Today, London Records shares a new remix of yet another classic Bronski Beat track, “Why?,” remixed by Superchumbo and featuring the legendary Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys, this marks the third remix taken from the upcoming 40th anniversary deluxe reissue of Bronski Beat’s seminal debut album The Age Of Consent. It follows reworks of the classic queer anthem ‘Smalltown Boy’from producers ABSOLUTE. and Planningtorock, respectively.
A worldwide Top 10 in September 1984, “Why?” cemented Bronski Beat as pop’s foremost proponents of meaningful dance music, opening with the sound of shattering glass and a questioning vocal by Jimmy Somerville and before launching into a driven energetic formula, its lyrics focused more centrally on anti-gay prejudice.
40 years on, Tom Stephan (aka Superchumbo) revisits “Why?,” creating an unrelenting dance-floor behemoth full of intensity and fluidity. A dance music titan with 20 Billboard US Dance number ones under his belt, Tom’s rework is crowned with a defiant new vocal by Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant, sitting alongside the urgency and anger of Jimmy Somerville’s original strident take. Percolating towards an insane drop, this new Superchumbo mix takes no prisoners.
Speaking about the remix, Bronski Beat singer Jimmy Somerville reveals: “I’ve known Tom for a good few years now and when I asked him if he’d like to do a remix of ‘Why?’ he said yes straight away. The song is a part of his story. I was so moved when he shared that story with me. The lyric is our shared experience as it is for so many others…and forty years later the lyric still tells the story of LGBTQi+….the hate, the violence, the discrimination, the imprisonment and state-sanctioned murder of those who dare to be their true selves and it’s happening somewhere right now as I write this.”
Speaking on the rework, Tom explains: “My goal was to create an updated mix that fits well with contemporary sounds while preserving the original intensity and energy. After I submitted the mix, Jimmy asked me if I could include a few more lyrics from the original song. I had recently watched a Pet Shop Boys documentary where Neil Tennant read some of his lyrics, which moved me to tears,” he continues. “I imagined Neil speaking these lyrics, creating a powerful contrast. I left Neil a voicemail on my way to a gig abroad and by the time I reached Heathrow I had his vocals on my phone, added them to the track on my flight, and played it that night!”
“I was fucking whooping like a banshee round my kitchen when Tom told me Neil would like to contribute!” exclaims Jimmy. “To speak the lyrics of ‘Why?’ and to hear Tom’s musical reworking of the track is fucking mind-blowing. So to hear Neil, one of our greatest pop lyricists, speaking my words… It brings it into the here and now and also retains its history with my original vocal. I genuinely felt moved.”
“It is a great honour to work on this iconic song with two legends who were lifelines to me while growing up gay in a small town,” says Tom.
Released in 1984, The Age of Consent was a pioneering voice in the fight for queer liberation and equal rights, bravely addressing the struggles and triumphs of LGBTQ+ communities at a time when such discussions were often silenced.
Fast forward 40 years, and while some milestones such as equal marriage have been won, the fight for true equality throughout the LGBTQ+ community continues. Following a general election in the UK that saw the Trans community spotlighted in a vicious culture war, and essentially used as a political football, not to mention an increasing amount of anti-Trans rhetoric in the U.S. political landscape, “Why?”‘s’ themes of liberation and defiance remain as prescient today as they were then: ‘You and me together, Fighting for our love’.
On October 18, London Records will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bronski Beat‘s groundbreaking debut album, ‘The Age of Consent,’ with deluxe reissues that promise to captivate both long-time fans and new listeners. To mark this momentous occasion, the 40th-anniversary reissue of ‘The Age of Consent‘ will be available in a variety of physical and digital formats, including a 5-Disc Deluxe Edition (4CD+DVD): featuring 4 essays by Tom Rasmussen, Lesley Chow, Lucy Robinson, and Barney Ashton-Bullock, the original album, bonus tracks, remixes, rarities, early versions, and rare radio sessions. Its DVD comes with restored promo videos, Top of the Pops performances, and original TV adverts.
Other formats include 2CD with new reworks, 2LP (with ‘The Age of Consent‘ and its neighboring remix album ‘Hundreds & Thousands,‘ a yellow 1LP edition (Lexer Music Exclusive), and a Super Deluxe Edition exclusive Blu Ray edition featuring ‘The Age of Consent‘ and ‘Hundreds & Thousands‘ in Dolby Atmos & 5.1 mixes.
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