The Communards were a British pop duo of the 1980s. History They formed in 1985 after singer Jimmy Somerville left his earlier band Bronski Beat to team up with classically-trained musician Richard Coles. Though mainly a pianist, Coles played a number of instrument and had been seen previously performing the clarinet solos on the Bronski Beat hit "It Ain't Necessarily So." Also with Dave Renwick, bass player, who also played with Bronski Beat. Jimmy was well-known for his falsetto singing style, and the fact that he was openly gay. The band had their first UK Top 30 hit in 1985 with the piano-based single "You Are My World." The following year they had their biggest hit with an energetic cover version of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' soul classic "Don't Leave Me This Way" (in a version inspired by Thelma Houston's cover) which spent four weeks at number one and became the UK's biggest selling single of 1986 it also made the US to

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