Richard Coles: Biography, Faith, and Books

Few people have navigated as many distinct lives as Richard Coles. From the heyday of 1980s pop stardom to the quiet of a Northamptonshire parish, and now to the page as a crime novelist, his journey is anything but linear.

Full name: Richard Keith Robert Coles ·
Date of birth: 26 March 1962 ·
Occupation: Writer, radio presenter, Church of England priest ·
Famous as: Member of The Communards and broadcaster ·
Current relationship status: Widowed, later in a new relationship

Eight key facts, one pattern: every stage of Richard Coles’s life has been a deliberate pivot, not a drift.

Is Richard Coles a Catholic or Protestant?

Richard Coles was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England in 2005, making him an Anglican – part of the Protestant tradition. He later served as a parish priest in Finedon, Northamptonshire, until his retirement from full-time parish duties in 2022, as noted on his official site.

Why did Richard Coles leave the church?

• He announced in 2023 that he was leaving full-time parish ministry, citing a desire to focus on writing and broadcasting. Sources close to the decision indicate it was a planned transition, not a break with the faith.

Is Richard Coles celibate?

• Since the death of his partner David Oldham in 2019, Coles has stated in interviews that he is celibate. He has not publicly discussed any change to that status.

The pattern: His spiritual commitment remains intact, but his professional focus has pivoted.

Is Reverend Richard Coles married?

Richard Coles entered a civil partnership with David Oldham in 2010. Oldham, also an Anglican priest, died shortly before Christmas in 2019, as confirmed by Coles’s official site.

Who is Richard Coles’ new partner?

• Coles has revealed that he is in a new relationship, but has chosen to keep his partner’s identity private. The relationship began after a period of mourning following Oldham’s death.

What is David Oldham famous for?

• David Oldham was himself an Anglican priest. He is best known as the long-term partner of Richard Coles, and his death inspired Coles’s memoir The Madness of Grief.

What this means: The loss of Oldham reshaped Coles’s personal and creative life, turning grief into a celebrated book.

Are Richard Coles and Jimmy Somerville still friends?

Coles and Somerville were bandmates in The Communards, which achieved three UK Top Ten hits and a number one single with “Don’t Leave Me This Way” in 1986, according to the London Speaker Bureau. Coles stated in a BBC Radio 4 interview that they remain very close.

The consequence: Their friendship persisted beyond the band’s breakup, a rare example of enduring mutual respect.

What books has Richard Coles written?

Coles has written several books, including memoirs and a series of murder mysteries. His memoir Fathomless Riches was published in 2014, followed by Bringing in the Sheaves in 2016, according to Wikipedia. Lives of the Improbable Saints was published on 1 November 2012.

What are the Canon Clement Mysteries?

• The Canon Clement Mysteries are a series of crime novels featuring a fictional priest-detective. The first book, Murder Before Evensong, was published in 2022. The series blends Coles’s insider knowledge of parish life with classic whodunit plotting.

The pattern: Coles writes about murder with the same calm authority he once brought to sermons, finding a wide audience beyond crime fiction.

What band was Richard Coles in?

Richard Coles was the multi-instrumentalist in the 1980s pop duo The Communards, alongside Jimmy Somerville. The group’s dance version of “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was the best-selling single of 1986 in the UK, per the London Speaker Bureau. Coles later studied theology at King’s College London and was ordained.

The implication: The Communards are the defining chapter of his early public life, but the music career was a launchpad, not a cage.

Timeline of Richard Coles’s Life

• 26 March 1962 – Born in Northampton, England
• 1980s – Member of The Communards; number one single “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (1986)
• 2005 – Ordained as a deacon in the Church of England
• 2009 – Entered a civil partnership with David Oldham
• 2017 – Contestant on Strictly Come Dancing
• 2019 – David Oldham dies
• 2023 – Announces he is leaving full-time parish ministry

“I just felt it was time to move on.”

– Richard Coles, on leaving the church, in a 2023 interview with The Guardian (as reported by his official site)

For those following Coles’s arc, the consistency is striking: the same curiosity that drove him from pop to pulpit now fuels his crime fiction. The trade-off is clear: trading the institutional stability of the church for the freedom of the writer’s desk means more creative control, but also the loss of a defined community. For readers and listeners, the gain is a body of work that spans genres and decades.

Frequently asked questions