Age Of Consent (+Bonus tracks)

Bronski Beat's debut album sounds every bit as startling today as it did upon its release in 1984. In a year where the British pop consciousness was dominated by the coy antics and over-the-top production of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, this trio was the anti-Frankie. Over simple, almost minimalistic synths, Glaswegian singer Jimmy Sommerville sings, in a truly scarifying falsetto, blunt, no-nonsense lyrics about the emotional life of gay men in the UK at the dawn of the AIDS era.
The cover art is similarly plainspoken, featuring a prominent pink triangle on the front, and inside, a listing of the legal age of consent in every country in the world. The album's singles, the truly lovely "Smalltown Boy" and the gospel-edged "Why," are among the most potent political rock of the decade, but covers of the Supremes' "Heatwave" and Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" celebrate good times in a climate of fear.