One of the most striking (and oft-reissued) albums in U.K. '80s pop gets its biggest look this fall, with a new box set edition of Bronski Beat's The Age of Consent.

The new 4CD/1DVD edition, available October 18, packages the original 1984 album with 1985 remix album Hundreds and Thousands, plus 19 remixes, edits and B-sides as well as three unreleased remixes and a disc of 19 never-before-released studio outtakes and radio sessions. The DVD features both restored music videos and Top of the Pops performances for the four singles: "Smalltown Boy," "Why," "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "I Feel Love." (A separate 2CD edition will feature the first two discs of the set, with the bonus single edits on Disc 1 swapped out for modern remixes of the singles.)

Released at a time of considerable history for the LGBTQ+ community in the United Kingdom - only in 1967 and 1981 were sexual acts between two men decriminalized in England and Scotland, respectively; the age of consent that lent the album its title was 21 in the U.K., far higher than other European nations; and the AIDS crisis was imminent - The Age of Consent was a scintillating LP from the three-man Bronski Beat: keyboardists/percussionists Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek and striking singer Jimmy Somerville, whose falsetto vocals powered many of the group's best-known songs. All three men were openly gay, and the videos to their singles tackled issues of discrimination and violence against their community.

These high-energy queer anthems were embraced by the record-buying public: "Smalltown Boy," "Why?" and "I Feel Love" (a Donna Summer cover/medley that was re-recorded for single release with Marc Almond of Soft Cell) were all local Top 10 hits, and the Porgy and Bess cover "It Ain't Necessarily So" gave them a further Top 20. ("Smalltown Boy" even crossed over in America, just missing the pop Top 40 but topping Billboard's dance chart.) Despite the commercial and critical success, the line-up of Bronski Beat would soon change: tensions within the band led to Sommerville's exit (he'd later front the Communards). After assembling Hundreds and Thousands out of remixes and unissued single material, Bronski Beat would score one more Top 10 with "Hit That Perfect Beat" (featuring new vocalist John Foster) and would work with various vocalists over the years (including a one-off reunion with Somerville for a 1987 AIDS benefit concert) before dissolving in 1995. Bronski briefly resurrected the project in 2016 without Steinbachek, who died later that year; Bronski himself passed away in 2021.

The Age of Consent has been reissued twice since The Second Disc started publishing: once in 2012 (a collection of mostly released material from the album, singles and Hundreds and Thousands) and again in 2018 with some demos and live sessions not included on this set. Its most recent (and thorough) edition arrives October 18 and can be pre-ordered below. (As Amazon affiliates, we earn a small portion from purchases at the below links.)

The Age of Consent (40th Anniversary Edition) (London, 2024)

4CD/1DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

* previously unreleased

CD 1: The Age of Consent Plus

1. Why?
2. It Ain't Necessarily So
3. Screaming
4. No More War
5. Love and Money
6. Smalltown Boy
7. Heatwave
8. Junk
9. Need a Man Blues
10. I Feel Love/Johnny Remember Me
11. Smalltown Boy (DJ 7" Edit)
12. Why? (Remix)
13. It Ain't Necessarily So (7" Version)
14. I Feel Love (7" Version with Marc Almond)
15. Run from Love (Radio Version)
16. Hard Rain (NME 7" Version)

Tracks 1-10 released as Forbidden Fruit album BITLP 1 (U.K.), 1984
Track 11 released on Forbidden Fruit promo single BITDJ 1 (U.K.), 1984
Track 12 released on Forbidden Fruit 12" BITEX 2 (U.K.), 1984
Track 13 released on Forbidden Fruit single BITE 3 (U.K.), 1984
Track 14 released on Forbidden Fruit single BITE 4 (U.K.), 1985
Track 15 released on Forbidden Fruit promo single BITDJ 5 (U.K.), 1985
Track 16 released on NME Readers' Poll Winners '84 EP - New Musical Express GIV 1 (U.K.), 1985

Bonus Tracks on 2CD edition

11. Smalltown Boy (Absolute. Extended Rework)
12. Smalltown Boy (Planningtorock's "The Love That You Need" Rework)
13. Smalltown Boy (Dave Aude vs. Tall Paul Remix)
14. Why? (Superchumbo Mix feat. Neil Tennant)
15. Smalltown Boy - The Knocks & Bronski Beat feat. Perfume Genius

CD 2: Hundreds & Thousands: The Remix Plus

1. Heatwave (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
2. Why? (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
3. Run from Love (Dominic Maita Remix)
4. Hard Rain (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
5. Smalltown Boy (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
6. Junk (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
7. Love and Money (Hundreds & Thousands Remix) *
8. Infatuation/Memories
9. Close to the Edge
10. I Feel Love (Cake Mix with Marc Almond)
11. Cadillac Car (Extended)

Tracks 1-6 released as Forbidden Fruit album BITLP 2 (U.K.), 1985
Track 8 released on "Smalltown Boy" U.K. 12" - Forbidden Fruit BITEX 1, 1984
Track 9 released on "It Ain't Necessarily So" single - Forbidden Fruit BITE 3, 1984
Track 10 released on Forbidden Fruit 12" BITER 4 (U.K.), 1985
Track 11 released on "Why?" U.K. 12" - Forbidden Fruit BITEX 2, 1984

CD 3: Consent Extended - The 12 Inches Plus

1. Smalltown Boy (12" Version)
2. Why? (12" Version)
3. It Ain't Necessarily So (12" Version)
4. I Feel Love (12" Version with Marc Almond)
5. Run from Love (U.S. Club Remix '85) *
6. Smalltown Boy (U.S. Club Remix '84) *
7. Red Dance
8. The Potato Fields
9. Puit D'Amour
10. Signs (and Wonders)
11. I Feel Love (Fruit Mix)

Track 1 released on Forbidden Fruit 12" BITEX 1 (U.K.), 1984
Track 2 released on Forbidden Fruit 12" BITEX 2 (U.K.), 1984
Tracks 3 and 7 released on Forbidden Fruit 12" BITEX 3 (U.K.), 1984
Tracks 4 and 8-10 released as Forbidden Fruit 12" BITEX 4 (U.K.), 1985
Track 11 released on Forbidden Fruit 10" BITET 4 (U.K.), 1985

CD 4: Ignore At Your Peril - The Rarities Plus *

1. Smalltown Boy (Capital Radio Session, May 1984)
2. Heatwave (Capital Radio Session, May 1984)
3. Hard Rain (Capital Radio Session, May 1984)
4. Why? (Early Version, March 1984)
5. Crazy Maraquitta (Studio Session)
6. It Ain't Necessarily So (Early Version)
7. Upside Down (Studio Session)
8. Screaming (Early Version, March 1984)
9. The Power of the Gold (Studio Session)
10. Love and Money (Early Version)
11. First Church (Feel Love) (Studio Session)
12. Junk (Early Version 2)
13. Walking (Studio Session)
14. No More War (Early Version)
15. Go (You & Me) (Studio Session)
16. Close to the Edge (Early Alternate Extended Mix)
17. Heatwave (Early Version)
18. The Other Side of the Tracks (Studio Session)
19. Smalltown Boy (Early Version, March 1984)

DVD: The First Chapter - The Videos Plus

Restored music videos

• Smalltown Boy
• Why?
• It Ain't Necessarily So
• I Feel Love (with Marc Almond)

Top of the Pops performances

• Smalltown Boy (June '84)
• Why? (September '84)
• It Ain't Necessarily So (December '84)
• I Feel Love (with Marc Almond) (April '85)

Original TV adverts

• The Age of Consent #1 (December '84)
• The Age of Consent #2 (January '85)