My mom told me she used to danced a slow with this with my dad. She dies 2 years ago .. Now his song is getting more and more sad for me. (I hope someone will understand this because i am not englsih speaker.) I hope you keep your parents for a long time. I'm a girl and to lose my mama hurt a bit. I try to stay strong and stuff for my dad but it's hard. I deeply hope you have happy family and you don't lose anyone like i did. I'm very drunk on pure gin and my soul is hurt. If you are reading this message, it's sincere. I wish you all the best. Health, Family, Love, all the best my friend no matter how old you are. You can be eleven or seventy years old. From west Europe. I love you, come eat at home some days.
I have both parents dead, you will learn to deal with your loss & sadness through time. Keep going & do your best to stay as strong as possible. Think & remember of all the nice times & things you have done with your mother & learn to laugh at your sadness, i promise that will help you so much. Enjoy your gin.
I'm trying Lea. I'm trying really hard. Thank you a lot,Lea, Darren, Allan, Garry, "Global Wild". Thank you deeply for your comment, your advice, your time, you warm my brain, thank you again.
I grow up with this tune in the 80's and still like it! I have a daughter she is 8 and we r dancing in the livingroom. Pass this to youre litlle ones! ✌🏻
Exactly, I'm straight but an 80s boy. Was in the Army stationed in Germany during that time. Even there , things were not easy for gays. Watched my commanding officer out and disgrace 2 gay soldiers, they crucified them, dishonorable discharge and all. I was ashamed to be an American soldier after seeing that.
+Joe Pinto I'm from Russia and sad to say that this song and music video have an actual value here. More than 30 years have passed and LBGT are still treated like second-rate people.
+Joe Pinto Hi Joe. Were you based at Ramstein? Originating from England, we didn't have a problem at this time with gays... we were very liberated in our mentality.... I saw some very shocking stuff around army airbases though on my travels. I was shocked to sh.it. Loads of my mates were gay & I couldn't believe the crap some U.S.A. soldiers used to have to go through serving their Country & having to hide their sexuality
+Carol Gardiner hey Carol, I was based out of Kaiserslautern, 1987 - 88. After that Berlin, from 89 to 91. Saw the wall fall in 89! Even have a little piece of it with a graffiti on it lol. It was a great time to be in Europe in general but seeing the wall fall and watching hundreds of thousands of East Germans come across the border at Checkpoint Charlie was undescribable. families had been separated for 30 years and were reunited. Berlin for one week was a huge street party and I don't deny having the time of my life with the East German girls (but that's another story)! This time was of course before don't ask dont tell remember Clinton? When a soldier was found out to be gay, that was it for him. He wasn't tossed out because he was gay, they found some other reason and broke the poor bastard down to where he just said that's it I've had enough. One particular soldier, I would have had watch my back in a firefight anyday. He was a decorated buck sergeant (medals) and had been in combat in Grenada and proved himself there. They had this poor bastard on his hands and knees scrubbing floors and toilets with a toothbrush, moving rock piles from one end of the quad and back again, and then guard duty at night on two hours sleep a day. A man can only take so many weeks of that . Watched them break down several soldiers like that. It was despicable. But, I had to carry on and show no emotion. Lol welcome to the army of the 80s!
this song has the sadest feeling, about life,its so intensiv,genius,what a great song,but sooo sad,if i listen thias song, my state of life struggled in the mud!
What i love about it and so much pop back then was it had a message it wasn't just Pop for Pop's sake. There was more to it than that and it's something that needed to be said. That guy in the video is so hot too but being of Scottish Decent i'm partial to our men lol.
Always breathtaking. This applies to every generation, not just the 80's kids. I'm 46, and it still hits me like a bullet every time I hear it. LOVE LOVE LOVE !!!
Amazing song about not just the gay, but the different and the outcasted. Sad and meaningful song. Not much like this around now...his parents look really old though for the age of Jimmy here. He was about 18 right? they look 65-70...
These comments are so obnoxious, just enjoy the music without insulting people's music preferences because you don't like them. Enjoy this and move on.
I lived in the 80s as a teenager in Glasgow 15 minutes walk from Jimmy's house. Wee nit of useless info there but those were the best and happiest times in my life because of the music it was amazing
+Brian Londry He is an English genius and that is all there is to it. And I, as a Maltese except the best from English people because they know how to give it. Nothing would deserve England better than the best her people can ever do. Period.
still sure that this was the first real gay video on mtv. They should get a award. If you see who gets awards about what these days... i vote bronkski boys! ;) love
this was a MAJOR torch song for some of us back in the '80's....I remember the first time I heard it for what it said...rather than just the beat.....one of my favorites to this day.
***** at the time it came out, I didn't even know what it meant. I bought the 45 rpm record, listened to it over and over again, not knowing what it meant. I wasn't even 18 years old at the time.....yet, even today, it strikes a chord in my heart.
wdharvey1 Well I am not gay but it does speak about why and how family can turn on you for being human. Sexuality does not enter into it, being yourself is human and this should be seen as a human song of acceptance and not about being gay as it can be seen as family breakdown in many ways.
william northcote It was exactly that: a family breakdown when I told them I was gay. When I first heard this song, I really didn't realize it was about being gay. Then, I read the notes on the back of the 45rpm record back in the '80's. I wasn't really sure, but, it was about 4 years later that I came out. It really does include the family breakdown, as well. Thank you for your comment.
Its about him struggling with his gay feelings in a society that doesn't accept gays. This resulted in an incendent of him being assaulted by some gang members after they had noticed he had some unusual interest for the boys. After the parents found out what happened and WHY he got attacked, the conservative father would not accept him as his son. You can see the anger and the dissapointment of the fathers face. So the boy after knowing this and because of the pressure his dad is giving him, he decides to leave home and "run away"(title song) to the unknown in the hope of finding a place where he would be accepted as a gay......flash forwarding ....30 years later...."the boy" is now living in Amsterdam, the gay capital of the world, for some decades.
It's a great song but the song and video are also socially important. For me and a lot of other straight guys who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, when they first started playing this on MTV, it was literally the first time we'd ever seen a gay guy portrayed as a regular, sympathetic person. You really felt sad for him, getting booted out of his home and family just because he made a pass at a dude. Suddenly, tossing around playground insults like "f*ggot" wasn't funny anymore, and a lot of us rethought the prejudices we'd grown up with. I genuinely think this video helped make me and a lot of others into better people.
Could not agree more Eric, same boat here, Cheers for posting this! I know sometimes the Movement goes over board for the Straight Community but this song and video is just a small reminder of what members of the Gay community go though on a daily basis. This song has always been Hauntingly relaxing for me.
I am not gay, but i remember when this song came out, it was one of the first showing these people as guys with normal feelings, having alle the same conflicts and issues as straight guys have. I think that's what makes this song important and immortal. Showing everybody has the same fears and hopes, be they gay, srtaight, or whatever. nice song
Still love that song and period so rich in creativity and open minded personn. I'm not gay but have pales who were and we never used to look a them differently but we used to party, share lovely moment. And I always thought you could adapt that song to any differences "supposed to be " I insist supposed o be ...
Takes me straight back to 1984 when I was 14 and danced to this in the local youth club, so glad I was a teenager in the 80s,best decade for music that will be remembered through the years!! I'm stuck in a tune time warp!
@@colettecolette4802 I agree, if I had a dollar for when I wished I could time travel back to the 80s I would be a millionare. But thank goodness we were able to live through it.
The song & video captivates me every time. His Falsetto is up there with the rest of them. Sylvester, Phil Bailey, Maxwell, Prince et al. Hats off Jimmy. Man before his time....
Jimmy Savile is a nasty vindictive little bit but but thank you so much for all the music is good for me even though you actually slap me round the face in Central Station you short a little b****
Such a beautiful video and song. You do not have to be Gay to understand the sentiment behind this. That's what makes it a song for all humanity. The outsider who needs to move on. I love the scene at the end when his dad gives him money. It is the only way the man can express his love for son.
Boy we've come such a long way in terms of Acceptance. Shows like Coronation St., Emmerdale, Eastenders and even Bad Girls showed Same Sex Love can be a positive thing. On US Soil there have been Same Sex Love on US Soaps like Days Of Our Lives, As The World Turns, and All My Children. Crystal Chappel who celebrated her 49th B-Day on Monday Hit Pay Dirt with Otalia on Guiding Light, Then Her Webseries Venice, Beacon Hill, and her Mini Movie The Grove. We also see it on Mistresses (US Version) Orange Is The New Black, as well as Rookie Blue.
Soooo sad, that 80th are over 😔 I loved this great time and its music so much. I'm from Germany and my favorites were Bronski Beat, Franky goes to Hollywood and Billy Idol 😜
It makes absolutely no difference whether straight or gay or any status! What matters is the tune is glorious, the words have a genuine, painful resonance which speaks louder than any prejudice could ever say!
newdawnnation Why? What makes you think you'd be happy straight? I'm a straight woman. Be yourself, you will never be happy and fulfilled if you don't live your life as the true you, whatever obstacles you face.
Green Supes I think he is talking about that book they call the bible, the same book which tells you, you must punish a man or woman to death by stoning outside the city walls if they break any of the rules, including planting two different crops side by side or touching the skin of a dead pig. The book, which explains the process for selling your daughter into slavery and the same book which described a brother getting into his sisters bed and penetrating her against her will. That book of morals...
You leave in the morning With everything you own in a little black case Alone on the platform The wind and the rain On a sad and lonely face Mother will never understand Why you had to leave For the answer you seek Will never be found at home The love that you need Will never be found at home Pushed around and kicked around Always a lonely boy You were the one That they'd talk about around town As they put you down And as hard as they would try They'd hurt to make you cry But you'd never cry to them Just to your soul No you'd never cry to them Just to your soul
spidey web I love you for that and that alone never mind that Spider-Man's my favorite and as a young little girl I used to play dress up in my room with my mother's high heels and pretend that he was in the corner watching me pose LOL as far as this song goes I was in Europe modeling back in the late 80s and I heard this had an underground Club along with Echo & the Bunnymen I'll never forget that night God bless and stay true to you🇩🇪✌
But a mother always knows whether or not she shares it, she knows and the probability of her best friend knowing even before she does very very probable... say that fast three times!!💗💗💗💋
I remember this song in 84 and I’m now in my late 40s. Believe me if you have any issues from the past try somehow to leave them there, you won’t want them still with you 30 years later.
Shani Heckman Sorry to hear that. No it’s not right and I understand what your saying. I m no psychologist but it really helps me , to remain as positive as possible. I hope there’s positive people around you now. Do take care of yourself.
I would find it easier to believe that the 1980s were a golden age for music if most of the people who say that didn't like everything that was shit about the 1980s, such as Bon Jovi, hair bands, AOR, power ballads, Stock Aitken & Waterman fodder, novelty songs such as Joe Dolce etc. Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy was certainly one of the good records but there wasn't half a lot of dross as well.
Ha! Ha! But what decade doesn't produce dross? The big difference is that the 80's produced so much memorable music (along with the dross) unlike today where "real" music is very much in the minority.
cameronpaul the real bummer is that what is remembered isn't what you remember as amazing if you were there. This song still makes me cry. Then and now
Year 10 at school in 1984 on a beach looking out to sea... this song will always bring back the elation of happy family holidays when life was so much easier than now. It has a magical quality, I agree
Personally Id pretty much skip tbe 60s with the exception of a few bands. 70s n 80s were the shit. Nothing will ever compare to those 2 decades. Yup, unfortunately music pretty much went in the crapper by the end of the 90s. Anything after that is complete rubbish. No originality, all sounds the same, all written by the same handful of writers/producers and all of them using some form of auto tune. Millions are duped into thinking todays so called artists are actually creating their own music, pathetic.
It was depressing. Nowadays, gay people are part of our society. Jimmys Music was a big step towards that goal.Still love it, even though I am not gay.
+Angel of Silence Not everything is so bad. As always, there's a lot of crap, but also a lot of good things can be found. The same situation was back in the 80's or 90's or whenever.
Mareta Jackson you should listen to a live performance of this song from 2014 or 2016 I don't know exactly its on RU-vid. he still has the same amazing voice. for me he is a true artist
I love Jimmy Somerville's soaring vocals, and they speak to me: "To your soul/To your soul/To your soul/Cry/Cry/Cry." I remember hearing this for the first time in the 80's and my friends made me go in the other room because I wanted to listen to it over and over again. Those cries contrasted so perfectly with that electronic drum box beat and the stark snare drum that was a real drum. It was the essence of the 80's: the harshness of real bitterness, real poverty, real disease, real loneliness, real rejection, after the twee but happy 70's. I can't say that the 80's were happy times, but some of the music reached new heights by expressing true depths. Jimmy Somerville: To your soul🍸. 🥠❤💋🤟🫀👵🧚🧚♂🧚♀
80's - a lot of great music - but also a lot of shit! We still had the cold-war affecting Europe, Eastern Europe was a shitty place, Apartheid in South Africa, Ronald Reagan was POTUS, Thatcher was Prime Minister. It costed way more to travel and computers had less power than a average cheap mobile phone has today!
The Popmusic of the 80s should be protected by UNESCO as a cultural world heritage. Why? Because it is unique. Remakes are useless. Thank you very much and greetings from Iran.
I'm a straight man and I used to get the piss taken out of me for listening to this, it's one of the best tunes of its time and I'm so proud to be part of it, we should all love one another and not be prejudiced against anyone, no matter who they are , stay safe everyone and God bless the fallen x
I always thought that this had an "epic" quality to it for a pop song, & that chorus, "run away, turn away, run away"!!! Absolutely loved it! Still in my top 10 all time greatest pop/rock singles
@@kaliyuga1476 hmm not sure if these are exactly like this one but try to listen to: Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring Tears for Fears (Shout, Pale Shelter) Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence New Order (True Faith, Bizarre Love Triangle) Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax Soft Cell - Tainted Love All of these are new wave bands, each one of them have epic songs. You can find some great new wave playlists here or on spotify
Not being able speaking English at the time, I thought this song was about this bloke being kicked out of his parents' home for NOT BEING ABLE TO MAKE THE SWIM TEAM! HAHAHAHA Like he got sent to a lesser school in the end for it.
I love that sort of storys to cute !!!! And realy not so crazy if you watch the video very funny!!!! Do you know the song "i believe in miracles" from hot chocolate ??? For years i thougt he was singing : I BELIEVE IN MILKCOWS" thats much more stupid hahaha greetings all the way from amsterdam hezzz
Hester Roodbergen haha it was almost the same with me.😂 I always believed that he was singing I believe in Mirko, which is a common name ( at least here in Germany lmao )
He's been bullied in school for being gay, but has fallen in love with the tall boy on the swim team. His friends encourage him to ask the tall boy on a date, but even the look in the other boy's eyes is enough to not ask the question. But the tall boy wants revenge, as aparently being seen as gay was a weakness, so he and his burly mates hunt down the threesome at the cafeteria. The two friends, we don't see what happens, but the police bring the lonely boy home after he had the shit knocked out of him, and explain that it was because their son is gay. So the mother is in tears over the 'failure' of her son, and dad doesn't even want to touch him anymore - other than to punch the gayness out of him, which the police officer prevents. The lonely boy and his friends leave their small town and try their luck elsewhere. This song did so much for realising that diversity is nothing to be afraid of. The tall boy couldn've just said no, as with a girl who was asking him out but that he didn't want to date with. I never understood why there would be violence involved in a simple 'no'.
ash wednesday Well I don't know where you live but it's not a fear where I live. Maybe in prisons, but that's generally rape by none homosexuals for reasons of power. The guy who died in Barrymore's pool- had he lived- would probably have a rational fear of homosexuals. But my point was that a "Phobia" is an irrational fear.
This song issues the hate of the LGBT community in 80s Britain, it also issues loneness and being bullied who is Homosexual through society and familial rejection.
This video was posted 10 years, 3 months and 3 days ago! It's crazy how fast time flies. I remember seeing it back in 2006 before I had this youtube account. I didn't think it would still be up with how many videos are deleted all the time. Not that it matters, but I was 27 years old when this video was posted. I can't believe I'm going to be freaking 40 years old in less than three years! I was always the kid who seemed to be younger than everyone I knew lol. I used to wish my life away wanting to be an adult when I was a kid, and now as an adult, I wish I was a kid again lol. It's funny how that happens. Anyway, good song, but a little bit of a weird video for a straight man to watch though lol. Thanks for keeping it up all these years.
Lets be honest,back in the early 80s,if a gay guy came up to you and asked you out on a date in front of all your mates in a leisure centre changing room,you'd never live it down unless you gave the guy a slap.I'm deeply against homophobia but damn jimmy Somerville,what was you thinking.
OMG man your comment just gave me chills....am 17yo and i know that someday am going to write the same comment you just did wishing that i'd come back to this day but that's how life goes....just enjoy life man:)
Still breaks my heart. Extremely good song, the synthesizer, the lyrics, his voice. Great symbiosis with a powerful message that's still very actual and necessary, sadly. Hozier made a powerful 'new version' with his Take me to church.
One night I came home. I was on the scene. Disco. There was still light in the house. When I came into the room, my father sat there. A man who has lived through the Second World War. A very self-righteous man. He saw a live concert by Jimmi Summervill at WDR and was moved to tears. He asked me, "Who is that, the boy can sing"
So lucky to have been part of the 80's. I feel sorry for today's youth, totally engrossed in social media and image perfection. Thanks bronski beat for this smasher xx
when I was young we took the piss out of this....just gay! But now it comes accross to me as an anthem for all the many disaffected and discriminated. I find myseld many years later with a autistic son and dealing with the discrimation....run away, turn away. So I now realise the courage it must have taken to record and put this out there at the time....so sorry and bravo!!!
You leave in the morning with everything you own In a little black case Alone on a platform, the wind and the rain On a sad and lonely face Mother will never understand Why you had to leave For the answers you seek will never be found at home The love that you need will never be found at home Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away Pushed around and kicked around, always a lonely boy You were the one that they'd talk about around town As they put you down And as hard as they would try, they'd hurt to make you cry But you'd never cry to them, just to your soul No, you'd never cry to them, just to your soul Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away Cry boy, cry, cry boy, cry, cry boy Cry boy, cry, cry boy, cry boy, cry, cry boy Cry boy, cry, cry boy, cry boy, cry, cry boy Cry boy, cry, cry boy, cry boy, cry You leave in the morning with everything you own In a little black case Alone on a platform, the wind and the rain On a sad and lonely face Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away ( o.0)_' close enough
I'm not gay, but I'm an honest person and people don't that either. The human life needs a wake up call. If people would just quit judging people that they don't even know the world would be a better place. Sly and the family Stone had a great song back in the day, "Different strokes for different folks" and it's to bad people didn't hear and absorb the LYRICS. Just feelin this way.
every fucking being in the universe acts on theirs perception. so we humans can just develop this sense or not. and something else: if there is some one else perceiving some one else as shame than thats their movie. Its not a judgement. The public or some majority is not a court and they can only exclude others from theirs social traffic But hey. I like to be excluded by shitheads.
@@zergnub7426 Didn't you get what he said about his past...? He was beaten by his father and ridiculed by his classmates. What did 80's Glasgow have to offer that he didn't already go thru?!? Go sit down and keep quite somewhere - ignorant fool.
As músicas dos anos 80 tem um clima diferente, verdadeiro, sutil e nos leva a viajar no tempo. Sou grato por ter um ótimo gosto musical. Eu vou para um bosque e fico ouvindo esse som parece que só falto flutuar.
When I'm travelling east coast mainline, I put this tune on, sullenly look out the window and channel the spirit of the persecuted inner gay I never was.
