Jimmy Somerville discography | ||
---|---|---|
Singer performing during the 10th anniversary of Here and Now Tour, held on 25 June 2011 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. | ||
Releases:[a] | ||
Studio albums | 9 | |
Remix albums | 3 | |
Live albums | 5 | |
Compilation albums | 10 | |
EPs | 4 | |
Singles | 39 | |
Download singles | 15 | |
Promotional singles | 4 | |
Other songs | 61 | |
Video albums/EPs | 5 | |
Music videos | 38 |
Scottish recording artist Jimmy Somerville has entered the music industry as the frontman of the synth-pop act, known as Bronski Beat. Alongside, he would score an early international success with a series of top-ten hits, such as "Smalltown Boy", "Why?" and "I Feel Love Medley"; all taken from the trio's debut album, The Age of Consent (1984), as well the remix equivalent, Hundreds & Thousands (1985). A similar status enjoyed the follow-up hit singles: "Don't Leave Me This Way", "So Cold the Night" and "Never Can Say Goodbye"; these though, were recorded for the eponymous set of his later duo Communards (1986), or its Red successor (1987) yet. The singer's own full-length debut would see its eventual results at the very end of the 1980s, marking the ending of his former bands' years, or rather the beginning of his solo era since.
Until now, Somerville has released nine studio albums; mostly on London Recordings, the latters through various independent labels. One conceptual work has initially been published by himself, for a change. In addition to three remixed collections, five live albums and ten retrospective compilations, two of which are double sets, he has also delivered four extended plays (EP); these more or less self-published again. His singles discography counts to thirty-nine physical releases—excluding four promotional-only—fifteen digital and over sixty other appearances; regardless of their format. Apart from that, he has been included on three video albums, two video EPs, and has made thirty-five music videos; with three further being "captured" in just vocally.
His principal debut arrived on 27 November 1989 under title Read My Lips. The outcome spawned two top-ten compositions, namely "Comment te dire adieu", performed as a duet with June Miles-Kingston, and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", another revival. While the lead cover went on to be certified Silver by the Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique (SNEP), the album itself Gold by the SNEP and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI); breaking into the top-forty of the music charts in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The titular track, written solely by musician, received a short-running but decent response on a single of its own.
By the time The Singles Collection 1984/1990 was issued for the next Christmas season, the combining sales of all his records were estimated by Music & Media for more than six million units,[1] with France becoming the singer's most successful territory then.[2] Upon its release on 12 November 1990, his first best-of set continued selling streak across the European continent, earning both Platinum and Gold certifications; each twice and respectively. The first two from the French SNEP and the Swiss IFPI, the latters from the Dutch NVPI and the German BVMI. Having reached the additional top-ten spots in Austria, Belgium, Ireland and the UK, the compilation recycled for its opening single also one of the Bee Gees' songs, "To Love Somebody", and likewise the remaining "Run from Love", previously not promoted commercially.
Even though, the management had expected their artist publishing a new material already the upcoming year,[1] Somerville semi-retired from the business for four years. His one-off projects involved him only in recording themed tunes for the feature film Orlando (1992), or a short called The Attendant (1993).[3] Simultaneously, he contributed for a charitable EP of duets, Gimme Shelter (1993).
The singer's second studio effort, Dare to Love, was launched on 12 June 1995. Despite its favorable reviews, the album somewhat failed to match the sales of its predecessors. Having missed the top-forty, except for the UK, it ultimately became his closing release on London Recordings. The lead-off singles, however, they did make an impact, either in the dance or airplay field. While "Heartbeat" received club play on both sides of the Atlantic, topping the US Dance eventually, "Hurt So Good" cracked into the mainstream top-ten in his homeland, and turned into a radio favorite in England, too. Besides in July 1997, Somerville experienced a late comeback, after "Safe in These Arms" had been reproduced for the dancefloor via German-based SPV GmbH. Altered as "Safe", it climbed to the number-one on the Spanish singles chart,[4] and gained him club following in the United States.
