Song · Bronski Beat
“Why?” by Bronski Beat
From the album The Age of Consent (1984)
“Why?” by Bronski Beat appears on 13 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1984 and 2023. It was first released in 1984 on the album The Age of Consent. Its best result is #4 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #31 alternative song of 1984, #1,832 alternative song of all time and #471 of the '80s.
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"Why?" was the second single Bronski Beat took from The Age of Consent, out in September 1984 on Forbidden Fruit and London Records, and it hits like a brick through a window: it opens with Jimmy Somerville's voice firing off its question over the smash of breaking glass. Recorded at RPM Studio in New York with Mike Thorne producing and mixed at Townhouse in London, it races along on pumping synths while Somerville's keening voice takes dead aim at anti-gay prejudice. The trio, Somerville, Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek, wrote it together.
Melody Maker's Adam Sweeting found it twisted and tragic, and the song carried a dedication to Drew Griffiths, the gay playwright who had been murdered. It became their second top 10 hit in Britain, across Europe and in Australia, and it has lived on as a gay anthem.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 4 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984 | 106 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 99 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1988 | 272 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) | 501 |
| 1989 | 460 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1991 | 519 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1992 | 242 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 330 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1996 | 338 | Q101 | Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) | 500 |
| 1999 | 838 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 1999 | 779 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2002 | 509 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 277 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2023 | 766 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
Also listed as: Why.
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