Upon its release, the 'Smalltown Boy' director Bernard Rose had begun to build his reputation not only as an adept filmmaker talent, but also as a pioneering voice for the queer community. He had just released the controversial video for Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 'Relax', which was filmed at an S&M-themed gay club featuring drag queens and gay men dressed in leather. It was banned outright by MTV and BBC.

For Rose, 'Smalltown Boy' presented yet another opportunity to provide a voice for the queer community in a new perspective. “I think it was a very common story, and I think that's a really interesting example of how to make a scene impactful just on the picture alone. I think it's a very common experience for people, and I think it even goes beyond the gay issue: people who just are rejected and thrown out like that. That was Bronski Beat's message,” Rose explained in an interview with Yahoo. “They were going to point out the essential problems and oppressions involved in being gay at that time, which was you were quite likely to get beaten up somewhere, or thrown out by family. There's really no question that that's true. It is still true. In that sense, it was very bold.”

The parallels between the original interpretation of the pained lyrics of 'Smalltown Boy' ("Pushed around and kicked around, always a lonely boy / You were the one that they'd talk about around town as they put you down") ring fiercely true to the characters and modern day struggles of Euphoria's cast.

The most obvious example is with Jules, a trans teen who has, at only age 17, has already seen some pretty dark and terrible things from men in her community who seem to fear her, want her and spite her for what she is, all at once. While she hasn't packed up her bags and left (...yet), her story reflects the trials and tribulations of Somerville's character in 'Smalltown Boy', who is ultimately forced to come to terms with his identity as a gay man after being chewed up and spit out by his town.

Cassie's story also reflects the same sense of rejection that Bronski Beat sing. After being disrespected by her insecure boyfriend, she seeks drunken comfort from her high school classmate. As things escalate in a bedroom, she comes to her senses and tells him things won't go any further, which irritates him. "I'm going to be honest with you, because no one else will," he spits at her as she begins to cry. "Any guy who says he's interested in you beyond just fucking you is full of shit."

Interestingly, 'Smalltown Boy' also soundtracks the beginning of an ulterior storyline in Euphoria as Nate - the school's popular jock, toxic abuser and potentially closeted gay man trying to hide his true identity by spewing homophobic thoughts and actions - heads off on a truly despicable quest involving blackmail to incriminate and coerce an innocent young man to come forward with a false confession about a crime he didn't commit. His story certainly recalls the story matter that Bernard Rose chose to tackle in the music video for 'Smalltown Boy', perhaps this time providing a parallel to the attacker in this modern day interpretation.

At first listen, the song might feel upbeat and almost happy, in a way, but the lyrics never fail to remind of the truly sour tone of the story to come. At its core, 'Smalltown Boy' tells the story of a tragedy, making it a perfect soundtrack apex for a show like Euphoria, even nearly three decades later. If the kids are lucky, maybe there’s a Bernard Rose inspired peek at a happy ending for them in store

Watch Euphoria on HBO.

Valerie Lee is Mixmag's Global Culture Editor. Follow her on Twitter here.

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