Reverend Richard Coles

Born in 1962 in Northamptonshire, Coles was a chorister in his youth until the realisation that he was gay forced him to move to the more accepting environment of London. In 1983 he joined the synthpop group Bronski Beat as saxophonist and when lead singer Jimmy Somerville left to form The Communards two years later, Coles went with him. The duo had a string of hits, including their number one charting cover of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ Don’t Leave Me This Way, but split in 1988 with Somerville going solo. After a hedonistic spell in Ibiza, Coles returned to London and found religion after a visit to one of the capital’s churches. He studied for a theology degree at King’s College, London between 1990 and 1994 and was ordained in 2005. Between 2011 and 2022 he served as the vicar of Finedon in Northamptonshire.

In addition to his clerical duties, Coles has penned a number of books. These include works of non-fiction - from entertaining histories of unlikely saints to a deeply moving account of the passing of his partner the Reverend David Coles called The Madness of Grief – and the hugely popular Canon Clement mystery novels set in the fictional parish of Champton.