Larry Steinbachek (6 May 1960 – 7 December 2016) was an English-singer songwriter, director and composer best known for his time as part of

Bronski Beat Bronski Beat were a British synth-pop band formed in 1983 in London, England. The initial lineup, which recorded the majority of their hits, consisted of Scottish musicians Jimmy Somerville (vocals) and Steve Bronski (keyboards, percussion) and ...

with

Jimmy Somerville James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a singer from Glasgow, Scotland who rose to prominence in the 1980s with the synth-pop groups Bronski Beat and the Communards. With Bronski Beat, Somerville achieved commercial success with the 1 ...

and

Steve Bronski Steven William Forrest (7 February 1960 – 7 December 2021) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, best known for his time as a member of synth-pop band Bronski Beat, with Jimmy Somerville and Larry Steinbachek. Career He was a co-founder and keybo ...

Early life

Steinbachek was born in London on 6 May 1960. He worked as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...

and was studying to be a musician prior to forming Bronski Beat with Jimmy Somerville and Steve Bronski.

Career

Steinbachek joined Bronski Beat in 1983 and was one of the song writers for most of the band's songs such as "

Smalltown Boy "Smalltown Boy" is the debut single by the British synth-pop band Bronski Beat, released in May 1984 by London Recordings. It was included on their debut album, '' The Age of Consent'' (1984). "Smalltown Boy" features electronic instrumentati ...

", " Why?" and " Hit That Perfect Beat". He and the band also collaborated with

Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...

on a medley cover of both "

I Feel Love "I Feel Love" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, '' I Remember Yesterday'' (1977). The album concept was to ha ...

" and " Johnny, Remember Me". Somerville left the band in 1985 to form

The Communards The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. They consisted of Scottish singer Jimmy Somerville and English musician Richard Coles. They are best known for their cover versions of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes fe ...

with

Richard Coles Richard Keith Robert Coles (born 26 March 1962) is an English writer, radio presenter and Church of England priest. He first came to prominence as the multi-instrumentalist who partnered Jimmy Somerville in the 1980s band the Communards. They ...

who also worked with Bronski Beat. Steinbachek and Bronski were then joined by both John Foster (who sang on "Hit That Perfect Beat") and

Jonathan Hellyer Jonathan Paul Hellyer (born 27 September 1967) is an English singer, theatre director and drag queen, drag actor. He is best known for his time as the lead singer of Bronski Beat and collaborations with Wayne G. Early life Hellyer was born on 27 ...

(who sang on "I Love Nightlife"). In 1995, Steinbachek left the band and was replaced by Ian Donaldson. After leaving Bronski Beat, Steinbachek moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and then back to England. He worked as a composer and theatre director until his death. He was involved in the 2015 movie, '' Chappie'' where he was one of the composers of the soundtrack. He co-wrote "Beat Boy" with former-Bronski Beat member Steve Bronski and it was sung by the alternative hip hop group,

Die Antwoord Die Antwoord (; ) is a South African hip hop duo formed in Cape Town in 2008. The duo consists of rappers Ninja and Yolandi Visser (also spelled Yo-Landi Visser and stylized as ¥o-Landi Vi$$er). Their music, a fusion of hip hop with rave mu ...

. He also became the musical director for

Michael Laub Michael Laub (born 1953, in Belgium) is an avant-garde stage director, contemporary dance choreographer and video artist. His work has notably been shown at the Venice Biennale of 1984, the Festival d'Avignon of 2005, the Burgtheater in 2011, and ...

's theatre company, Remote Control Productions, in 1995 following his departure from Bronski Beat.

Personal life and death

Steinbachek had a sister. He was openly gay and, like the other members of Bronski Beat, wrote about the politics around

gay culture LGBTQ culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals ( LGBTQ people). It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), LGBT culture, and LGBTQIA culture, while the term ...

and the oppression in the 1980s towards gay people. He died in 2016 after a short battle with cancer at the age of 56.

References

1960 births 2016 deaths 20th-century English LGBTQ people 20th-century English male singers 21st-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English male singers Bronski Beat members Deaths from cancer in England Gay singers LGBTQ people from London English LGBTQ singers Musicians from London English gay musicians {{Bronski Beat