Yes, I'm old and my list is old. Smalltown Boy turned 40 years old this year and is a classic dance hit from the 80's so I wanted to highlight it. Also it was one of the first videos by an openly gay group to be shown on MTV. Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood was released a year earlier but it's subject matter was more acceptable to mainstream audiences. Smalltown Boy's message was more serious and true to life. As a closeted gay kid from rural Texas the line "the love that you need will never be found at home" really hit home for me. I moved to the big city 8 days after I graduated high school.

Summer 84. With a devastating AIDS epidemic. Being a young teen then was pretty scary...

Smalltown Boy is my all time favourite gay anthem. I actually met Jimmy Somerville at a gay bar in Edinburgh while backpacking in '87 (I'm from Melbourne, Australia). Lovely guy.

Wow! As a 55yr. old gay guy that grew up in a logging town in WA State of 3,000 people that were basically Caucasian and me being the only brown kid of Mexican decent on top of being gay was tough. I had to be very careful and I realized it very young... But I survived it and right after I graduated high school I moved to Seattle and found people like me.:)

I don't mean to be dramatic, but recent times heave felt like a swing back to the other side. There is just something in the air and we feel like something is coming, idk. Seeing videos like this gives hope and reassurance. Idk it's strange. It's just scary times. Remember folks - pride is a protest. We aren't pushing an agenda, we are protesting hate

I moved from a small town in eastern Washington state.to the big city of Seattle in 1986 to go to university. I remember furtively buying this album as part of my first set of CDs at Tower Records. I was scared someone would see me like I was still living in the small town of my youth. This song was SO what I felt as a 19 y.o. gay person just starting to feel myself honestly.

It's back in the UK charts now celebrating 40 years. I still have my original copy. This was the gay story for many of us in the 80s

I can still remember the moment when I saw this video for the first time. I was 16 years old at the time and hadn't come out yet. I couldn't stop crying because it told my own story exactly. I'm now around 50 years old and live a contented and happy life here in Germany. But when I saw your reaction video, I started crying again because I'll never forget the difficult times back then. Luckily, there were successful bands like Bronski Beat who had the courage to make this issue public and show many young people that they are not alone. At the same time, there were also bands like 'Frankie goes to Hollywood' or the singer Cyndi Lauper who inspired young people to realize that it's okay to be who you are or want to be. Thank you two for making Pride Month a topic!

This is still very real 40 years on, it makes my heart race every time. Working-class small-town 1970s/80s Scotland I remember well. This song was a groundbreaker, it supported a lot of people coming out in those years, I imagine it still does today, which is a pity, I had hoped things would be different by now. We speak about it more openly, my goodness we do, but more isn't always better. Things are rather blurred today imo, we're less clear about what we mean. Rather than 'retro Pride' I would call this 'pre Pride', certainly in Britain we talked about gay rights, which we were still fighting for then, and the closest song to an 'anthem' we had was Sing If You're Glad To Be Gay by Tom Robinson, it was from even earlier, 1977, and if not on your list would be a worthy addition, we were fighting for gay and lesbian rights long before the pride brand came along to make that less clear. Jimmy Somerville is an angel btw, he doesn't just sing like one, and his live vocals we're even better than recorded, his "I Feel Love" is one of my all-time top live moments.

This song means as much to me today as it did when I first heard it. I grew up in a very strict religion (Jehovah's Witness) and I always knew I was gay but could never say. I was outed when I was 21 and was immediately rejected by my family and religion, which meant I also lost every friend I had. I am now 57 and haven't seen my family in over 30 years, except when I went home for my nephew's graduation, and even then I only got to say a brief hello to my parents as I wasn't aloud in their house. That was 20 yrs ago. This is what religion does to families.

hey there guys! It's me , your favorite old dude from Utah. I cannot begin to explain the impact this song had on me since I was in my first year or two of coming to terms with my attractions. This song and "Tell Me why" from this duo are engraved in my soul.

HAPPY PRIDE Thanks for the support Mike and Joe

Mega banger from back then and im straight as can maybe be

jimmy somerville was all over my childhood and on constant repeat on my record player. and then I first heard him singing with his deep voice as a teenager and fell in love all over again. hearing him always takes me back to the best memories. 😊

Every week is pride week on this channel 😂❤

The early 80s were a scary time for me and so many others, I was in my teens. In my State in Australia, homosexuality was still a crime and we could still be discriminated against for being gay. Bullying and hate were a daily part of life. AIDS just added another layer. Bronski Beat and Frankie Goes to Hollywood just crashed through so many barriers, especially Jimmy Somerville & Bronski Beat - unapologetically and unashamedly gay! The music video also not holding back. I had an iconic image of Jimmy in an ACT UP T-shirt on my bedroom wall. He was a hero to me. It gave me some solace, some hope that things could be better and in some way, it was a small act of pride/bravery on my part. "Smalltown Boy" is still a very emotional song for me and most of its lyrics resonate strongly still. Decriminalisation, anti-discrimination and eventually marriage equality (2017) have been implemented here. Things aren't perfect but we have come a long way. It's wonderful to know that my nieces and nephews can grow up with the same dreams as their straight friends. I saw Jimmy live in a small venue here in the late 90s/early 2000s and his voice was amazing. He is still as active and vocal as ever on one of his recent YT posts. I hope he knows how many struggling young guys he helped and gave courage to. As they say, not all heroes wear capes!!

The scenario you’re describing is exactly how I grew up. As soon as I was old enough, and had enough money, I left home and moved to the nearest big city, in the 80s. It was there that I found my chosen family, and was free to live my life.

So, thank you for saying the coming to terms part... "carrying their pain because they can't handle it... confident in yourself as a gay person... emotional heavy lifting." It's very empathetic and showcases a deep understanding of some of the turmoil gay people process mentally.

yep. i remember being in high school amd so ready to graduate to move to the city.

Hey guys- thanks for such a thoughtful reaction!!! To say this video must have been both influencial and powerful 40 years ago is such an understatement. I was 21 when this came out and so many gay people thought they had so few options that you either stayed closeted, moved somewhere else if you could afford to…..or killed yourself. I know that’s super heavy but that’s how it was and to this day really hits a nerve. This song was sooooo haunting. I still seem to tear up when I hear it. ( and I grew up in a very loving, supportive family who still had trouble w me being gay)For those of us who survived this as well as AIDS, we are truly grateful….and proud! ……I guess I’m now an “old” gay man and I live in Palm Springs and love it! And I’m so happy that young people who are now trying to figure themselves out have a much better…. But not perfect… environment to exist in.

Oh Jimmy, how many good moments you have given us in life with your music. Thank you.

One of my all time favourite songs/video… I never felt so represented . ❤🏳️‍🌈

Brandon Flowers (vocalist of The Killers) samples "smalltown boy" in a song called "I can change" from his second solo album: "The Desired effect".

OMG! the analysis of the issues surrounfingthe existence of LGBTQ people is fantastic. Greay job guys for your understanding, and how you applied your considerable intelligence. More people like you are definitley needed.

This song is now being used to advertised a bank in Canada.

This is a very important coming out song for 80s queer kids. It must be remembered. It makes me cry everytime because i was beaten and kicked out of home and i had to fend for myself early. This song stopped me from jumping off a cliff.

From the days when if you were gay you had to move to big city. ❤❤ Jimmy Somerville the singer is an openly gay artist and was open and campaigned heavily. He later formed a band with the Rev Richard Cole called The Communards. They had a massive number one with an amazing cover of Don't leave with me but sadly because he was unapologetically gay his career never reached the heights that it should have but he is still around releasing music and performing. You both displayed an incredible understanding of why so many gay people have to deal with problems of shame as they grow up. I got a bit 😢😢 because I never thought I would live in a time where young straight guys are not only accepting but actually understand the trauma that gay people go through in growing up. Thank You. ❤❤

Thanks for your great understanding and support… but also it’s just a brilliant song and piece of art ❤️❤️❤️

1984 and Jimmy Summerville was singing about pink Unicorns🦄. This song is always in 80s greatest compilations all over around world

ABSOLUTE TUNEEE

This and dare to love is ground braking

Awesome song

Jimmy Somerville is a phenomenal singer. There’s a beautiful video of him encountering a street busker performing this song while out walking his dog and he joins the guy in singing it.

happy pride month this was at the point where if you were a teen, which i was, our lives were under threat from aids and ultimate nuclear destruction and we were being advertised at about it every advert break! the height of thatcher's britain, where the right wing rose, sex was death! especially if you were gay. this was one brilliant cut through piece, musically, lyrically, artistically and so needed. well done jimmy et al! it's still resonating!

This definitely was one of the songs that got heavy club/pride festival play when I was younger. I came out to my Mom during spring break of 1986. For me it was a very scary experience, but ultimately it was not a big deal for my folks. My mom was probably even more afraid than I was of me getting HIV and dying. My nephew came out as gay 19 years later and then non-binary 14 years after that. It has been uncomfortable in some ways navigating the way gay/queer life looks these days. Lots of changes some great perhaps not so great (feels rather contentious)

As a young kid in the 80's, i didnt get the song. I could feel that it was wistful and sad, but because i couldnt make out the lyrics (due to the way he was singing), i didnt understand the entirety of the song. And when i watched the video as a child, i assumed he was just feeling unloved and being bullied. I only truly understood it when i stumbled across the video again on a music channel in the early 90's. I was by that point a teen, with the same feelings towards a person of the same sex. And it hit me so hard, because my life at home was turning upside down when my dad started suspecting i was gay. He was extremely homophobic at the time. The video became a painful chronicle that depicted the daily goings on in the life of people like me, who couldnt switch off those feelings or have any power or control over how we felt. Even to this day when i hear the song, i feel immense sadness, not for myself but for every person whose life this video depicted, and how lucky the majority of the youngsters of today are, because of the positive changes in society and their understanding that being gay isnt something thats contageous or influencial. People know how they feel from a young age. Good to see the song make a resurgence on TikTok also, but i can see that the youngsters of today only see the entertaining side of the song and dont focus on the meaning of it. Another great reaction from you guys. Especially the part where you said that "gay people moved away to the city". They did this to get away from the small minded suburb to the city to find their own tribe. Thats so true. And the bit from 11:30 onwards rrally hit me in the heart. THANK YOU for saying those words. Ive never heard anyone else explain my feelings and experiences with such clarity ❤

You guys are so insightful. ❤

So so good 🔥🔥🔥

This video spoke to a lot of young gays hidden away in smalltowns or suburbia in the 80ies... we were not alone!! It even was an eyeopener for many straight people at the time. Jimmy Sommervllle broke down so many walls! Many brit pop stars were gay - but eventhough many kinda knew, they loooked and acted gay or androginous - they didn't come out publicly in those days... Jimmy did - he was out and proud

An iconic song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thank you so much gentlemen for the observations you spoke of in your discussion. it means a lot. I love what you say about it being "heavy lifting" for gay folks in how they have to negotiate their way through the world. doing all that heavy lifting around being gay was insane on its own when I was growing up. the mid-late 1970's through to the 90's. and where I landed it meant doing all that heavy lifting while also the AIDS crisis was exploding across the u.s. with no funding, no support, what felt like-no hope, and everyone dying. one was scared all the time. and the hope that you would finally have somebody to fall in love with was then tied to a hope that that person also would not have a disease that might kill them or you or both of you. it was such a screwed up way to begin life, frankly. but I am still here at age 56. it is screwed up for many in our world. I just happened to know this particular story. I am one of those folks you would see at pride and think-wow-he really went through it.. and you would be right. I did go through it. but things are better. or I should say, things were getting better. the right wing is trying like mad to make us the enemy all over again right now. which is scary and enraging. as if nothing we have done in life registers with them at all. we created AIDS organizations because the government was not doing so. we took care of each other because everyone else was shunning us. we changed healthcare globally simply to save our own lives. and then we fought for the right to marry. to serve our country. to adopt children. to not be fired from our jobs. to not be discriminated against with housing or anything else. we did all that. and they still hate us. any gains we have made towards being equal members of society-because we do have to also pay the same taxes, abide by the same laws, as everybody else-so we deserve to be treated with equality. still the right wing wants to erase us from the story. they want to keep hating us. they just are always going to hate on some "other". black and brown people, gay people, immigrants, whoever they deem lower than themselves. it is tragic. and exhausting. I am tired of fighting to just be alive. enough! but what can one do? we do keep going. and we cannot let the right wing and the republicans take away what we have fought for and won in terms of our civil rights! enough! I will be quiet now. sorry about the outburst. negative noreen is leaving the building now. sorry. and really what I meant to say was-great reaction. loved this video and the discussion. thanks guys. you both are an inspiration, and a tribute to what good guys can be like. thank you. seriously, thank you. great channel. I liked and subscribed.

im a straight 52 year old bloke makes me tear up if you really listen . imagined if i was a gay fella i would be crying my eyes out lol maybe im just a old romantic fool

I was 13 in 84 when this came out, I was finding who I was and coming from Manchester, coming to realisation I was gay and had to deal with the start of impact of the Aids pandemic and how it turned so many against gay culture. This song so fundamental in my life. Im 53 now, live with my husband, moved to a small Welsh village on the borders, have two dogs and am so happy with who and what I am. This song just brings back so much emotion to me. Thanks for reviewing it.

Think about how progressive this was in the 1980's. Would you have seen this on American TV music shows ?

