This October sees the 40th anniversary of Bronski Beat's groundbreaking debut album The Age of Consent – the first unapologetically out-and-proud gay record to make waves in the UK charts and leave an indelible blueprint for queer protest pop.

To celebrate the anniversary, London Records has commissioned five new remixes and covers for an expanded edition of the album – out 18 October – that includes a wealth of bonus tracks, classic remixes, and rarities, including early versions of the songs and radio sessions from the vault. A limited edition five-disc boxset will also include a collection of essays by writers Tom Rasmussen, Lesley Chow, Lucy Robinson, and Barney Ashton-Bullock.

The first of the newly commissioned tracks to be shared finds Mike Hadreas (aka Perfume Genius) teaming up with electronic duo The Knocks for a half-cover, half-remix of the classic Bronski Beat single "Smalltown Boy", previously covered by Orville Peck, Kele Okereke, José Gonzalez, Dido, and dozens of others. It's pretty faithful to the 1984 version, even using elements of the original masters, but with a modern twist.

As Ben Rutter from The Knocks explains in a press release:

“We wanted to really keep it close to the original but just give it a little more of a modern dance floor feel. Perfume Genius already brings such a cool new element to it, so we just wanted to support his voice as much as possible while giving it a little bit of The Knocks dance pop touch. That main synth sound is so iconic so we wanted that to be the main star of the show, still.”

Hadreas adds:

“When you’re trying to sing an iconic song, you want to make sure that you can do it justice and then also add your own information without fucking with it too much, you know? So it’s a tall order but I was really, really excited.”

Of the other four newly commissioned remixes, three are already available: a Superchumbo remix of "Why?" (feat. Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys) and two "Smalltown Boy" remixes from Planningtorock and ABSOLUTE.

Perfume Genius heads out on a short tour later this month, to mark the 10th anniversary of his 2014 album Too Bright. Dates include:

09/16 Washington DC @ The Atlantis
09/17 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
09/18 Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater
09/24 San Francisco, CA @ The Great American Music Hall
09/26 Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever
09/27 Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever

In the UK, a special 40th anniversary concert celebrating The Age of Consent takes place on 19 October at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, featuring Planningtorock, Tom Rasmussen, Luca Manning, and others. Only a few tickets remain.

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