Jimmy Somerville Pop star Date of Birth: 22.06.1961 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Jimmy Somerville

Jimmy Somerville is a Scottish popular singer and songwriter. He gained his first taste of fame in 1984 as a member of the band Bronski Beat. Their first single, "Smalltown Boy," reached the third spot on the UK charts and became a hit throughout Europe. The song resonated with listeners due to Jimmy's extraordinary high voice and the portrayal of an isolated, rejected provincial boy forced to live in a big city. The combination of popular electronic disco music and the genuine emotions of the three band members made this song the most popular in Europe and the world. Bronski Beat regularly charted with songs like "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer, which they performed with Marc Almond.

Following a successful year in Europe and the UK, with numerous live performances and a new lineup, something happened to Jimmy and he left the band to take a break. After months of hiatus, Jimmy joined the band Communards with his friend and keyboardist Richard Coles. Over the next three years, the group produced several hits from their popular albums "Communards" (1986) and "Red" (1987). Jimmy and Richard's work was a combination of good old-fashioned gay disco and more bluesy, acoustic songs with social and political themes. Both aspects had a significant influence on the Thatcher-era 80s and perfectly reflected Jimmy's dual personality.

Communards even topped the charts for four weeks in September 1986 with their lively and energetic version of the soul classic "Don't Leave Me This Way." Their touching ballad "For a Friend," dedicated to a friend who died of AIDS, left audiences in solemn silence.

In late 1988, Richard, a former church organist, left the group to pursue a career in journalism as a religious commentator. Jimmy embarked on a solo career, releasing five new singles and two albums, "Read my Lips" (1989) and "The Single Collection" (1990). These albums included excellent remixes of Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" and Francoise Hardy's "Comment te dire adieu," a duet with Jean-Michel Jarre in French. Jimmy also participated in the Red Hot and Blue project, dedicated to AIDS, recording a remix of Cole Porter's "From This Moment On." Despite his outspokenness on homosexuality, Jimmy's songs continued to receive extensive airplay and achieved tremendous sales. His honesty and openness as a gay artist even contributed to his popularity.

After disappearing from the charts in 1991, Jimmy focused less on his career and maintaining celebrity status. As he admitted, he started living life as a regular gay man. His new works were more personal, reflecting the ups and downs he experienced in the past four years. Although he appeared in films such as Sally Potter's "Orlando" and founded the gay film company "Normal Films" with Isaac Julien and others to release the film "Postcards from America," premiered at the New York Film Festival, his singing career was put on hold. Jimmy said, "Over the past few years, I've lived a full life and rediscovered myself. I also understood what it means to be part of a group that has been affected by the fear and cruelty of AIDS, which claimed the lives of many close friends. The new songs I've written touch upon these very personal feelings about life, love, sex, and death."

His album "Dare to Love" was released in June 1995 and combined dance music with more serious songs about gay themes. One of the compositions tells the story of a gay man who falls in love with a 16-year-old boy and faces threats and persecution. This song connects the new material with Jimmy's previous work. He described the album as a mix of disco, jazz, blues, and pop, particularly gay pop. Jimmy emphasized that he wasn't going to talk about being a mature artist and expressed his satisfaction with his current vocals, saying he can better control his voice and is not afraid to sing at full volume.

"Heartbeat" was the first single from the album "Dare to Love," released on January 16, 1995. It immediately reached the 24th spot on the UK charts and topped the dance charts in America. Remixes by DJ E-Smoove and Armand Van Helden are still played in clubs today. This was followed by a remix of Susan Cadogan's 1975 reggae hit "Hurts So Good," which reached the top 15 on the UK charts and became the most frequently played composition in Europe for four weeks. The next single, "By Your Side," was released in late October 1995 to coincide with a tour of the UK.

Since then, Jimmy has extensively toured the world, including places like San Francisco, Beirut, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Canada, and all of Europe. He participated in the "Respect" project organized by TUC in London, which involved releasing a single and performing at a free festival on June 20. The funds raised were donated to the Union Against Racism. Jimmy and his team embarked on a European tour throughout the summer.

In addition to live performances, Jimmy released singles with Weathergirls and Sparks. He also worked on a project called "The Heavens" by BMG Studios, providing vocals for the character of a lark in a children's animated film based on Oscar Wilde's story "The Happy Prince." He also composed music for the new Channel 4 series "Glasgow Kiss." Recently, Jimmy obtained a license to release a new single called "Safe" on various European labels. The song was taken from the album "Dare to Love," and remixes were done by Todd Terry and DJ Tonka. Currently, the song can be heard throughout Europe, and it reached the top spot on the charts in Spain at the end of June. This composition was released by multiple labels, including SPV - Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; Scorpio - France; FMA - Italy; Ginger - Spain; FM - Greece; Mega - Scandinavia; ID&T - Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg; David Gresham - South Africa; Form Records - South East Asia; and BNE - Israel.

After leaving his record company London Records, Jimmy is currently working on material for a new album with Sally Herbert. He plans to release a new single in the UK called "Dark Sky." This single will be significantly different from his previous work. It will be one of many waiting compositions on his new label, Gut Records. The mixes were done by Sure is Pure, Tony De Vit, Dillon and Dickins, and The Only Child. A new album will follow the single in the fall. Jimmy recently performed at Europride in Paris and participated in concerts in Germany, including St. Christopher Street Day Parade and a festival in Hanover, despite having a broken arm.