IMAGE COURTESY OF SOLAR MANAGEMENT / PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN

12 MARCH – 25 MAY 2025

 An exhibition celebrating new acquisitions from Jimmy Somerville

JIMMY SOMERVILLE AND

BRONSKI BEAT

EXHIBITION

In 1984 Jimmy Somerville’s first band, Bronski Beat, released their debut album, The Age of Consent. The album title was a response to the age of consent for gay men which at the time was 21 in the United Kingdom. For heterosexual relationships the age of consent was 16. This exhibition presents a new set of materials donated by Jimmy Somerville to our collection. It includes T-Shirts from the ACT-UP campaign, a customised Levi’s jacket, hand typed lyrics to Bronski Beat track ‘Screaming’ and promotional posters for ‘Smalltown Boy’. In our screening room we are pleased to present the short documentary Why? (2024); a reimagined video for Bronski Beat’s enduring LGBTQ+ anthem, originally released in 1984.

WINNER OF THE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION'S BEST SMALL MUSEUM PROJECT AWARD

Also showing is our evolving exhibition, We Are Queer Britain, marking the 50th anniversary of the UK’s first Pride March. It is a riot of voices, objects and images from the worlds of activism, art, culture and social history covering over 100 years of queer life.