The Communards
Jimmy Somerville's post-Bronski Beat group took their name from
the group of French revolutionaries who held Paris between 18
March and 28 May in 1871.Somerville
formed The Communards in 1985 with classically trained
pianist Richard Coles, and many assumed the new group would take
an even more determined political stance than the Bronskis' gay
activism.
The
new group participated heavily in the Socialist Red Wedge movement
but, graphics aside, you would never have known it from their
records.
The
first Communards release was an over-the-top remake of Don't
Leave Me This Way (a 1977 hit for Thelma Houston). The duo
also released a breathless version of the Gloria Gaynor
tune, Never Can Say Goodbye.
By
the end of 1987, the duo had issued 34 singles and EPs. The deluge
continued until Somerville quit to go solo.
Somerville's first
solo album maintained the non-stop modern dance momentum with
catchy hi-NRG grooves and included a version of Sylvester's You
Make Me Feel (Mighty Real).
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