Jimmy Somerville, whose real name is James Somerville, is a Scottish singer-songwriter best known for having been the oh so charismatic leader of the groups 'Bronski Beat' and 'The Communards'. But also for his recognizable Counter-Tenor voice...
An artistic career that therefore began for him by founding the group 'Bronski Beat' in 1983, a group with which he would burst into the open thanks to the enormous single "Smalltown boy".
An adventure that ended in 1985, when he founded 'The Communards', a short-lived group that once again enjoyed its heyday with the title "Don't leave me this way" in 1986.
The solo career began in 1989 with a first title "Comment te dire adieu", a title which offered him a first personal planetary mega hit. Title taken from his first album "Read my lips" which was also released the same year.
A first personal album with certain success which will produce another mega hit and not the least in 1990 with the title "You make me feel (Mighty real)", a title which will set fire to all the Dancefloors of the planet that year. .
A year 1990 which will undoubtedly remain as his best vintage on the solo career side since he will achieve another major success that year with the Single “To love somebody”.
Then not much until 1995, when we see him return with a new album "Dare to love", an album with mixed success and which will save the furniture in extremis with the title "Heartbeat".
A poor performance from which he will not really recover and which will be the starting point for a slow but irreversible disappearance from the Charts in the years that will follow. And this despite the release of other opuses and other singles thereafter…
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others…) :
Comment te dire adieu ? 1989
You make me feel (Mighty real) 1990
Read my lips (Enough is enough) 1990
To love somebody 1990
Run from love 1991
Why aren't you in love with me ? 1991
Coming 1993
Heartbeat 1995
Hurt so good 1995
By your side 1995
Star 1996
Safe 1997
Dark sky 1997
The number one song in heaven 1997
Something to live for 1999
Lay down 1999
Tear fool 2000
Can’t take my eyes of you 2001
Come on 2004
It’s so good 2004
Ain’t no mountain high enough 2005
I was born this way 2006
World of my own 2009
Overload 2010
The core 2011
Parvana (Beautiful buterfly) 2011
Take me there 2012
Set alight 2014
Summer love (David Latour & Kato) 2014
Back to me 2014
Travesty 2014
Learned to talk 2015
Some wonder 2015
Lights are shining 2015
Strong enough 2015
I wish you well 2020
Everything must change 2021
A million dreams 2022
What makes us wonderful 2022
Bronski Beat adventure :
The Communards adventure :
Clips :
1989...rare to see the singer in shock and charm duo mode. And yet this will be the case on this revisited version of a title performed for the first time by Margaret Whiting in 1966...
1989...he is now attacking Sylvester's flagship title dating from 1978 and his revisited version will not go unnoticed, far from it since it will set fire to all the Dancefloors of the planet. HU-GE !
1990 ... finally an original title which will allow him to show that he can also do something new. Admittedly, this new title will not be able to match the enormous success met by its predecessor, but it will do more than well...
1990... the novelty didn't last long because here he decided to revisit the title of the Bee Gees dating from 1967. And once again he will have more success with this cover than with his previous original title, like what ...
1991...after two years where he will have been familiar with the stars on the success side, it is clear that the sequel will prove to be a little more complicated to manage than expected with a more than obvious start to dropping out in the Charts...
1991...a title where he will essentially play the role of luxury singers. Afterwards he will have participated in any case so let's put this title back into the spotlight a little, especially since it is not devoid of interest...
1993...we find him 2 years later in a roundabout way with his presence on the soundtrack of the film 'Orlan'. A BO mode that he will have practiced very little...
1995...we will lose sight of him for almost 2 years and here he is again in a form that we will describe as certain. Enough in any case to get back into the race in the middle of the leading pack...
1995...new luxury cover this time on the title of Millie Jackson dating from 1973. As much his previous covers had brought him to the highest point, as much this one will experience a level of success after all mixed...
1995... it's more than rare to see him in the 'emotional' register, that's for sure. And given the quality of the title produced here, he should have done it more often...
1996...here he is serving as a luxury chorister for the Weather Girls, who would have believed it ? A title that works quite well but that will go a little unnoticed...
1997...he still appears a minimum in the Charts but the level of success melts like snow in the sun. Not sure he'll last like that for long...
1997... it is clear that the Jimmy Sommerville of this second part of the 90s has not much to do with that of the first part...
1997... here he is alongside the Sparks who decide to revisit their own titles with a few friends. Of which he is a part at first sight...
1999...on the other hand, you have to evolve at one time or another. In his case, the transfer will not have borne fruit despite an obvious desire to do well...
1999...after that doesn't prevent him from continuing the adventure as he sees fit and it doesn't matter whether there is success or not as long as he takes pleasure in what he does...
2000...here he is, attacking this new 2000 decade with the firm intention of not giving up. We can only encourage him in this direction...
2001... he thinks that since luxury covers have always been successful for him, it might be the perfect time to do a little more. Unfortunately this cover will be one too many...
2004...the solo career is coming to an end, it is clear. But that doesn't mean the end of the adventure...
2004...because we know that with him everything can start again overnight. It remains to be seen whether he will have the will or not...
2005...one last little cover with this time the title of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell dating from 1967. Nice try but bet lost except in Germany...
2006...it is clear that he has absolutely no intention of stopping there at first glance. Of course he will opt for a less prominent career path but he will continue whatever happens...
2009...we're not going to lie, the best years are now behind him, that's for sure. But what he continues to offer is far from unworthy in any case...
2010...and here he is, attacking a new decade, one more ! Exceptional longevity for an artist among the most gifted of his generation and indisputably so...
2011...it now remains to be seen whether this new decade will be one of too many or, on the contrary, one of renewal. The future will tell us...
2011...what is reassuring in any case is that the level of productivity remains high to say the least even if the level of success unfortunately does not follow...
2012...what's also interesting is seeing him vary the tempos, something to which he was not accustomed to. At least he tries...
2014...he produces few titles each year but he comes back every time regardless. An adventure which is far from over...
2014...he returns himself or we find him playing either backing singers or composers for others. But he is always and still present, isn't that the main thing...
2014...he still impresses with his ability to stay connected to the new musical trends of each era. A remarkable aptitude that is not found in all artists, that much is clear...
Top Bonus : 2018...just for the record, here is the same title in a very different version...
2014...in any case, all the artists of his generation still present today all have the same ability to have been able to adapt perfectly...
2015...because you don't last in this profession if you aren't able to feel things evolving at a minimum, the basic principle of this profession...
2015...in any case it is the core fans who are extremely delighted to see him progress like this over time with a systematic desire to do well...
2015...we still have to remember that he started the adventure in 1984, which is already a lot of years ago ! And it's far from over at first glance...
2015...who could have imagined that the frail young man who sang 'Smalltown boy' will still be here almost 30 years later, not many people that's for sure...
2020...and he's still here in 2020 ! Of course we lost sight of him for a few years but here he is once again faithful to the post. All for this special title 'Covid'...
2021...we could have imagined that his special title 'Covid' would be the last and that he would take the opportunity to exit through the front door. It was very bad knowing him...
2022...because it is clear that he still has things to offer and especially to sing. And this for our greatest pleasure of course...
2022...will this 2020 decade finally be that of the big return to the forefront ? Only him can answer it at this stage...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :