Coles\u2019s 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. \u201d\u02dc\u201d\u02dcSome thought I had been Lionel Richie from The Commodores,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201d\u02dc\u201d\u02dcOthers thought I had come from a commune. It did cause quite a bit of confusion.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
His heady days as a rock star have come in handy, though. \u201d\u02dc\u201d\u02dcI was talking to a couple of the teenagers the other day and one cheekily asked: \u201d\u02dcHave you ever been in a nightclub?\u2019 They were taken aback when I said, \u201d\u02dcOh yes, the last one was Amnesia in Ibiza,\u2019 and reeled off half a dozen more. It\u2019s amazing how a bit of street cred can help with the youngsters. They won\u2019t feel you understand them if all they see you as is a paragon of virtue.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n