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Artist
The Communards
12+ albums
80snew wavepopsynthpopsynth pop
about
The Communards 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 instruments and had been seen previously performing the clarinet solos on the Bronski Beat hit "It Ain't Necessarily So". They were joined by bass player Dave Renwick who had also played with Bronski Beat. Somerville was well-known for his falsetto singing style, and that he was openly gay during a period of increasing socio-political debate and conflict in the UK regarding homosexuality. The band had their first UK Top 30 hit in 1985 with the piano-based #30 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 Top 40. It featured Sarah Jane Morris as co-vocalist, taking advantage of the contrast between Morris' deep and rounded contralto and Somerville's soaring falsetto. Morris performed both backing and co-lead vocals on many of the Communards' other recordings, and appeared in group photos as an unofficial third member. Later that year The Communards had another UK Top 10 hit with the single "So Cold the Night," which reached number 8. In 1987, they released an album titled Red, which wa
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albums
Communards
Red
The Very Best of Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat and the Communards
The Platinum Collection
Never Can Say Goodbye
The Very Best Of Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat & The Communards
The Communards
The Very Best Of Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat The Communards
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Top 1000 Pop Hits of the 80's
Communards (35 Year Anniversary Edition)
The Collection
The Singles Collection 1984-1990