Subsequently, musician managed to secure a record deal with Gut Records,[5] and to release a number of singles, some of which would garner attention within their genre. Among those were "Dark Sky", "Lay Down" and "Something to Live for". On 14 June 1999, his third solo album came, backed up in the U.S. later with a remix companion, Root Beer (2000). Nevertheless, unlike its supporting cuts, Manage the Damage suffered from a short-lived potential in general, and the label parted ways with their protégé. Shortly though, his rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" appeared on the spare soundtrack to the TV series Queer as Folk (2000), roofed by Almighty Records. In March 2001, the song resulted in his first chart entry in almost a decade in France.
Following another four-year hiatus, Somerville—no longer part of the pop culture that brought him once a global recognition—pursued local options instead. Upon signing to Jinx Musix, he would present several further singles, particularly towards the German audience, and sealed them by introducing his forth studio set. These included "It's So Good", "Come On" and the only charting "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". Distributed through BMG in few other countries, Home Again was issued on 8 November 2004 to friendly reviews, but a limited commercial performance.
For the next years to come, much of his own output was showcased to his fanbase, primarily, in a virtual format. Apart from an acoustic collection of cover versions named Suddenly Last Summer (2009), artist also gradually published a trilogy of electronic EPs, such as Bright Thing (2010), Momentum (2011) and Solent (2012); all marketed via The Orchard online music distribution. Many of the compositions featured on those, would serve instrumental for the singer's most recent album entitled Homage, which was co-released on 6 March 2015 by German Membran and British Strike Force Entertainment to positive feedback from music critics, yet again moderate sales.
Title details | Peak chart positions | Certifications[b] | Sales[c] | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SCO [7] |
AUS [8] |
FRA [9][d] |
GER [12] |
ITA [13] |
NLD [14] |
NZD [15][e] |
SWI [16] |
UK [17] |
US [18] | |||
As featured artist | ||||||||||||
The Age of Consent† | 45 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 36 | ||
Communards‡
|
63 | 20 | 8 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 26 | 10 | 7 | 90 | ||
Red‡
|
52 | 97 | 3 | 22 | 19 | 32 | 29 | 20 | 4 | 93 | ||
As lead artist | ||||||||||||
Read My Lips | 19 | 114 | 6 | 29 | 25 | — | — | — | 29 | 192 | ||
Dare to Love
|
43 | — | — | 79 | — | — | — | 45 | 38 | [g] | ||
Manage the Damage | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | [h] | ||
Home Again | — | — | — | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | [i] | ||
Suddenly Last Summer | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Homage | — | — | 60[l] | — | — | — | — | — | [m] | [n] | ||
Keys:[a] † as Bronski Beat • ‡ as The Communards "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in the region |
Title details | Notes |
---|---|
As featured artist | |
Hundreds & Thousands† |
|
As lead artist | |
Root Beer |
|
Club Homage
|
|
Keys:[a] † as Bronski Beat |
Title details | Notes |
---|---|
As featured artist | |
Storm Paris‡ |
|
Evolution (with MGLC) |
|
Our Friends Acoustic (with VA)
|
|
As lead artist | |
Live at Rewind Festival 2014
|
|
Live and Acoustic at Stella Polaris
|
|
Keys:[a] ‡ as The Communards |
Title details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Sales[c] | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SCO [7] |
AUS [8] |
FRA [9][d] |
GER [12] |
ITA [13] |
NLD [14] |
NZD [15][e] |
SWI [16] |
UK [17] |
US [18] | |||
As featured artist | ||||||||||||
Heaven‡ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Het Beste Van‡[o] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
The Platinum Collection‡[p] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
The Collection‡
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
As lead artist | ||||||||||||
The Singles Collection 1984/1990†‡ | — | 114 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 30 | 4 | 4 | — | ||
Master Series
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
The Very Best Of†‡
|
26 | — | 15[q] | 49 | [r] | — | — | — | 29 | — |
|
|
The Essentials†
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | [s] | ||
For a Friend: The Best Of†‡ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | [t] | — | ||
Dance & Desire: Rarities & Videos†‡ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | [u] | — | ||
Keys:[a] † as, with or featuring Bronski Beat • ‡ as, with or featuring The Communards "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in the region |
Title details | Notes |
---|---|
As featured artist | |
Lovers Unlimited (with John Winfield)
|
|
As lead artist | |
Bright Thing |
|
Momentum |
|
Solent |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SCO [92] |
AUS [93] |
FRA [94][v] |
GER [12] |
ITA [13] |
NLD [14] |
NZD [15][e] |
SWI [16] |
UK [17] |
US Dance [56][w] | ||||
As featured artist | |||||||||||||
"Smalltown Boy"†[x] | 1984 | — | 8 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | The Age of Consent | |
"Why?"†[z] | — | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 27 |
| ||
"Ain't Necessarily So"† | — | 58 | — | 31 | — | 21 | 27 | — | 16 | — | |||
"I Feel Love Medley"† (with Marc Almond) | 1985 | — | 34 | 28 | 16 | — | 11 | — | 23 | 3 | [aa] |
|
Hundreds & Thousands |
"You Are My World"‡[ab] | — | — | 16 | 59 | 22 | 23 | — | — | 21 | — |
|
Communards | |
"Suspicious Minds" (with FYC) | — | 6 | — | 37 | — | 21 | 14 | — | 8 | 23 | Fine Young Cannibals | ||
"Disenchanted"‡ | 1986 | — | — | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | 29 | [aa] | Communards | |
"Don't Leave Me This Way"‡ (featuring Sarah Jane Morris)[ac] |
— | 2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
"So Cold the Night"‡ | — | 90 | 17 | 14 | — | 8 | 44 | 10 | 8 [ad] |
25 | |||
"The Multimix"‡ | 1987 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
non-album single | |
"Tomorrow"‡ | — | 99 | 32 | 25 | 14 | 31 | — | 23 | 23 | — | Red | ||
"Never Can Say Goodbye"‡ | — | 13 | 9 | 6 | — | 3 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 2 | |||
"Hold On Tight"‡[ae] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"For a Friend"‡ | 1988 | — | — | — | 35 | — | — | — | — | 28 | — | ||
"There's More to Love"‡ | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | 20 | — | |||
"Do They Know It's Christmas?"[af] (as Band Aid II) | 1989 | — | 30 | — | 74 | 16 | 20 | 8 | 24 | 1 | — |
|
non-album single(s) |
"Respect" (as United Against Racism) | 1996 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Star" (with The Weather Girls) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Think Big! | ||
"The No.1 Song in Heaven" (with Sparks) | 1997 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 70 | 28 | Plagiarism | |
"Fruit"[ag](with Oliver Sim) | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | [ah] | Hideous Bastard | |
"Hideous"[ai](with Oliver Sim) | — | — | [aj] | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
As lead artist | |||||||||||||
"The Last Infanta" (with Uno) | 1988 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Uno | |
"Comment te dire adieu" (featuring June Miles Kingston) |
1989 | — | [ak] | 3 | 25 | — | 26 | — | — | 14 | — |
|
Read My Lips |
