Difference between revisions of "Rev Richard Coles"

Revision as of 16:01, 19 February 2012

Richard Coles (born 26 March 1962[1]) is a musician, journalist, broadcaster and Church of England priest. He is known for having been the multi-instrumentalist who partnered Jimmy Somerville in the 1980s band The Communards, which achieved three Top Ten hits, including the Number 1 record and best-selling single of 1986, a Hi-NRG version of "Don't Leave Me This Way". He also appears frequently on radio and television as well as in newspapers. In March 2011 he became the regular host of BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live programme.

Coles was born in Northampton, England and educated at Wellingborough School (where he was a choirboy) and King's College London where he studied theology from 1990.

Coles had learned to play the saxophone, clarinet and keyboards and moved to London in 1980 where he played in theatre. In 1983 he appeared with Jimmy Somerville in the Lesbian and Gay Youth Video Project film Framed Youth: Revenge of The Teenage Perverts, which won the Grierson Awards. Coles also played clarinet on "It Ain't Necessarily So", which was a hit single in 1984 for Bronski Beat.

In 1984 Somerville left Bronski Beat and he and Coles formed The Communards, who were together for just over three years and had three UK Top 10 hits, including the biggest-selling single of 1986 with a version of "Don't Leave Me This Way", which was at Number 1 for four weeks. They split in 1988 and Somerville went solo.