Steve Bronski, the co-founder and keyboardist of British pop trio Bronski Beat, has died, BBC News and The Guardian report. He was 61, according to the BBC.

Born Steve Forrest in the Scottish city of Glasgow, Bronski formed Bronski Beat with Larry Steinbachek and Jimmy Somerville in 1983 after the three appeared in a documentary made for an LGBTQ arts festival. That year, Bronski Beat made their live debut at the gay benefit concert September in the Pink, before releasing the landmark single “Smalltown Boy,” about a gay man making a break for the big city, in 1984. Recognizable for its pining, oft-sampled keyboard line, the synth pop anthem reached the UK Top 3 and primed the group for memorable appearances on primetime TV.

Aligned with the post-disco sound of hi-NRG, the trio released its debut album, Age of Consent, later in 1984. “Why?,” another international hit and UK Top 10 single, again subverted anti-gay sentiment in service of yearning synth pop for the dance floor.

In 1985, Somerville left the band for undocumented reasons, and the original lineup never regrouped for an album. Bronski and Steinbachek continued to release music as Bronski Beat through the ’90s, with Bronski advocating for gay and trans rights throughout his career. In 2017, the year Steinbachek died of cancer, Steve Bronski revived the Bronski Beat name once more, releasing the group’s first album in 22 years: a revamp of their debut called The Age of Reason.

Commemorating his former bandmate, Somerville tweeted: “Sad to hear Steve Bronski has died. He was a talented and a very melodic man. Working with him on songs and the one song that changed our lives and touched so many other lives, was a fun and exciting time. Thanks for the melody Steve.”