Coles’s background as a lean, Leftie Eighties pop icon and his metamorphosis into portly Anglican priest may not have fazed Mr Somerville, but it has surprised some of the parishioners in St Mary the Virgin, the magnificent medieval C of E church in Finedon, Northamptonshire, where Coles will be installed on April 12. ”˜”˜Some thought I had been Lionel Richie from The Commodores,’’ he says. ”˜”˜Others thought I had come from a commune. It did cause quite a bit of confusion.’’
His heady days as a rock star have come in handy, though. ”˜”˜I was talking to a couple of the teenagers the other day and one cheekily asked: ”˜Have you ever been in a nightclub?’ They were taken aback when I said, ”˜Oh yes, the last one was Amnesia in Ibiza,’ and reeled off half a dozen more. It’s amazing how a bit of street cred can help with the youngsters. They won’t feel you understand them if all they see you as is a paragon of virtue.’’