"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" | — | 76 | 7 | 22 | — | 49 | — | — | 5 | 34 | |||
"Read My Lips (Enough Is Enough)" | 1990 | — | — | 29 | 57 | — | — | — | — | 26 | — | ||
"To Love Somebody" | — | [ak] | 15 | 20 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 8 | — | The Singles Collection 1984/1990 | ||
"Run from Love"[al] | 1991 | — | — | 27 | 98 | — | — | — | — | 52 | — | ||
"Gimme Shelter"[am] (with VOTB) | 1993 | — | [ak] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | — | (VA) Gimme Shelter | |
"Heartbeat" | 1995 | 15 | — | — | 54 | 21 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | Dare to Love | |
"Hurt So Good" | 9 | — | — | 69 | — | — | — | — | 15 | — | |||
"By Your Side" | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 41 | — | |||
"Safe"[an] | 1997 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | ||
"Dark Sky"[ao] | 62 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 66 | — | Manage the Damage | ||
"Lay Down" | 1999 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | [ap] | — | ||
"Something to Live for" | — | — | — | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" | 2000 | — | — | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | [aq] | — | (OST) Queer as Folk 2 | |
"It's So Good" (also as Jimmy S) | 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Home Again | |
"Come On" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | 2005 | — | — | — | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Keys:[a] † as Bronski Beat • ‡ as The Communards "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in the region |
Title | Year | Notes | Album |
---|---|---|---|
As featured artist | |||
"I Believe in Love" (with Arthur Baker) | 2011 |
|
Merge |
"Summer Love" (by David Latour and Kato) | 2014 | non-album single(s) | |
"I Wish You Well" (with The Big Band Collective featuring also Rick Astley) | 2020 |
| |
"A Million Dreams" (with Ravi Adelekan and friends) | 2022 |
| |
As lead artist | |||
"Overload" | 2010 |
|
(EP) Bright Thing (Deluxe) |
"The Core"/"Mountains" | 2011 |
|
(EP) Momentum |
"Take Me There" (with Scratch Massive) | 2012 |
|
Nuit de rêve |
"Set Alight" | 2014 |
|
non-album single |
"Smalltown Boy (Reprise 2014)"[x] |
|
Dance & Desire: Rarities & Videos | |
"Back to Me" |
|
Homage | |
"Travesty" |
| ||
"Learned to talk" | 2015 |
| |
"Some Wonder" |
| ||
"Lights Are Shining" |
| ||
"Strong Enough" |
| ||
"Don't Leave Me This Way (Live)" | 2016 |
|
Live and Acoustic at Stella Polaris |
"Everything Must Change" (with Sally Herbert) | 2021 |
|
non-album single |
Title | Year | Notes | Album |
---|---|---|---|
As featured artist | |||
"Communards Live"‡ | 1987 |
|
non-album single |
"Why Aren't You in Love with Me?" (with Banderas) | 1991 |
|
Ripe |
As lead artist | |||
"Coming" | 1993 |
|
(OST) Orlando |
"Root Beer" | 2000 |
|
Root Beer |
Keys:[a] ‡ as The Communards |
Title | Year | Notes | Album |
---|---|---|---|
As featured artist | |||
"Infatuation/Memories"† | 1984 |
|
Hundreds & Thousands |
"Cadillac Car"† |
| ||
"Close to the Edge"† |
| ||
"Red Dance"† | The Age of Consent (reissue) | ||
"Crazy Maraquitta"† | ? |
| |
"Up And Down (Instrumental)"† | |||
"Ultra Clone (Instrumental)"† | |||
"The Other Side of the Tracks"† | |||
"The Potatoe Fields"† | 1985 |
| |
"Puit d'Amour"† | |||
"Signs (and Wonders)"† | |||
"Hard Rain"† |
|
Hundreds & Thousands | |
"Breadline Britain"‡ |
|
Communards (reissue) | |
"Sentimental Journey"‡ | |||
"On a Promise" (with FYC) |
|
Fine Young Cannibals | |
"Annie" (Instrumental)‡ | 1986 |
|
Communards (reissue) |
"Johnny Verso"‡ | |||
"Sanctified"‡ |
| ||
"When the Walls Come Tumbling Down"‡ |
| ||
"Never No More"‡ | |||
"Judgement Day"‡ | 1987 |
| |
"The Message"‡ | |||
"Czardas (Live) (Instrumental)"‡ | Heaven | ||
"That Perfect Medley"† |
|
(VA) Razormaid | |
"I Just Want to Let You Know"‡ |
|
Red (reissue) | |
"Scat"‡ | |||
"'77 The Great Escape"‡ |
| ||
"I Do It All for You"‡ | |||
"C Minor (Live)"‡ |
|
(VA) Giant | |
"Megamix"‡ | 1988 |
|
Dance & Desire: Rarities & Videos |
"Zing Went The Strings of My Heart"‡ |
|
Red (reissue) | |
"Spanish Rap"‡ | |||
"When the Boy in Your Heart Is the Boy in Your Arms"‡ | |||
"One Fine Day" (with Carmel) | 1989 |
|
Set Me Free |
"Words (J+S Mix)" (by Low) | 1998 |
|
owL Remix |
"I Was Born This Way" (with Craig C.) | 2006 |
|
(OST) Another Gay Movie |
As lead artist | |||
"Hey Stranger!" | 1985 |
|
Read My Lips (reissue) |
"Grey Skies Turning Blue" | 1987 |
|
non-album song |
"Tell the World" | 1989 |
|
Read My Lips (reissue) |
"Until I Get Over You" |
| ||
"I Won't Let You See Me" | |||
"Not So God Almighty" | 1990 |
| |
"From This Moment On" |
|
Red Hot + Blue | |
"Desire" | 1991 |
|
Read My Lips (reissue) |
"Eliza" | 1992 |
|
(OST) Orlando |
"The Attendant" | 1993 |
|
non-album song |
"So Long Babe" | 1995 |
|
(OST) Postcards from America |
"Postcards from America Suite" | |||
"Up and Away" |
|
Dare to Love (reissue) | |
"Love You Forever" |
| ||
"Been So Long" | |||
"Nothing Said, Nothing Done" |
| ||
"Tear Fool" | 1997 |
|
Manage the Damage (reissue) |
"Blame" | |||
"I Believe" | 1999 |
| |
"Moving On" | |||
"Child" | 2004 |
|
Home Again (reissue) |
"I Will" (with Mystéfy) | 2008 |
|
Spark Within |
"World of My Own" | 2009 |
|
Home Again (reissue) |
"Parvana (Beautiful Butterfly)" | 2011 |
|
non-album song |
"What Makes Us Wonderful" (with Salvatore Ganacci) | 2022 |
|
Culturally Appropriate |
Keys:[a] † as Bronski Beat • ‡ as The Communards |
Title details | Notes |
---|---|
As featured artist | |
The First Chapter† |
|
The Video Singles‡
|
|
Stand By Me‡ |
|
Live at Full House‡
|
|
As lead artist | |
The Video Collection 1984/1990†‡
|
|
Keys:[a] † as, with or featuring Bronski Beat • ‡ as, with or featuring The Communards |
Title | Year | Notes | Album |
---|---|---|---|
As featured artist | |||
"Smalltown Boy"†[x] | 1984 |
|
The First Chapter |
"Why?"†[z] |
| ||
"Ain't Necessarily So"† |
| ||
"I Feel Love Medley"† | 1985 |
| |
"You Are My World"‡ |
|
The Video Singles | |
"Suspicious Minds" |
|
The Raw & the Cooked | |
"Disenchanted"‡ | 1986 |
|
The Video Singles |
"Don't Leave Me This Way"‡ |
| ||
"So Cold the Night"‡ |
| ||
"Tomorrow"‡ | 1987 |
|
The Video Collection 1984/1990 |
"Never Can Say Goodbye"‡ |
| ||
"For a Friend"‡ | 1988 |
| |
"There's More to Love"‡ | |||
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" | 1989 |
|
non-album video(s) |
"I Wish You Well" | 2020 |
| |
"Fruit" | 2022 |
| |
"Hideous" |
| ||
"A Million Dreams" |
| ||
As lead artist | |||
"The Last Infanta" | 1988 |
|
non-album video |
"Comment te dire adieu?" | 1989 |
|
The Video Collection 1984/1990 |
"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" |
| ||
"Read My Lips (Enough Is Enough)" | 1990 |
| |
"To Love Somebody" |
| ||
"From This Moment On" | (VA) Red Hot + Blue | ||
"Run from Love" | 1991 |
|
Dance & Desire: Rarities & Videos |
"Gimme Shelter" | 1993 |
|
(VA) Gimme Shelter: The Video |
"Heartbeat" | 1994 |
|
Dance & Desire: Rarities & Videos |
"Hurt So Good" | 1995 |
| |
"Safe" | 1997 |
| |
"Dark Sky" |
|
non-album video(s) | |
"Lay Down" | 1999 |
| |
"Something to Live for" |
| ||
"Here I Am" | |||
"People Are Strange" | 2009 |
|
Suddenly Last Summer (Collector's Edition) |
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" |
| ||
"Take Me There" | 2011 |
|
non-album video |
"Smalltown Boy (Reprise 2014)"[x] | 2014 |
|
Dance & Desire: Rarities & Videos |
"Some Wonder | 2015 |
|
non-album video(s) |
"Everything Must Change" | 2021 |
| |
Keys:[a] † as Bronski Beat • ‡ as The Communards |