the tune, saying: “When I got asked to rework Smalltown Boy I was literally just screaming.
“And when I started work on it, it was such an emotional experience. I was welling up while I was making it, which is so rare to happen for me, this made me know just how much of a special track this was.”
“ABSOLUTE. has kept a strong essence of the period and the song. The Bass!” adds Somerville. “I was transported back to our first times writing (banging on a Pro One and a Moog) and me realising I never had to walk around vocally imitating a sequence ever again!”
It comes ahead of the release of a limited run of physical formats of the single, which drop on July 26.
