After leaving upfront gay band Bronski Beat in 1985, Jimmy/Jimi Somerville joined up with classically-trained Richard Coles to form The Communards.

Regularly supplemented by other musicians (such as Sarah Jane Morris in the clip below) they produced a series of disco-oriented records with mixed success. Don’t Leave Me This Way, based on Thelma Houston’s cover of the Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes original, was by far and away the biggest hit spending four weeks at the UK Number One spot.

After moderate success they split in 1988, with Somerville pursuing a solo career and Richard Coles ultimately becoming a famous vicar. This latter career option seems to be a far cry from the original revolutionary image of the Communards – as well as somewhat confusing to those who had assumed he was gay.

And talking of confusion, there’s a bit of that in the following clip. As you’ll see, there seems to be a bit of a storyline developing around the cute blond boy. But for the life of me I can’t work out what it is! Never mind: just sit back and enjoy the music!