does anyone know what happened to this 80's group?...they had a hit with "I feel love", and smalltown boy?
[Edited 5/18/06 12:40pm]

PurpleRein said:

The Age of Consent was and still is a great album. As far as I know, Jimmy Sommerville left them at the peak of their success in 1985 because they weren't left wing enough. He was a communist, and they were more interested in having a good time and making great music.

Jimmy Sommerville then formed The Communards with fellow champagne communist Richard Coles. Unlike Bronski Beat, the latter had huge hits with cover versions and minor hits with their original compositions. They released two albums and broke up.

(If tracking down both the Age of Consent and first Communards album be sure to get the unremastered versions if you can. The original Age of Consent has the original 12" remixes of Smalltown Boy and Why as bonus tracks, whereas the reissue has the versions from Hundreds & Thousands. The original Communards debut CD has the full length versions of the singles on it, whereas the remastered reissue uses the radio edits.)

Jimmy Sommerville then went solo with ever dwindling commercial returns.

The remaining two members of Bronski Beat recruited another singer called John John and released "Hit That Perfect Beat", which was a UK Top 5. The album, however, didn't do as well and they broke up a year later, before trying one final with another (third) singer.

Sommerville reunited with Bronski Beat in 1986 at Brixton Academy for an AIDS benefit. They played three songs, including Hard Rain, from the post-split Hundreds & Thousands remix & B-Sides album.