Loved this song as a kid (no clue what it was about). Still love it as an adult + knowing what it is about. Jimmy Somerville has a STUNNING voice. Had to sit through many a boring story from my ex father in-law about how he used to travel round for football violence in the 80s, made all the much funnier by the fact he's a skinny ginger Manc. He used to regale us with this tedium, so I'd just stick this video on tv + "you mean like this?" and watch him stew 🤣🤣🤣 Sociologically, I think Brits are a lot more chilled out about this kinda thing and in the 80s we had a really horrible tabloid culture that seemed to make a sport of "outing" famous folk. Freddie Mercury and Elton John spring to mind, two pop stars that were pretty much universally loved in the UK + when they were "outed" most folk decided it made more sense to appreciate the stuff they loved about gay/lgbtq+ folk than to waste time being angry about it. It's still not great, but I'd like to think we've improved. We also had Kenny Everett - DJ and comedian. Insanely funny comedian. Also outed - again, most people chose to embrace his funniness as the more important thing. It's so damned bizarre - if a kid of mine were having to go through coming out... there's a really simple choice as a parent, do you want a happy, confident and comfortable kid? because the alternative is really crappy, REALLY crappy. I can tell you I definitely DO NOT want a kid that ever feels suicidal because of their orientation.

sorry, forgot to say thank you, great reaction guys!

You guys actually get it. Thank you from this gay in his 50s. This song is meh, I’ve never been crazy about it but the video is relevant.

Erasure "Chains of Love" Little Respect" "Chrystal Waters "100% pure love" "Something to Talk About" Bonnie Raitt, Everything but the girl "missing Tod terry mix" Diana Ross "Coming out club mix" Eaten Alive". Or basically any mix with junior Vasquez, Tod terry, club 69, Frankie knuckles, thunerpuss mix

You should definitely listen to UK's goth metal icons Paradise Lost cover version of Smalltown Boy. Absolutely brilliant! ❤

Please react to "suburbia" from the pet shop boys. Great brit duo of All Times.

A couple of things you may like to check out. Uk aids adverts and one of the most powerful things that opened people's eye's, was princess Diana meeting HIV patients. Just like to add most 80s bands had a gay member lol

I’m straight, but that changed my view of gay guys totally 40+ years ago. Here was a lad who dressed like us, didn’t portray all that 70s limp wristed campiness. Couple of years later I was working with a few gay lads - took me to a club that played Hi-NRG - early house. They told their mates I was straight - amazing fun. And discovered poppers 😂😂

😎👍

Looking forward to the list… but this should’ve been #1. There’s no song, lyrics, video that’s sums up the gay experience more than SmallTownBoy… and such an amazing song ❤

Chosen Family

Hey guys, so I was hoping y'all would do a week 2 for MJB. These videos listed are a bit more storytelling/cinematic. I think you two would enjoy. 1. All That I Can Say 2. Deep Inside 3. Take Me As I Am 4. One ft. U2. 5. Whole Damn Year. All of em are dope. Love the channel btw, been on board with you guys a little over a year now. I always look forward to your reactions to some of our favorite artists. Also, I admire you guys examining of music videos-from fashion, jewelry, locations, etc. Not to mention, y'all are hilarious af frfr. But I hope you guys get around to checking out the list for week 2. Much love & God bless 🙏🏾 🫶🏾🤍 ..

Manpower was an employment service back in the day,

It’s 2024 and I don’t understand why people give a S… on who you love…….. does it really matter that much…

My parents when I came out in 1980 wanted to sue my lover who was a doctor.i was 20 and happy to live with him. They even wanted to send me to Switzerland in private plane to be treated for my homosexuality. They saw it as a mental illness. My parents were very rich and I came from a small town of 6 000 inhabitants

🫸✨❤️‍🩹✨🫷

it seems you didn't "listen" to the song - you just "watched" the video. i mean, it's cool you "noticed" the gay-related issues in this video (i love you for that and your support) but NO COMMENT on his powerful and soulful (falsetto) singing voice, NO COMMENT on the synth-pop-pulses - as normally! back then this song was a smash hit, it also was a number one US dance hit!

Great reaction! If you haven't seen it, I would recommend the UK movie "Pride" (2014) which is also about the 1980s. Specifically, it's based on the true story of how a group of gay activists in London formed a relationship of solidarity with a Welsh coal-mining community. (At the time, Margaret Thatcher was trying to break the coal-mining unions throughout the UK which, unfortunately, she did eventually.) With music from Bronski Beat among others as well as many actors you are probably familiar with... Trailer: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oc6SrZefyLy9aaM.htmlsi=TQIFoqd5vun3zoGk

Please christina aguilera pat 2 Music video Aint no other man Cant hold us down Your body Not myself tonight Hurt Candy man Fall in line Pa mis muchacha Live Mtv movie award bionic medley Ama whitney medley Grammy beutiful Candyman live fashion show carpook karaoke

This song is probably older than you it’s 4 years old

Pride is more than gay, you also got lesbian, trans, bi, asexual, queer...