The Communards -

The Communards were an English electro/art-pop duo from London comprised of ex-Bronski Beat vocalist Jimmy Somerville and keyboardist/programmer Richard Coles. The pair issued a 1986 album on London Records, followed in 1987 by Red with corresponding singles.

Members: Jimmy Somerville (vocals, keyboards, programming), Richard Coles (piano, keyboards, organ, programming)

Background

The Communards formed in 1985 in London when singer Jimmy Somerville teamed with pianist and multi-instrumentalist Richard Coles after Somerville left Bronski Beat.

Somerville (born James William Somerville on June 22, 1961, in Ruchill, Glasgow) moved to London in 1979 and joined the Lesbian and Gay Youth Video Project. He recorded “Screaming” for the 1983 documentary Framed Youth: The Revenge of the Teenage Perverts. Somerville formed Bronski Beat later that year with keyboardists Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek. The trio recorded The Age of Consent and the singles “Smalltown Boy” and “Why?” before Somerville left in spring 1985.

Coles (born March 26, 1962, in Northampton) attended Wellingborough School, where he sang as a chorister and developed as a pianist. He studied drama at South Warwickshire College of Further Education in Stratford-upon-Avon. Coles moved to London at eighteen and bought a saxophone for fringe-theatre work. He met Somerville through Framed Youth and played clarinet on the Bronski Beat recording of “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”

Somerville and Coles first rehearsed as the Committee, then adopted the Communards after another act asserted the earlier name. They took the new name from supporters of the 1871 Paris Commune. The Communards debuted on London Records in September 1985 with the group-written “You Are My World” (b/w “Breadline Britain”). Somerville and Coles recorded the single at Sigma Sound Studios in New York with producer Mike Thorne and engineer Carl Beatty. The duo released “Disenchanted” as a second advance single in May 1986. The Communards completed their eponymous debut with Thorne ahead of the summer London Records release.

Discography: