London Records releases Bronski Beat's "Forbidden Fruit - The Age of Consent Remixed"

Jul 22

Jul 22 London Records releases Bronski Beat's "Forbidden Fruit - The Age of Consent Remixed"

London Records proudly concludes its Bronski Beat 40th Anniversary celebrations with the release of ‘Forbidden Fruit -The Age Of Consent Remixed’, a bold and expansive homage to one of the most influential synth-pop acts of the 1980s. The release will be available on limited edition crystal clear vinyl, digipak CD, and digital formats.

Bronski Beat’s first incarnation, fronted by the unmistakable Jimmy Somerville, blazed a trail across the charts and the cultural landscape during a brief but impactful 18-month run from April 1984 to September 1985. From their landmark debut single “Smalltown Boy” to their parting remix collection ‘Hundreds and Thousands’, Bronski Beat defined an era in music and in turn gave voice to a generation.

‘Forbidden Fruit’ is a vibrant new remix album that both reveres and reimagines Bronski Beat’s legacy, drawing from their original material with newly commissioned reworks by leading names in contemporary electronic music.

The album opens with two powerful reinterpretations: the previously unreleased super extended version of Superchumbo’s “Why?” featuring Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys), and a new extended version of “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat & The Knocks, featuring Perfume Genius. Legendary producer Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Erasure) delivers a dystopian rework of “Junk”, exclusive to ‘Forbidden Fruit’, while Kinky Roland (Boy George, Marc Almond) offers two RSF remixes: “Love And Money” in a retro Italo-disco style and “Need A Man Blues” reimagined as a euphoric, Moroder-inspired Hi-NRG gem.

A lost chapter in Bronski Beat’s history is finally realized with the unveiling of the mythical 16-minute version of “I Feel Love / Love To Love You Baby”. Originally intended to echo Patrick Cowley’s iconic mega-mixes, this previously incomplete work—featuring Marc Almond—has been reconstructed from original master tapes by producer Ted Carfrae and archivist Barney Ashton-Bullock, emerging as the epic “I Feel Love (Ultramix)”. Also featuring Marc Almond is “Johnny Remember Me”, re-envisioned as a sultry, loungecore coda with new piano and saxophone overdubs by Christopher Frost (Andy Bell is Torsten).

Also exclusive to the CD are four bonus tracks, including:

“No More War (Extended Remix)” – The first-ever remix of this track using only original stems and samples.

“Smalltown Boy (Planningtorock ‘The Love That You Need’ Rework)” – Previously only available on The Age of Consent 2CD reissue.
“I Feel Love (Promo Dub Mix ’85)” – A rare DJ white-label exclusive.
“Screaming (Stripped Mix)” – A haunting, percussive vocal rework that echoes Jimmy Somerville’s raw early performance in “Framed Youth: The Revenge of the Teenage Perverts”.

As with 1985’s ‘Hundreds and Thousands’, ‘Forbidden Fruit’ caps off a year-long anniversary celebration and offers an emotionally resonant and sonically adventurous tribute to their revolutionary spirit.